The "tropical triangle": a health education partnership in the south-west Pacific.

[Extract] Australia's newest medical school is located well within the tropics in northern Queensland, at James Cook University School of Medicine. It is the only complete medical school in northern Australia, a geographically large but sparsely populated area with substantial health workforce problems and high unmet health care needs in the remote and indigenous populations. Not surprisingly, its mission to pursue excellence in medical care, teaching and research includes particular emphasis on tropical, rural and remote, and indigenous health. The University also includes schools of Nursing, Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Pharmacy and Occupational Therapy, such that the University is a significant provider of health professional training in northern Australia.