Lara Fuller

Lara Fuller is an Associate Professor and Director of Rural Medical Education at Deakin University's School of Medicine, where she leads the Rural Community Clinical School on Wadawurrung Country. With over 15 years of experience in rural medical education, she specializes in Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships and community-based training program development.

Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Melbourne (1997), Graduate Certificate in Medical Education from Dundee University (2017), Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (2004), and Diploma of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (2002). She is currently completing her PhD on 'learning in place' regarding rural health workforce development in Southwestern Victoria.

Fuller's research focuses on medical education innovation for rural contexts, particularly examining how place-based training streams grow local health workforces. Her work analyzes rural medical student pathways, graduate workforce outcomes, and program evaluation frameworks through longitudinal studies across Australian medical schools.

Her publication portfolio demonstrates consistent focus on rural medical education outcomes, with recent articles establishing frameworks for rural program evaluation, workforce pipeline development, and pandemic resilience in rural training. Key themes include community engagement models, geographic workforce distribution, and longitudinal impact assessment of rural clerkships.

As Director of Rural Medical Education, Fuller oversees curriculum design and implementation while maintaining clinical practice as a General Practitioner. Her leadership spans multiple academic roles since 2008, progressing from Clinical Skills Lecturer to Associate Professor with responsibility for rural training stream development across Southwestern Victoria.