The Great Hall at the University of Sydney last week hosted a very special cohort of new graduates — the first two dozen doctors to have completed all of their studies in Dubbo at the School of Rural Health.

Previously, undergraduates completed part of their studies locally, before being required to finish their degree in the city.

The group, who entered the school in 2022, completed their four-year postgraduate course — all had previously attained degrees in health-related or ancillary fields — passing out with other medical graduates in the centuries-old Victorian Gothic revival landmark last Wednesday.

They are now Doctors of Medicine (MDs) with a strong rural practice focus, learning, the university said, “not just the science of medicine, but the art of practicing in country communities”.

“This is a proud moment for our university, and the Dubbo community,” Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Professor John Prins said.

“Our MD graduates have spent four years living, studying and working in rural NSW, and many are now stepping into roles that will directly benefit rural and regional communities,” he added

He explained that the “Dubbo Stream” of the degree course was designed to grow a rural medical workforce with the rewards now being realised in seeing that vision become a reality.

“These students have done something special; they’ve trained as doctors in the region, and now many are staying to serve the communities that supported them.

“It shows just how powerful local training can be in building a strong, sustainable rural medical workforce,” Prof Prins said.

The Dubbo Stream gives students the chance to complete their MD entirely in a regional setting, supported by modern facilities and clinical placements at the redeveloped Dubbo Hospital, he explained.

Many of the graduates are now stepping straight into local and regional roles, returning to the communities that raised them or heading to towns that need their skills with most having deep rural roots, Head of School and Dean of the Sydney Medical School Professor Jane Bleasel said.

Some, she added, grew up on farms, others in small country towns, and a few have come full circle after studying in the city, bringing a fresh perspectives and commitment.

“From their first day in Dubbo, these students weren’t just studying medicine, they were living it,” Professor Bleasel revealed.

They’ve been embraced by the community, mentored by local doctors, and seen firsthand the difference that continuity of care makes in rural towns; that connection to place and people, is something you can’t replicate in the city,” she concluded.