Decision criteria in health professionals choosing a rural practice setting: development of the Careers in Rural Health Tracking Survey (CIRHTS)

Deborah Schofield

qualifications: PhD

contribution: designed the project, devised survey tool, contributed to drafts, literature review, original concept

position: Associate professor

Australia

Dr Deborah Schofield Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Sydney Research Leader, Australian Rural Health Research Collaboration Northern Rivers University Department of Rural Health PO Box 3074, Lismore NSW 2480 Ph: 61 2 6620 2601 Fax: 61 2 6620 7270 Research interests: Ageing, health workforce, inequality

Jeffrey Fuller

qualifications: PhD

contribution: original concept, designed the project, devised survey tool, literature review, contributed to drafts

position: Associate professor

Australia

Research interests in models of mental health service delivery for rural and remote locations, regional public health planning, service models to deliver high quality health care to minority communities in rural locations (immigrant and Indigenous communities) and the development of academic and practitioner collaboration to improve health care.

Susan Fletcher

qualifications: PGDip Psych

contribution: literature review, input data, statistical analysis, wrote the first draft, contributed to drafts

position: Research Officer

Australia

Susan Fletcher, Research Officer. Northern Rivers University Department of Rural Health PO Box 3074, Lismore NSW 2480 Ph: 61 2 6620 7374 Fax: 61 2 6620 7270 Research interests: Workforce, rural and mental health.

Hudson Birden

qualifications: MPH

contribution: devised survey tool, literature review, contributed to drafts

position: Senior Lecturer

Australia

Research Interests: Medical education through long term placements/clerkships infectious diseases epidemiology public health history of health and disease

Dr Sue Page Mitchell

qualifications: BMed

contribution: devised survey tool, literature review, contributed to drafts

position: Director of Education

Australia

Dr Sue Page AM is nationally recognised as a leader in Australia’s primary care sector with expertise in primary care, medical education, workforce, service improvement and rural health. She has held positions on the Boards of the Northern NSW Local Health District, NSW Clinical Excellence Commission and the Australian Medicare Local Alliance and worked across multiple jurisdictions and services including public, private, and Community Controlled. Dr Page is a former President of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia who has held a variety of State and Federal Ministerial Advisory roles including for Mental Health, Drug & Alcohol, Medical Indemnity, Pharmacy Professional Programs, Medical Workforce, Medical Services and the NSW Commission of Audit. She has served on the NSW Health Care Advisory Committee and was the inaugural Chair of the North Coast Area Health Advisory Committee, reporting to the CEO and the State Health Minister for services provided to residents from Port Macquarie to Tweed Heads in NSW. As Inaugural Director and Associate Professor of the North Coast Medical Education Collaborative (a collaborative venture of the University of Sydney, University of Western Sydney, and the University of Wollongong) she held senior responsibility for up to 60 medical students undertaking year-long placements in northern NSW. As Director of Education with the Northern Rivers University Department of Rural Health (a collaborative venture of the University of Sydney and Southern Cross University) she held senior level responsibility for the coordination and management of the clinical placements for up to 300 multidisciplinary students from 11 different universities as well as up to 300 medical students per year undertaking placements of 1 month to 3 months duration. These two entities later joined to become the North Coast University Centre for Rural Health (UCRH). She is currently a Strategic Advisor for the National Disability Insurance Agency.

Karen Kostal

qualifications: BSpchPathol

contribution: devised survey tool, contributed to drafts

position: Speech pathologist

Scott Wagner

qualifications: BHlthSci

contribution: devised survey tool

position: Dietician

Luke Schultz

qualifications: BPhysio

contribution: devised survey tool, contributed to drafts

position: Physiotherapist