THE expansion of the University of Melbourne’s Department of Rural Health in Shepparton will open doors for aspiring doctors who don’t want or are unable to head to the city to study.
Mooroopna’s Georgia Hunt (pictured above), an associate nurse unit manager in psychogeriatric nursing at GV Health, is one such medical student looking to one day become a doctor without needing to leave her hometown.
As a mother of school-aged children, Ms Hunt has two more years of undergraduate study to complete at La Trobe University in Bendigo before she can commence the University of
Melbourne’s Doctor of Medicine postgraduate program in Shepparton.
Speaking at the sod turning event of the new $6.5M expansion of Melbourne University’s Department of Rural Health last Thursday, Ms Hunt said if she didn’t have the opportunity to study close to home, she wouldn’t be able to study at all.
“I was about to give up on my dream, because I thought it’s just not going to happen for me, but then this opportunity came up and it seemed too good to be true, I couldn’t believe it would be right here,” she said.
“I’m so excited. I’ve got children who go to school here, my mum just moved up from Melbourne to retire here, so being able to stay here is just amazing.
“I don’t think I’d be practicing medicine if I had to move.
“Country living just has so much to offer. People are more friendly and it’s a better lifestyle, so they should have these educational opportunities to keep doctors here.”
