getting a taste of rural medicine early may create a desire to stay in these places upon graduation the university of sydney says approximately of graduates from its rural programme take up rural postgraduate training positions where they are available mason the rise of specialists particularly in surgery has contributed to workforce problems in rural australia a rural generalist programme began a few years ago in queensland enabling gps to be upskilled so they may perform some specialist roles including anaesthetics and obstetrics the programme has since been expanded to other states