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Home > Data > Medical Schools Outcomes Database Reports

Each year, Medical Deans’ surveys final year students enrolled in our medical schools, asking about their background, medical school experience, and any early preferences for their future career.

The Reports examine trends across the most recent 5 years, and are a valuable and unique source of data for those involved in medical education and health workforce policy.

 

A similar project is conducted in Aotearoa New Zealand by the Universities of Auckland and Otago, with similar questions and with the support of the New Zealand Ministry of Health.

The Aotearoa New Zealand MSOD reports can be found here.

These reports are prepared by Medical Deans. We acknowledge and appreciate the funding received from the Australian Government Department of Health that helps support this work, and thank the many thousands of medical students who have taken the time over the last decade to provide us with their feedback.

 

 

Publications

  • Baldeep Kaur, Angela Carberry, Nathaniel Hogan, Don Roberton, Justin Beilby. The medical schools’ outcomes database project: Australian medical student characteristics. Published BMC Medical Education August 2025 https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-14-180
  • Colin H. Cortie PhD, David Garne MBChB, Lyndal Parker-Newlyn BMed(Hons), Rowena G. Ivers PhD, Judy Mullan PhD, Kylie J. Mansfield PhD, Andrew Bonney PhD. A comparison of rural and regional work locations and speciality choices between graduates from the University of Wollongong and all Australian medical schools using the Medical Schools Outcomes Database. Published Australian Journal of Rural Health December 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.13077
  • Denese E. Playford, Annette Mercer, Sandra E. Carr and Ian B. Puddey. Likelihood of rural practice in medical school entrants with prior tertiary experience. Published Medical Teacher April 2019 https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2019.1570099
  • Nicole Koehler, Christine McMenamin. Who wants to be a GP? An examination of the Medical Schools Outcomes Database. Published Focus on Health Professional Education: A Multi-Professional Journal November 2015 https://doi.org/10.11157/fohpe.v16i4.97
  • Ian B Puddey, Annette Mercer, Denese E Playford, Sue Pougnault and Geoffrey J Riley. Medical student selection criteria as predictors of intended rural practice following graduation. Published BMC Medical Education 2014 https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-14-218
  • Michael P Jones, John A Bushnell and John S Humphreys. Are rural placements positively associated with rural intentions in medical graduates? Published Medical Education 2014 https://doi.org/10.1111/MEDU.12399
  • Tyler R Clark, Saul B Freedman, Amanda J Croft,Hazel E Dalton, Georgina M Luscombe, Anthony M Brown, David J Tiller, Michael S Frommer. Medical graduates becoming rural doctors: rural background versus extended rural placement. Published the Medical Journal of Australia December 2013 https://doi.org/10.5694/MJA13.10036
  • T Sen Gupta, R Murray Hays, T Woolley. James Cook University MBBS graduate intentions and intern destinations: a comparative study with other Queensland and Australian medical schools. Published International Electronic Journal of Rural and Remote Health Research June 2013 https://medicaldeans.org.au/md/2025/12/James-Cook-University
  • Michael Jones, John S. Humphreys, Matthew R. McGrail. Why does a rural background make medical students more likely to intend to work in rural areas and how consistent is the effect? A study of the rural background effect. Published Australian Journal of Rural Health January 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1440-1584.2011.01242.X
  • P. Gerber, Louis I. Landau. Driving change in rural workforce planning: the Medical Schools Outcomes Database. Published Australian Journal of Primary health March 2010 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY09049

 

MSOD Overview

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Student Testimonials

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The survey captured key information about my recent medical education experience, relevant information about my personal demographics and education prior to medical school and helped me reflect on my preparedness for internship. I liked that it captured information about future career planning and can see how that could be useful to gauge competitiveness of individual specialties while also being useful for workforce planning and recruitment. I found the survey really easy to complete, and very worth the small investment of time it took to provide future graduates with information to help understand their fellow doctors and help plan individual career trajectories.

Rebecca Adams
Medical Graduate (2024), Griffith University