Ten ideas for building a strong Australian rural health system

Rural health is constantly experiencing the impact of persistent shortages in all clinical disciplines. This paper lists issues to consider as part of a national rural health workforce strategy in order to to generate ideas and provoke debate about priorities for rural health. Examples are provided to show how these ideas may be established and implemented. The issues are: rural medical training pathways; rural and remote nursing; rural allied health professionals; mental health workforce; medical specialist training; social determinants of health; health infrastructure; rural clinical simulation; health service management; quality and safety, looking at the role of individuals within healthcare teams and consumer perspectives.