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"West is best", say students on the first Go Rural trip of 2026!
13th March 2026
Earlier this month, Rural Doctors Network was thrilled to give 20 university healthcare students studying medicine, nursing and allied health the opportunity to visit the beautiful Western Plains region of NSW as part of its first Go Rural road trip for 2026.
“The further west you go, the better the community spirit is,” nursing student Shelby Mitchell told The Cobar Weekly during the tour. “Having this trip, it kind of gives you a taster of each town and can show you what your future might look like and how you can get involved in the community... I’m really looking forward to coming out here and doing some placements.”
Go Rural last visited Cobar in 2019 and the community was excited to welcome back a Go Rural tour, with The Cobar Weekly promoting the visit and encouraging the community to say ‘g’day’.
“Many people say how wonderful Cobar is to live and work in once they’re here. It’s that initial getting them here that we struggle with,” Mayor Jarrod Marsden told The Cobar Weekly. “If one or two of [the students] end up deciding that they want to come and be in Cobar full time, that’s a wonderful outcome.”
This Western Plains tour was generously sponsored by Harmony CSA Mine, who were amongst those welcoming the students to Cobar. “Workforce shortages continue to affect access to healthcare across Cobar,” People and Culture Manager Joanne Power said. “Harmony CSA Mine is proud to support the Go Rural initiative, delivered by Rural Doctors Network, which highlights both the professional opportunities and unique lifestyle our region offers.”
Representing a number of different universities and hailing from places such as Wollongong, Orange, Sydney and Canberra, the students all travelled together by bus to Parkes, Orange, Trundle, Nyngan, Cobar, Narromine, Peak Hill and Dubbo for the four-day, jam-packed, trip.
As a federally funded program, administered in NSW by Rural Doctors Network, Go Rural aims to encourage students to consider a career in rural healthcare by highlighting the benefits of living and working rurally. Go Rural takes students to visit medical facilities and hear from guest speakers, as well as participate in community and cultural events such as farm visits and Aboriginal culture tours. It also forms part of Rural Doctors Network’s commitment to growing and supporting the future rural health workforce.
First stop out of Sydney on the tour was breakfast at The Lithgow Tinshed before a Vietnamese lunch and then a tour of healthcare facilities at Orange Aboriginal Medical Service and Parkes Hospital!
Rising early the next morning after having spent the evening in Parkes, the students fuelled themselves at (possibly the best named coffee shop ever), “Deja Brew”, before heading to Trundle MPS, then Nyngan for a Bogan Shire Community Youth Centre presentation and lunch.
The group then toured Bogan Shire Medical Centre before hopping on the bus to Cobar and visiting Cobar Hospital and Cobar Museum and Information Centre. That night, the students were warmly welcomed to the local Golf Club for an Inspiration Dinner. Guests at the dinner included the Mayor of Cobar Shire Council, Jarrod Marsden, Chairman of the Cobar Health Council, Gordon Hill, Editor of The Cobar Weekly, Sharon Harland, Harmony CSA's Lauren Wetton and student Amara Bottom, who’s studying pharmacy by distance with the University of New England.
Future Workforce Program Lead at Rural Doctors Network, Sam Zelinski, said the trip was a fantastic way to kick off Go Rural for 2026 and is thankful for the warm welcome the students received at each location. "All of those who contributed to our time in each location were so welcoming, and student feedback has been really positive,” said Sam.
"The support of the local community at Cobar was amazing; from those at the hospital, to the guests who joined us for dinner, to the members of the public at Parkrun on Saturday. We’re also very grateful to have Harmony CSA Mine who sponsored the trip,” he said.
On Saturday, a number of students took part in the Cobar Parkrun before they jumped back on the bus and headed to Narromine Shire Family Health Centre.
Peak Hill Aboriginal Medical Service was next on the agenda before the group travelled to Dubbo for the evening. Up bright and early for their last day of the trip, the students attended Dubbo Base Hospital for a tour, before a food and farming dining lunch at Mudgee ensured the students returned home with full bellies (and hopefully, full hearts keen to return rurally one day).
“It’s not uncommon for some students to have never visited a rural or remote town before, so it can be a completely new experience for them,” Sam Zelinksi said. “However, no matter what the future holds, it is my hope that each town has made a lasting impression on these students’ minds and they consider returning to work in rural NSW one day and enjoy a very rewarding career.”
Go Rural receives funding from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and forms part of RDN's program of rural immersion experiences, designed to encourage students towards a career in rural health.
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