Croker, Felicity (2016) Exploring the impact of James Cook University BDS graduate intentions and destinations on the rural and remote dental workforce. In: [Presented at the 8th Biennial Are You Remotely Interested Conference]. From: AYRI 2016: 8th Biennial Are You Remotely Interested Conference, 20-22 July 2016, Mount Isa, QLD, Australia.

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Abstract

Background: The Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) at James Cook University was established in 2009 with the mission to address the population health needs and workforce shortages of rural, remote and tropical Australia through aligning student selection, curriculum and clinical experiences to enable and encourage graduate careers in rural, remote and regional areas. This paper reports early evidence on the career outcomes of graduates in the first three cohorts.

Methods: Data were gathered from two sources to allow mapping of career intentions and graduate destinations. An exit survey provided student data followed by tracking graduate careers of 2013 to 2015 cohorts.

Results: A significant proportion of JCU dental students intended to practise outside capital cities. Many graduates planned to work initially in rural towns or outer regional centres with progression to practice in larger centres.

Conclusion/Recommendations: While ongoing follow up will track career progression over a longer time, the data so far suggest that the career outcomes of JCU dental graduates are aligned with the workforce needs of the region. Further research is required to compare data with intentions and destinations of from those graduating from Australia's predominantly metropolitan dental schools. This next stage will reveal whether program design is an reliable predictor of graduate careers and will inform ongoing initiatives to build the regional, rural and remote dental workforce.

Item ID:	45128
Item Type:	Conference Item (Presentation)
Keywords:	Australia, Queensland, dental graduates, workforce intentions, career progression, rural, remote, health
Related URLs:	Publisher
Date Deposited:	29 Aug 2016 23:15
FoR Codes:	13 EDUCATION > 1399 Other Education > 139999 Education not elsewhere classified @ 40% 11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES > 1105 Dentistry > 110599 Dentistry not elsewhere classified @ 60%
SEO Codes:	93 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 9303 Curriculum > 930399 Curriculum not elsewhere classified @ 50% 92 HEALTH > 9299 Other Health > 929999 Health not elsewhere classified @ 50%
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