Improving the distribution, recruitment and retention of specialists in regional and rural areas has been raised by stakeholders during the consultation process as a reason for expanding specialist training settings.
However, a concern was raised that if specialist training were to be increased in regional settings for reasons of service provision alone - without providing the appropriate infrastructure, support and supervision necessary for a quality educational experience - this would have a detrimental impact on training.
This is a justifiable concern. Any expanded training rotations should be subject to the same standards of specialist medical college accreditation as existing training places to ensure that educational and supervisory requirements are met.
An advantage of expanding training settings to more closely align with the locations of service delivery is that the rotations offer both educational and service delivery benefits - dual benefits rather than competing interests.