Currently there is no sense of career progression for doctors who go into rural
practice and those who later wish to pursue an academic career are given little
credit for the knowledge and experience gained while practicing in the country.
There is a need to develop appropriate university postgraduate diplomas and
degrees which would provide a means for career progression into education,
research or administration. Also such graduate studies programs would
assist in creating a pool of academically trained rural practitioners to staff
Rural Medical Education Centres and other rural health academic units.
For such postgraduate studies to be of value to rural family physicians they
must be offered by distance education. The use of distance education allows
rural doctors to pursue higher studies while staying in their practices and
towns.