Jarron hit the ground running on Monday, January 18, with a meet and greet at Yass Valley Council followed by an afternoon of clinical practice at Old Linton. During his stint, Jarron will also spend time at Atherfield Medical Practice and the Yass and District Hospital. He said nothing can compare to gaining valuable hands-on experience in a country practice.

“Rural doctors have such a diverse role with a diverse skill set, they could be the GP one day and working in the hospital the next. The relationship rural doctors have with their community is unique and I hope to experience a snapshot of that while in Yass,” Jarron said.

The Bush Bursary Program is funded by the NSW Rural Doctors Network and the Country Women’s Association in partnership with regional councils across the state.

Jarron is in his third year of medicine at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney. He has completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Science at the ANU and Honours degree in Physiology at the University of Sydney and has a particular interest in obesity, emergency medicine, and rural health. The 24-year-old, who is originally from Canberra, can see himself living and working in a town like Yass.

“I would definitely consider a career in a rural area, which is one of the reasons I applied to do this,” Jarron said.

“I am drawn to rural practice for both the lifestyle aspects, as well as the unique medical opportunities and responsibilities doctors are afforded in regional, rural and remote areas and am very much looking forward to spending time in Yass,” Jarron said.

This is the objective of the Bush Bursary Program and the reason Yass Valley Council sponsors students like Jarron – to give them a taste of rural medicine in the hope of securing their services down the track.

“Securing doctors and adequate medical services in rural areas in an enormous battle and this fantastic program exposes young doctors to the needs in our regional communities,” Yass Valley Council General Manager, David Rowe said.