The first of three University of Queensland Regional Training Hubs supporting junior doctors to undertake specialist training in regional Queensland will be launched on Thursday 19 April.

The University’s Central Queensland Regional Training Hub (CQRTH) will help provide doctors with postgraduate training opportunities closer to home.

CQRTH Senior Academic Clinician Dr Ewen McPhee said the hub built on the education and training experiences offered by UQ’s Rural Clinical School at Rockhampton.

“By growing our own health workforce, we will see better care for Central Queensland residents and better continuity of GP and specialist medical services,” he said.

“We are going beyond medical school graduation to facilitate streamlined training pathways by providing additional clinical and academic staff in rural areas.

“We will work with Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, training providers and professional colleges to map current training posts, advocate for new ones and provide support for junior doctors.

“Covering a large geographic area, the hub’s footprint includes Rockhampton, Emerald, Yeppoon, Gladstone and all locations in between.

“Central Queensland students entering medicine will now have a greater opportunity to complete their training within the region,” Dr McPhee said.

Regional Training Hubs are one of three components of the Australian Government’s Integrated Rural Training Pipeline for Medicine (IRTP).

The CQRTH is part of UQ’s Rural Clinical School in Rockhampton.

UQ Regional Training Hubs are also being established in Southern Queensland and Wide Bay regions.