CITY doctors will be given emergency training in exchange for doing a month-long stint in the bush.

The federal government is providing $790,000 over four years to help rural and remote GPs get a break and in turn provide increased locum services to regional areas.

The rural education assistance program will provide 150 urban GPs with skills and confidence to undertake a remote placement for four weeks.

Many urban GPs have an interest in rural locum work but did not always feel skilled or confident enough to carry out the many and varied tasks often required, said federal Rural and Regional Health Minister Warren Snowdon.

"This initiative goes towards helping GPs in the bush get a well-deserved rest," he said in a statement, adding the rural workforce was ageing and needed opportunities to refresh.

The program will be jointly managed through the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.