National study of the impact of rural immersion programs on intended location of medical practice in New Zealand.

Introduction: New Zealand (NZ) faces an ongoing shortage of rural medical professionals. In an effort to increase interest in rural practice, both of the medical schools in NZ offer rural immersion programs as well as rural entry pathways. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of long (>33-week) rural immersion with a short (5-week interprofessional) rural immersion or no rural immersion on the career location intentions of NZ medical students.

Influence of rural background and rural medical training on postgraduate medical training and location in New Zealand.

Aims: To evaluate the influence of the Otago Medical Programme's rural entry pathway and rural immersion programme on postgraduate medical training and location.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 2008-2011 medical school graduates. Rural background/training included students gaining preferential entry to medical training based on rural residence or schooling, and/or those who spent a year training in a rural setting.