Rural health academic units: Education and research by rural practitioners, for rural practitioners in the rural setting

It is almost ten years since the Monash University Centre for Rural Health was established1 and I became the first Professor of Rural Health. At that time in Australia, there was a worsening shortage of rural practitioners and a growing sense of crisis in rural health and rural health services.2 The situation now is quite different. Although there is still a shortage of rural practitioners, the numbers have started to turn around3 and a range of integrated health services models have been developed and implemented across rural Australia. A major contributor to these changes has been the success of rural health academic units like the Centre for Rural Health, which was incorporated in the new Monash University School of Rural Health at the beginning of 2001.