It's more than money: Policy options to secure medical specialist workforce for regional centres

Objectives: Regional centres and their rural hinterlands support significant populations of non-metropolitan Australians. Despite their importance in the settlement hierarchy and the key medical services provided from these centres, little research has focused on their issues of workforce supply and long-term service requirements. In addition, they are a critical component of the recent growth of 'regional' hub-and-spoke specialist models of service delivery. Methods: The present study interviewed 62 resident specialists in four regional centres, seeking to explore recruitment and retention factors important to their location decision making. The findings were used to develop a framework of possible evidence-informed policies. Results: This article identifies key professional, social and locational factors, several of which are modifiable and amenable to policy redesign, including work variety, workplace culture, sense of community and spousal employment; these factors that can be targeted through initiatives in selection, training and incentives. Conclusions: Commonwealth, state and local governments in collaboration with communities and specialist colleges can work synergistically, with a multiplicity of interdigitating strategies, to ensure a positive approach to the maintenance of a critical mass of long-term rural specialists.