Natalie Irving and Laura Hammersley, sixth year medical students at the University of Otago Faculty of Medicine, have been announced as the 2014/2015 recipients of the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Travelling Scholarship by Sue Farry on behalf of the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust’s trustees. The scholarships are worth a total of $7,000 and will assist the students with costs associated with undertaking trainee intern electives in innovative and challenging overseas situations over the next four months. Natalie Irving, from Fielding, will travel to Nepal and Kenya while Laura Hammersley, from Darfield, will travel to Vanuatu.

“The Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust’s vision is for our work and the experiences that these medical students gain on their electives to ultimately contribute to the quality of rural health services in all regions of New Zealand,” said Mrs Farry.

Natalie Irving begins her seven week elective in Pokhara, Nepal at the Green Pastures Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre on 12 November 2014. The institution specializes in the treatment and rehabilitation of leprosy, disability reconstructive surgery and spinal cord injuries.

After this she travels to Siaya, Kenya to spend three weeks at the Siaya District Hospital where she will live on the grounds of an orphanage and learn first-hand about communicable diseases. In particular she will learn about HIV/AIDS and how this affects especially women and children as the next generation of a community.

“It has become really apparent to me how a rural doctor needs to be resourceful and adaptable to provide the best care possible for a wide variety of patients,” says Ms Irving.

“That is why I have chosen two rural elective locations which will no doubt get me out of my comfort zone and provide new challenging experiences that will help me to develop into the resourceful, adaptable and resilient doctor I will need to be for a future in rural practice here in New Zealand.”

Laura Hammersley will spend seven weeks on Vanuatu at Vila Central Hospital where she hopes to gain clinical experience and an appreciation of medicine in a developing country and how doctors work to distribute their limited resources.

While based at the Christchurch campus of the University of Otago Faculty of Medicine, Natalie Irving and Laura Hammersley have spent the past year living and working in Masterton and Greymouth in the Rural Medical Immersion Programme. The RMI Programme, or RMIP, was developed by Dr Farry in six rural locations around New Zealand and sees around 20 fifth year students a year learn under the guidance and mentoring of experienced general practitioners, rural hospital generalists and tertiary hospital specialists.

“My experience on RMIP in Masterton this year has been incredible,” says Ms Irving.

“One of my favourite aspects has been meeting dedicated rural GPs and hospital clinicians. Their passion and expertise really rubbed off, inspiring me to be a doctor who plays an integral and purposeful role in the future health of my community.”

For Laura Hammersley her experience at Grey Base Hospital in Greymouth has convinced her that rural practice is her future.

“My experience at Grey Base Hospital has been extremely positive and although I previously only had occasional thoughts of becoming a rural doctor, I am now convinced that this is where I will end up.”

This is the third successive year, that at least one of the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Travelling Scholarship recipients has been a ‘graduate’ of the Greymouth RMI Programme.

Laura Hammersley so valued her time in Greymouth that she has chosen to spend the second half of her elective at Grey Base Hospital after returning from Vanuatu before eventually returning to Christchurch for her sixth year studies.

“Since 2011, 17 medical students have benefitted from the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust’s scholarship programme. The latest scholarships will bring the total amount awarded by the Trust in scholarships and grants since 2011 to almost $50,000,” said Mr John Farry, Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Chairman.

Earlier this year, 2013/2014 Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Travelling Scholarship recipient Mr David Neynens travelled to India and Gibraltar. Fellow recipient Miss Rebecca Craw travelled to The Falkland Islands and Nepal. Both have gone on to complete their sixth year studies based in Christchurch, Timaru and Invercargill.

In July 2014, University of Otago Faculty of Medicine 5th year students Natalie Ron, Meaghan Kelly, Clare Ogilvy and Gracie Souter travelled to Gippsland and Kalgoorlie in Australia for the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Monash/Western Australia Exchange.

While travelling, both recipients will document their experiences via blog on the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust’s website www.patfarrytrust.co.nz and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pat-Farry-Rural-Health-Education-Trust/252788761514384?ref=hl .

For further information:

• Information about the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust scholarship programme can be found at http://www.patfarrytrust.co.nz/scholarships/
• For a full list of past recipients see http://www.patfarrytrust.co.nz/recipients/
• Follow blogs by Pat Farry Rural Health Education scholarship and grant recipients here http://www.patfarrytrust.co.nz/category/blog/
• The Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust is a registered charitable trust and donations are tax deductible. Donating to support the Trust’s work is simple. We accept donations via online banking, cheque, direct debit authority or credit card (using Givealittle by the Telecom Foundation). Visit http://www.patfarrytrust.co.nz/donations/
ENDS
Contact:
Simone Flight
Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust
www.PatFarryTrust.co.nz

Tel: 021 1656 218

Background
The annual Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Travelling Scholarship awards up to $10,000.00, which may be divided between two recipients, to students of the University of Otago Faculty of Medicine. The students must travel internationally to a rural situation to observe new concepts, develop their own skills and share their learning when they return.

General Practitioner Dr Pat Farry was a tireless advocate and champion of rural health before he passed away in 2009. He devoted much of his career to advocating and lobbying for improvements and funding for rural medicine as well as mentoring and teaching rural medicine. When he passed away money was donated to in some way, continue his work.

As a result the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust was established in March 2010 to support the sustainability and quality of health services to rural communities. One of the ways in which the Trust does this is by providing scholarships to undergraduate medical students for elective study in innovative and challenging overseas situations.

While the Trust is based in Dr Farry’s hometown of Queenstown and has links to the University of Otago Faculty of Medicine where he taught, the recipients have come from all over New Zealand.

The Trustees expectations are that just as Dr Pat Farry did in his career, scholarship recipients will return and their experiences will contribute to them becoming the next generation of rural health leaders here in New Zealand.
Six of the 17 recipients to date have been awarded the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Travelling Scholarship and the other 11 recipients have benefitted from grants that fund the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Monash/Western Australia Exchange.

All of the Trust’s 17 scholarship and grant recipients to date are or will be graduates of the Rural Medical Immersion Programme established by Dr Farry in 2007. Annually the teaching programme sees up to 20 University of Otago Faculty of Medicine fifth year medical students considering a rural based medical career chosen to be immersed for the academic year in Balclutha, Blenheim, Dannevirke, Greymouth, Masterton and Queenstown. Students learn under the guidance and mentoring of experienced general practitioners, rural hospital generalists and tertiary hospital specialists.

In 2012, 76 RMIP alumni were surveyed as to their experiences and their future intentions for working in a rural environment. Eighty five per cent intended to return to rural communities after completing training and that this outcome had been positively influenced by their experience in the RMIP.