About the Rural Clinical School of WA
Our Culture
The Rural Clinical School of Western Australia (RCSWA) was established in 2002 to help deliver better health outcomes for people living in regional, remote and rural areas of the state.
Our vision for the future is to build on the successes of the past 20 years and foster an exceptional locally trained, research-driven, collegiate, academic and clinical community, providing equitable healthcare to rural and remote Western Australia.
Our mission to collaboratively engage and train future rural doctors and academics to ensure equitable access to high quality, culturally appropriate healthcare for rural West Australians.
Driving real change in rural communities
The RCSWA helps rural communities sustain a locally trained and loyal medical workforce by placing medical students in country regions. Under the program, students gain valuable hands-on experience, enjoy close mentoring and are more likely to return to rural towns after they graduate.
The RCSWA aims to drive a larger presence of doctors into country towns that face health and medical welfare challenges while giving student doctors the chance to learn from real-life experiences. Peer-reviewed research shows students who undertake an RCSWA placement are four times more likely to return to work in the country compared to others.
Rural Clinical School students have made important contributions to all the communities they have been placed in. The RCSWA is valued by rural WA in large part because of the students’ engagement with their communities and what they have achieved since 2002.
Head of School RCSWA
Our Team
Head of School, Bunbury
Andrew Kirke
Andrew is the Head of School for the RCSWA, based in Bunbury. He is responsible for ensuring all sites are functioning and adequately staffed, that students have all required resources, and mediate any student and site issues. Andrew regularly meets with the medical deans from UWA, Notre Dame and Curtin and with representatives from FRAME (Federation of Rural Australian Medical Educators) to maintain strong ties with the RCSWA's partners and ensure school operations run smoothly. He joined the RCSWA in 2006 in Kalgoorlie as a Medical Coordinator and became Head of School in 2019.
What I love about the RCSWA
I love that it is such a positive, enthusiastic organisation where people get totally involved in sharing their knowledge and bring other people in to see the possibilities of living in rural WA.
Lead Medical Coordinator , Derby
Susannah Warwick
Susannah is a Co-Deputy Director of RCSWA, Sub Dean of Student Affairs and the lead Medical Coordinator in Derby. She coordinates medical student training in Derby, teaches Derby students and supports student wellbeing. When she isn't with her RCSWA students, Susannah can be found at Derby Aboriginal Health Service working as a GP. She now calls Derby home after stints in Canada and Queensland.
What I love about the RCSWA
I love living in a small rural community, working with three universities, working in medical education and the collegiality of the RCSWA.
Co-Deputy Director, Bunbury
Bronwyn Pierce
Bronwyn is a Co-Deputy Director of RCSWA and Academic Lead of the Regional Training Hubs Program. She is based in Bunbury and works as an emergency physician. Bron participates in bedside teaching, assessments and scholarly activity supervision, but spends most of her time on the management teams behind curriculum, staffing, student welfare, and rural training pathways. She loves helping students become doctors and seeing them grow their knowledge, skills and attitudes.
What I love about the RCSWA
It feels like family to me and I've always loved the innovative, can-do attitude that comes from the top down.
Senior Team Leader, Kalgoorlie
Rhonda Worthington
Rhonda was one of the founding members of the RCSWA and has remained an integral part of the team since. Her varied role includes staff recruitment, student assessments, capital works, student interviews, HR, everyday issues, and much more. Students will likely meet Rhonda for the first time during the RCSWA interview stage and receive regular advice and information from her throughout their RCSWA year. Rhonda has spent most of her life in Kalgoorlie and is proud to call the town her home.
What I love about the RCSWA
I love the family-like atmosphere, the supportive environment, and the students are fantastic.
Unit Coordinator & Researcher, Urban
Denese Playford
Denese is a Unit Coordinator for Service Learning and Principal Investigator within the RCSWA research division, based in the urban office. Her role as a medical education scholar saw her drive the creation of an RCSWA-specific curriculum, and showcase the role of rural clinical schools in creating a rural health workforce via the publishing of her research papers. Such research has been recognised at a national level and reinforced the importance of rural clinical schools. Denese is also responsible for guiding penultimate students through their research scholarly activity.
What I love about the RCSWA
I love the RCSWA's 'can-do' attitude, which doesn't count the cost of a good idea but instead, allows staff to give their time to create change that is above and beyond cost..
HUBS & Team Leader South, Bunbury
Carol Chandler
Carol is the Project Manager for WA Regional Training Hubs and Team Leader - South within the RCSWA, based in Bunbury. Her primary role is to establish pathways for medical students into regional, rural and remote vocational and non-vocational training; the goal being to build and retain a strong rural medical workforce. HUBS opportunities apply to preclinical students, past and current RCSWA students, students who missed an RCSWA opportunity, and junior doctors at regional hospitals.
What I love about the RCSWA
I love the collegial approach of all staff - everyone is passionate about their communities, patients, and most of all, their students. It is also great to work with a team that has strong leadership, encouragement and talent diversity..
Team Leader North, Albany
Joslyn Pass
Joslyn is responsible for everything you can think of (other than clinical content) for Albany RCSWA students. From getting students to and from site, organising housing and local events, and scheduling placements. Joslyn is the go-to person for Albany students and anyone visiting the Albany RCSWA site. Jos has lived in Albany most of her life with brief stints in Kojonup, and was first introduced to UWA when she completed her degree and honours at the UWA Albany campus.
What I love about the RCSWA
I love the team I work with and the fact I can pick up the phone and talk to anyone across the state. I love that every year is different with a new group of students.
HUBS Bonded Scholars, Urban
Sue Pougnault
Sue is a Project Officer with WA Rural Training Hubs, based in Perth. She meets with potential future medical students in high school, and mentors pre-clinical year students who are interested in applying for the RCSWA. She works across UWA, University of Notre Dame, and Curtin Medical School and was one of the original team to see the birth of the RCSWA in 2002.
What I love about the RCSWA
I love the chance and experiences that students gain on all things 'rural', which offers career diversity and opportunity. It is a year of consolidation of their clinical skills and an amazing opportunity - at the same time - to provide holistic health care across multiple settings.
RGPP & Electives Placement officer, Urban
Hayley Newberry
Hayley is the Rural General Practice (RGPP) and Rural Electives Placement Officer. While based in Perth, Hayley stays connected with doctors, students and medical coordinators across the state to ensure final year students from UWA, Notre Dame and Curtin have a positive and practical learning experience in their allotted rural location. She identifies and secures student placements in practices, books student accommodation, and is responsible for RGPP administration. Hayley has been on the UWA team since 2004 and joined the RCSWA family in 2016.
What I love about the RCSWA
I love being part of a positive work environment with enthusiastic, friendly colleagues and helping students on their career paths into rural medicine. .
Partner Universities
The University of WA
The University of Notre Dame
Curtin University
Who we work with
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