Surgeons Outside of Cities: New Research from UOW GSM

 We’re proud to celebrate Dr Tracey Edwards, UOW Medicine Class of 2023, whose latest article has just been published in the Australian Journal of Rural Health.

📖 Read the full open-access article here: Surgeons Outside of Cities – AJRH 2025

The study, co-authored with colleagues Dr David Garne, Prof Rowena Ivers, Prof Judy Mullan, Prof Kylie Mansfield, Prof Andrew Bonney, Dr Colin Cortie, and myself, examined ten years of workforce data on surgeons across Australia (2013–2022).

Key findings from the research include:

• The total number of surgeons in Australia rose from 4,568 to 5,724 across the decade.

• Only 15.5% of surgeons now practise in rural areas (down from 16.9% in 2013), despite 29% of Australians living outside metropolitan centres.

• Female surgeons remain under-represented, particularly in rural settings (12.4%), with the paper noting barriers such as long hours, lack of mentoring, and family/partner considerations.

• Surgical sub-specialties other than general surgery are rare in regional and rural Australia.

This work highlights both progress and persistent challenges in ensuring equitable surgical care for all Australians. It underscores the importance of initiatives to attract and retain surgeons in regional and rural practice, including targeted training, mentoring, and support for women in surgery.