They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away…but for the Apple Isle this week, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Close to 1000 doctors, medical students and others are descending on Hobart from all corners of Australia to attend the Rural Medicine Australia (RMA23) conference, Australia’s biggest annual gathering of rural and remote doctors.

The event is co-hosted by the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA), and gets underway with a Welcome Reception on Wednesday evening. The main conference program begins on Thursday, with the conference running through to Saturday afternoon.

RDAA President, Dr Megan Belot, said: “The annual RMA conference is an enormously popular event for rural and remote doctors right through to medical students who are interested in Rural Medicine as a career path.

“With this year’s theme being Take a Walk on the Wild Side, and a great range of keynote speakers talking about Artificial Intelligence in healthcare, Climate and Health, Me Too in healthcare, and Geographical Narcissism – as well as plenty of social networking functions – delegates will definitely be stepping out of their comfort zone this week!”

In advance of the conference, many rural and remote doctors have arrived early in Hobart to attend critical upskilling courses in

• Extreme Sports Medicine
• Rural Emergency Skills Training
• Emergency Dentistry
• Rural Emergency Obstetrics Training
• Advanced Life Support
• Rural Anaesthetic Crisis Management
• Pre-Hospital Emergency Care

ACRRM President, Dr Dan Halliday, said: “The breadth and depth of this year’s program at RMA23 is staggering, and when you also consider the pre- and post-conference courses that are on offer, it shows just how much rural and remote doctors need to know and be proficient at.

“RMA23 is being held at an exciting time, with more medical students and junior doctors showing interest in a career in Rural Medicine.

“Importantly, the positive and relaxed atmosphere at our conference really showcases to medical students and junior doctors what a collegiate and supportive environment they will find in Rural and Remote Medicine, and many connections made at RMA often translate into more future doctors coming to train and work in the bush.

“We greatly look forward to seeing our colleagues, many of whom have travelled thousands of kilometres to get here – as well as many potential future colleagues – at RMA23 in Hobart.”

RMA23 is an official pre-event for the WONCA World Conference 2023 (the global conference for GPs and family doctors), to be held in Sydney from 26-29 October.

Media are welcome to attend most sessions at RMA23, but must pre-register in advance by contacting one of the RMA Media Team on the contact numbers below.

Find the full program for RMA23 by clicking here:

https://rma.acrrm.org.au/program/program-overview

Find the full keynote speaker list for RMA23 by clicking here: https://rma.acrrm.org.au/program/speakers

Media contacts:

Patrick Daley (RDAA) – 0408 004 890

Ineke Kuiper (RDAA) – 0408 669 638

Petrina Smith (ACRRM) – 0414 820 847