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Inverell Medical Centre celebrates RDN’s Outreach Student Placement Program
21st July 2025
Inverell Medical Centre has launched its first ever website and, excitedly, features a whole page dedicated to the wonderful experiences of students who took part in RDN’s Outreach Student Placement Program (OSPP).
Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and administered by RDN, OSPP provides selected medical, nursing, and allied health students in NSW/ACT with the opportunity to shadow an Outreach provider in a rural or remote community.
As huge supporters of the Program, and advocates of future-proofing healthcare in their area, Inverell Medical Centre took on an impressive 12 students from OSPP under the guidance of GP Obstetrician, Cheryl McIntyre.
Medical student Katie Coulthard from the University of Wollongong said that after completing her placement at Inverell Medical Centre that she left with a renewed sense of purpose and direction.
“My experience at Inverell Medical Centre on the Rural Doctors Network Outreach Student Placement Program marked a truly incredible and unforgettable few days that will stay with me well beyond my medical school journey,” Katie said.
“I am so grateful to the wonderful, dedicated and skilled clinicians, fellow medical students and other staff at Inverell Medical Centre and Inverell Hospital who provided a supportive, supervised environment for many clinically interesting, excellent hands-on learning opportunities,” she said.
Beyond the clinic doors, Katie also explained that the placement gave her the opportunity to explore a stunning part of NSW she had never ventured to before. 
“Driving from Armidale to Inverell gave a new perspective and appreciation for the vastness of the Great Dividing Range. Walking through the lovely wide streets of Inverell gave a sense of close-knit rural community living. Seeing more than one spectacular country sunset offered an ideal backdrop for a moment of reflection at the end of day. A special thank you again to RDN and Dr Cheryl McIntyre and for making this brilliant experience possible.”
RDN’s Future Workforce Program Lead, Rachael Pond, wishes to thank all the providers and clinics that participated in RDN’s Outreach Student Placement Program this year.
“We would like to thank the team at Inverell Medical Centre and all the participating OSPP program mentors and clinics for their invaluable support and dedication in mentoring over sixty students over the past three months through the 2025 Outreach Student Placement Program.
“Their commitment to providing a nurturing and educational environment has played a crucial role in giving students the opportunity to see, first-hand, the impact health professionals, and their teams make in rural and remote areas of our amazing country,” Rachael said.
- Read more about the experience of Katie, and other OSPP students who did their placement at Inverell, at Inverell Medical Centre’s new website here.
Did you know? While you’re visiting Inverell Medical Centre’s new website, be sure to also check out the video of RDN Cadets Gina and Lily undertaking their Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship at Inverell!
Applications are now open for RDN’s Rural Resident Medical Officer Cadetship and the Rural Resident Medical Officer Cadetships for Indigenous Medical Students but get in quick as applications close at 9pm, Monday 28 July 2025.
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