The Rural Australia Medical Undergraduate Scholarships (RAMUS) Scheme has been administered by the National Rural Health Alliance since its inception in 2000. RAMUS was funded by the Australian Government and aimed to encourage more doctors to work in rural and remote areas of Australia. RAMUS assisted students with a rural or remote background with financial needs and a commitment to future rural practice after completing their medical degree.

With the last scholarship payment made in 2023 and an evaluation undertaken in 2024, the National Rural Health Alliance will present at RMA24 on the findings from this evaluation and the progress of the 2,500 scholarship awardees since the program commenced in 2000.

RAMUS scholars, who form a small part of Australia's medical workforce, have achieved impressive results in increasing the number of healthcare professionals in rural areas. In 2022, 60% of RAMUS GP specialists worked outside metropolitan areas, compared to 26.0% of the total GP specialist workforce. Similarly, 26.1% of RAMUS non-GP specialists worked outside metropolitan areas compared to only 15.8% of non-GP specialists in the Australian workforce. Seventy-five percent of Scholarship awardees stated that their interest in working an rural area had increased since commencing their medical studies.