Are all rural placements created equal? A national study of placement experiences among multidisciplinary health students

Objective Members of the National Rural Health Student Network have expressed concerns that the quality and accessibility of rural placements might vary between health degrees. This study compared a range of placement factors between health student disciplines. Design Cross‐sectional survey. Setting An online survey tool was distributed in 2016 by the National Rural Health Student Network and its Rural Health Clubs to the National Rural Health Student Network's 10 218 members in all Australian states and territories. Participants Responses were received from 897 health students (9% response rate). Participants were from the disciplines of medicine, dentistry, nursing, midwifery or an allied health degree. Main outcome measures Bivariate analysis between medical and non‐medical students relating to the support received for rural placements: support provided to help students coordinate their placement; assistance with financial costs; mental health support; social support; and student orientation regarding both the placement's health service and community. Result Compared with medical students, non‐medical students were more likely to have coordinated the majority of their placement themselves, but were less likely to have had control over their placement location or to have received financial support, mental health support, social support, a health service orientation or a community orientation. Conclusion Among National Rural Health Student Network members, those studying health degrees other than medicine had significantly less rural placement support in all examined domains when compared with medical students.