A new $19 million rural medical school has taken a significant step forward that could see it completed by the end of 2022.
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The University of NSW's Wagga Rural Clinical School lodged a development application to Wagga City Council this week to build a new teaching centre near Wagga Base Hospital with the aim of training and retaining more doctors for the region.
Medical education director at the Wagga Campus Associate Professor John Preddy said the plan will be to build a "state-of-the-art" three-storey building that provides a teaching facility for first year medical students through to their sixth, and final year.
It is expected to be "built, commissioned and opened," ready for students in 18 to 24 months.
"It will provide the facilities to teach basic sciences to early year medical students, but also extremely helpful facilities for clinical teaching," he said.
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Professor Preddy said there had been some delays since the federal government announced $17 million for the expansion project almost two years ago.
But, he said this time has allowed the university to collaborate with the local health district "to provide the very best facility" possible.
"There is enormous interest from students across the region to study medicine here and ... I can share that there had been a very healthy interest from local year 12 students," he said.
"It is not just rural students wanting to do it ... there are plenty of metropolitan students who are excited about the prospects of studying medicine in Wagga."
Professor Preddy said the existing clinical school has shown success in attracting doctors with half of its students becoming junior doctors at the Wagga Base Hospital.
As time goes by, he said more graduates are returning to undertake either a clinical or general practice.
He said there is no doubt they will be able to continue to grow on the "extraordinary success" once the new rural clinical school is completed.
Committee 4 Wagga chief executive Alan Johnston said attracting and retaining medical practitioners in regional centres is a challenge for not just Wagga, but across regional Australia.
Mr Johnston said having a medical school in Wagga is "a huge advantage" to be able to retain a skilled medical workforce as the city moves towards a higher population.
He said it's always easier to "make the best impressions early" as opposed convincing people to relocate after completing their schooling when relationships have already been established in metropolitan areas.
"It is one of those things where you have to get that right impression in people's minds early be it medical practitioners or any skill set," he said.