This building includes the new Deakin Grampians Clinical School and the Grampians Health Education Centre. On the tour they were accompanied by several Ballarat-based medical professionals. 

“Grampians Health and Deakin University share priorities of addressing the workforce needs and advancing the health and wellbeing of regional, rural and remote areas," said Mr Fraser.  

"Research shows that medical students who train in regional areas are more likely to work there in the future. 

“Our commitment to education is demonstrated by the two floors dedicated to education in our new building. The Deakin floor is training the doctors of the future, while the Grampians Health Education Centre is used by both our medical and nursing staff for their ongoing development of professional practice to ensure we provide world-class healthcare, here in Ballarat. 

Deakin Vice-Chancellor Professor Iain Martin said he was pleased to visit the Deakin Grampians Clinical School (DGCS) for the first time. 

“It’s exciting to be back in Ballarat with Grampian Health and to visit and tour the new DGCS and meet Deakin students and clinicians,” he said. 

“I was also able to see first-hand the scale and scope of the construction of the new Base Hospital. I know Deakin University plays a crucial role as Grampian Health’s key medical training partner. 

“It really highlights the importance of regional medical training and research, which is a significant focus for us at Deakin.” 

Professors Martin and Rogers were given a tour of the new Deakin education facilities by Associate Professor Sue Garner, Director of the DGCS, where they were introduced to current and former Deakin medical students who demonstrated the new state-of-the-art facilities. 

Paediatric Registrar and Rural Generalist trainee Dr Ellie Smith demonstrated the importance of using the mock ward facilities with training mannequins or simulated patients for students to practice clinical skills. Dr Smith graduated from Deakin Medical School in 2021. Originally from Ballarat, she is passionate about rural health. 

"While completing my medical degree at Deakin University in Geelong, I had the opportunity to return to Ballarat for my rural clinical rotation. I always knew I was interested in rural medicine, but my experiences within the Deakin clinical school encouraged me to move further west and complete my intern year in Ararat, Maryborough and Ballarat as part of the Victorian Rural Generalist Program.  

"A Rural Generalist is a general practitioner with specialist straining required to meet the needs of rural populations such as emergency medicine and procedural skills."  

Dr Smith is currently undertaking two years of paediatrics training at Grampians Health and hope to work in GP-lead paediatric clinics in Maryborough once she completes her degree. 

“Growing up in a regional area, I understand first-hand that the barriers to accessing healthcare increase the further away you live from a capital city. The opportunities provided by Deakin allowed me to further explore my passion for closing the rural health gap, including being one the first students to undertake a pre-internship in Ararat," she said. 

"This placement allowed me to experience the diversity and medical complexity of presentations to rural GPs and hospitals and how rewarding life as a rural generalist can be. It gave me the confidence and further motivation to pursue my career beyond Ballarat, to provide healthcare to rural communities, where it is so needed.”