By Melissa Blewitt

Eleven medical students from across Australia are the recipients of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) Medical Student Bursary, that will support them in undertaking immersive clinical placements of up to a full year in rural or remote communities, including Lake Cargelligo.
The inaugural Bursary provides each student with $1,000 to make their placement more affordable and accessible. The Bursary can cover things like their fuel and travel costs, rental accommodation, clinical wear, meals, textbook and even childcare.
Ebony Higson, a third year Charles Sturt University medical student, will visit Lake Cargelligo for four weeks across July to October.
She comes to Medicine after working for over nine years as a paramedic in rural and remote NSW, including in remote towns like Walgett and Brewarrina. She is continuing to work as a paramedic while undertaking her medical studies.
Ebony is among approximately 220 medical students applied for the inaugural Bursary, demonstrating the strong interest from medical students in undertaking longer-term rural and remote placements, and the growing popularity of careers in Rural Medicine.
“We are delighted to be partnering with the RACGP to offer this important Bursary to help medical students undertake longer-term clinical placements in rural and remote locations, and have been thrilled with just how awesome they tell us their placements have been so far.” RDAA President, Dr Sarah Chalmers, said.
“Longer placements enable them to truly experience the wide range of presentations we see in rural and remote practice – in primary care, at the local hospital and in other care settings – while also embedding themselves in the local community, and getting to see how rewarding it can be to work and live in a rural or remote community.”
RACGP Rural Chair, Associate Professor Michael Clements, explained; “Often a big limiting factor in a medical student being able to attend a longer-term rural or remote placement is the cost of getting there and staying there. In an era when more people are going back to uni to study Medicine in their 20s, 30s and 40s, it can also be about giving up that part-time work while you’re on placement, as well as affording childcare in your placement location.”
“The evidence shows medical students who take rural placements are far more likely to work in rural communities in their career. These bursaries are a valuable investment in our future rural medical workforce. We’re excited to follow these students on their rural placement journeys and see the impact they’ll make in communities across Australia.”