Though she may want to, it is unlikely Tahlia McPherson will be able to live in the Latrobe Valley next year.
A third-year biomedicine student at Federation University, Ms McPherson has dreams of getting into emergency medicine and, importantly, staying in the Latrobe Valley.
However, entry requirements to study at Monash University’s School of Rural Health prevent Ms McPherson from applying to complete her postgraduate study at the school in Churchill.
The School of Rural Health will only accept Monash graduates, meaning Ms McPherson will likely have to travel to Geelong to complete her postgraduate study at Deakin University.
“I grew up in Traralgon and I’ve always wanted to get into medicine and become a doctor,” she said.
“I’m happy to go anywhere, but staying local is the best option … because family is here, it is less expensive as well and people are around to support me here.
“It has made it easier [studying at Churchill]. I’ve been able to keep the job I had in high school, I didn’t have to find new employment and it meant I could stay at home longer before moving out; I didn’t have to move out straight away.”
With many regional and rural areas struggling to attract and retain doctors, Ms McPherson said it was unlikely students coming from Melbourne to study in Churchill would stay in the region when they finished their studies.
“At the moment it is attracting people from Clayton,” she said.
“Coming down here and getting your degree doesn’t mean they’ll stay in the area. They’ll go back, sort of like how I plan to come back here.”
Ms McPherson suggested if Monash was worried about undergraduates from other universities not being “good enough” the university could implement an additional course for students to take, similar to the Melbourne University system.
“That would be a good compromise,” she said.
“We are quality students.”
