Australia’s first Graduate Entry Medical Program

On Saturday 14 September 2019, thirty three alumni from the Flinders University Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (Graduate Entry) class of 1999 visited the Bedford Park campus as part of a reunion weekend, organised by Dr Melanie Phillips and Dr Cherie Price. The occasion celebrated the 20th anniversary of their graduation from Australia’s first Graduate Entry Medical Program - initiated by Flinders University in 1995. Several students also participated in the first Parallel Rural Community Curriculum (PRCC), a program unique to Flinders University.

With this pioneering group of students including a large cohort from interstate, the reunion brought together GPs and specialists from country towns and capital cities around Australia, as well as from Taiwan, Canada and Malaysia. Following a tour of the medical school, the group met with Vice-President and Executive Dean of the College, Professor Jonathan Craig and Dean of Education, Associate Professor Alison Jones. The group also met with former Professor of Medical Education and one of the founders of the Graduate Entry Medical Program, Emeritus Professor David Prideaux.