Why should Canadians consider studying at JCU Medical School in Australia?

Should you consider studying at JCU Medical School in Australia?

There are many reasons that encourage people to study medicine. Among the most popular include the desire to help others. Sometimes that wish goes beyond the standard “I want to make a difference in my community” to “I want to make a difference in the world.”

So what makes JCU stand out from other Australian universities? And how on earth can we compare Australia’s and Canada’s health care needs?

James Cook University may not be the largest university, or the most well-known, but JCU has something the others don’t: their riveted focus on Aboriginal health, rural medicine, public health, tropical medicine, and the needs of under-served populations.

JCU was established as Australia’s “university for the tropics,” and is therefore focused programs that are particularly relevant to the tropical world. In the medicine, health, molecular science part of the university, they’ve particularly targeted issues relating to under-served populations, especially rural, remote, indigenous and tropical peoples.

But wait, tropical peoples? How can that relate to Canada? When speaking about Canada, most people think frigid winters, not tropics.

But the connection between Australia and Canada is stronger than you may think.

In fact, in 2013, JCU Medical School Dean and Head of School Richard Murray travelled to Canada as a member of an Australian government delegation at a Canadian-Australian roundtable on recognition of professional credentials between the two countries.

Dean Murray made a case for why Canada and Australia should collaborate our shared interest in health care innovation to meet the needs of our geographically dispersed populations. Prof Murray said that the opportunities this creates for Australian and Canadian practitioners to gain experience in each other’s countries could only benefit the quality and depth of rural medical services.

“In medicine for rural areas, there are opportunities for movement and exchange for students, doctors in training as well as specialists in rural general practice and other generalist specialties. Innovation in areas such as telemedicine and socially accountable health professional education are shared interests,” Prof Murray wrote in an article he published in the JCU Medical School’s journal, A Taste of our own Medicine.

There are many countries in a similar position to Australia, including Canada. Like Australia, our population is concentrated on the fringes of the country, where the climate is most ideal and the land most usable. But where people live in rural and Northern Canada, away from the general population, finding health care can be more challenging—just like the people in remote and tropical locations of Australia.

So, if you’re passionate about changing the world, particularly the lives of those who live in rural or remote areas, JCU wants to talk to you!

About the JCU Medical Program

The 6-year JCU MBBS degree is a comprehensive program with integrated instruction in biomedical sciences, professional practice, and clinical medicine. JCU’s medicine students receive extensive training with more than 4,000 hours of clinical practice, and graduates will be uniquely qualified in the fields of rural, remote, and tropical medicine.

Program: Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery
Location: Townsville, Queensland
Semester intake: February
Duration: 6 years

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Do you have questions about JCU Medical School? Contact OzTREKK’s Medicine Admissions Officer at medicine@oztrekk.com for more information.