Regional Medical Specialists Association

Regional Medical
Specialists Association

RMSA black and orange logo
Representing medical specialists living and working in rural & regional Australia, their patients and the communities they serve.

2024 Regional Medical conference

The Regional Medical Specialist Association 2024 Annual Conference is a pivotal event in Australian regional health services.

Every year, Specialists from across the nation are invited to gather to discuss important issues including the perennial shortage of Specialists outside the capital centres, connect with their peers and exchange insights on a wide range of organisational, clinical and political topics.

Contact event organizer at [email protected]

Click here to read more information.

A Distinct Identity

Who We
Are

Who We Are

This unique association allows medical specialists from a wide variety of disciplines providing their valuable services to regional Australians to connect with each other. Together we can make health care and the hospitals in which we work better for the community.

Explore What We Are Doing Better

We are a fledgling organisation, but even so we are consulted frequently by National Bodies on matters concerning Medical Specialists practicing outside of the large metropolitan cities.
 
We are a member of the National Rural Health Alliance.  Although there are other bodies representing the industrial and political interest of medical specialists, we are the only body speaking out specifically for Medical Specialists living and working in rural and regional areas.
 
And we are being heard.
 
Our Annual Conferences are growing in attendance and are usually opened by local MPs and Ministers.
 
We pay our respects to the traditional owners of the lands across this nation where our members live.  We acknowledge our shared commitment to listening and learning and will consistently advocate for improved health care of First Australians.
Professional men doing handshake

a voice for medical specialists

The Regional Medical Specialists Association (RMSA) was established to give a voice for medical specialists working in rural and regional Australia. The chronic rural doctor shortage creates health inequities for rural communities. This causes serious deficiencies in health status and life expectancy for rural and regional Australians.

About 32% of Australians live outside of major cities. Although the shortage of rural General Practitioners (GPs) is numerically greater, the shortage of rural specialists is proportionately much worse. As an example, 88.84% of Consultant Physicians live and work in major cities; 7.65% in inner regional areas and just 3.51% in outer regional, remote or very remote areas. The RMSA believes that this is a result of long-standing reluctance by universities and specialty training organisations to accredit rural and regional centres for training.

In the past, aspiring doctors needed to commit over 12 years in a major city to complete training. Many attempts have been made by state and commonwealth governments to deal with this problem.

An obvious response would be to increase funding for rural-based medical schools and post-graduate training by reducing funding for these activities in Metropolitan areas.

This is a no-cost solution, supported by increasing evidence from here and overseas that rural-based medical training is of high quality and produces expert clinicians.

The RMSA wants to work with government and the other organisations dedicated to rural medicine to ensure high-quality health care for Australians living in rural and regional areas.

Meet The Board Members

Dr. Peter Hughes

President

Dr. Steve Flecknoe-Brown

Board Member and Honorary Secretary

Dr. Nick Stephenson

Board Member

Dr. Rob Gray

Director

Meet The Board Members

Dr. Peter Hughes

President

Dr. Steve Flecknoe-Brown

Board Member and Honorary Secretary

Dr. Nick Stephenson

Board Member

Dr. Rob Gray

Director

We Will Help You Every Step Of The Way

Advocacy

We stand for Specialists caring for Regional Australia.

Support

Our members support each other

Education

There is a great opportunity!

Support for Rural Specialists in Australia

The SRSA Program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care and managed by the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges