{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T02:12:59Z","timestamp":1788487979080,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"CSIRO Publishing","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788480000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Rural immersion programs are commonly used to expose medical students to rural practice using curriculum-embedded placements. However, evidence regarding short-term, funded, voluntary, rural immersion placements that are not part of standard curricula-based training and their association with continued rural workforce engagement remains limited. Participants of the Bush Bursary, a voluntary, scholarship-based rural immersion program delivered through innovative partnerships between local councils, community organisations and the Rural Doctors Network (Australia). The program provides 2- to 6-week immersive rural exposure experiences across New South Wales.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This was a retrospective cohort study. A post-placement survey was distributed in 2022 to 357 former participants from 1996 to 2021 to measure subsequent self-directed rural placement participation and factors associated with excellence in rural experiences.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Participants who rated their immersion experience as \u2018excellent\u2019 had a significantly higher likelihood of undertaking further rural placements compared with those providing only a \u2018good\/poor\u2019 rating (OR 6.90; 95% CI 1.70\u201327.99; P\u00a0=\u00a00.007). Factors independently associated with an excellent experience included rural health experience (OR 4.98; 95% CI 1.22\u201320.39; P\u00a0=\u00a00.026).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Brief, voluntary, scholarship-based rural immersion placements with local council and community organisation partnerships, beyond formal curricula-based training, may influence subsequent rural engagement when experience quality is high. Although duration is an important dimension of immersion, authentic participation in rural clinical and community settings is also a defining feature of immersive educational experiences. Short-term rural placements may influence future self-directed rural placement decisions, acting as important stepping stones within the rural workforce pathway. In this context, short-term, scholarship-based rural immersion placements may complement existing policy levers to strengthen rural workforce pathways.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1071\/py26056","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T01:26:25Z","timestamp":1788485185000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association between experience quality in a short-term, voluntary, rural, funded, immersion placement program on future rural engagement decisions"],"prefix":"10.1071","volume":"32","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-0245-4164","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Brenden","family":"James","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"AUniversity of Notre Dame Australia, Hawkesbury Clinical School, 2 Day Street, Windsor, NSW 2756, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0418-9280","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Robyn","family":"Ramsden","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BRural Doctors Network, Level 7, 33 Chandos Street, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Louise","family":"Geddes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BRural Doctors Network, Level 7, 33 Chandos Street, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sabrina","family":"Pit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CFaculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, 61 Uralba Street, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yann","family":"Guisard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BRural Doctors Network, Level 7, 33 Chandos Street, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia."},{"name":"DSchool of Rural Medicine, Faculty of Science and Health, Charles Sturt University, 346 Leeds Parade, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"67","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026090321262206500_R1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.22605\/RRH5785","article-title":"National study of the impact of rural immersion programs on intended location of medical practice in New Zealand.","volume":"20","author":"Abid","year":"2020","journal-title":"Rural and Remote Health"},{"key":"2026090321262206500_R2","unstructured":"Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (2019) Modified Monash Model. 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