A physician for all

A public health medicine physician is concerned with the health and care of populations. They train in both clinical medicine and public health, opening pathways in to:

• the health and care of populations
• health promotion
• prevention of disease and illness
• assessment of a community's health needs
• provision of health services to communities and smaller population groups
• public health research

The Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (AFPHM) John Snow Scholarship aims to increase the awareness among medical students to help them identify public health medicine as a medical specialty or potential career path.

The AFPHM, as the principal faculty for public health medicine training in Australasia, looks to provide medical students the opportunities for intellectual and social discourse with AFPHM Fellows and trainees.

Representatives from across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand will be invited to present virtually at the finals in March/April 2024.

2023 Winners

Congratulations to our 2023 finalists and winner.

Sara Suk-Udom | 2023 John Snow Scholarship winner
Western Australia (University of Western Australia)
Improving syphilis outcomes in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations (PDF)

Sara is a junior doctor at Royal Perth Hospital in Western Australia. She was born in Thailand and moved between countries growing up before settling in Australia. At university, she pursued undergraduate studies in Finance and Medical Sciences before completing a Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health, with her thesis focussing on improving engagement with early childhood support services among vulnerable families. She maintains a broad interest in healthcare that includes physician work as well as public health, research, and health technology initiatives, and hopes to combine these fields in her future career. In her spare time, Sara can be found reading, hiking, and taking photos.

Jessica Aw | 2023 finalist
Australian Capital Territory (Australian National University)
Who smokes in Australia? Reducing stigma and informing tobacco control through population profiling (PDF)

Kimberley McAuley | 2023 finalist
Aotearoa New Zealand (University of Otago)
Clinical practice improvement project: an audit of non-accidental, unexplained injuries and sexual assault for young people within the Te Whatu Ora Southern region (previously Southern District Health Board) (PDF)

Bella Zhong | 2023 finalist
Victoria (Monash University)
Factors that promote resilience in vulnerable communities exposed to natural hazards (PDF)

Eligibility

You must be a medical student currently enrolled in a medical school at an Australian or Aotearoa New Zealand university.

Prize

All non-winning finalists receive:

• $250 cash prize
• a certificate in recognition of your achievement

The John Snow Scholarship 2024 winner receives:

• $500 cash prize
• a certificate in recognition of your achievement
• reimbursement of up to $1000 to attend an event or conference organised by one of the following organisations:
• Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) / Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (AFPHM)
• Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA)
• New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine (NZCPHM)

Why apply?

Watch testimonials from previous John Snow Scholarship participants.

Application guidelines

Applicants must read the terms and conditions before applying.

When applying for the Scholarship, you'll need to provide the following supporting documentation (in a single PDF file):

1. A piece of work previously submitted for formative or summative assessment to your medical school.
   
   The piece can also be a public health project in the form of a case history, reflection, evidence-based medicine project or clinical audit from your professional portfolio.
   
   Note: The piece is not assessed as part of the application but is required to ensure that the Scholarship is accessible to all medical students and not only those who have completed extracurricular public health study or work.
2. A reflection piece (800 to 1000 words) demonstrating your understanding of one to two selected learning objectives from the Public Health Medicine Advanced Training Curriculum (PDF)
that you gained by undertaking a medical school assessment piece. You need to show:
1. a clear connection between the piece of work and the reflection
2. what you learned about the selected learning objectives by undertaking the piece of work and how you learned this
3. A presentation plan (500 words maximum) describing how you would present the assessment piece and the reflection if chosen as a scholarship recipient.
4. A letter of support from the University (DOC) confirming that you're currently enrolled as a student and that the piece of work you are presenting has been submitted for formative or summative assessment. The letter should be signed by the Dean of the Medical School.
5. A completed application form.

Email your complete application to Foundation@racp.edu.au

Selection process

1. Applications are de-identified and assessed based on the selection criteria and marking guide.


2. Each review panel will select a regional finalist and all applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application.
   
   The review panels reserve the right not to nominate a regional finalist if all submissions fail to meet a sufficiently high standard.


3. The selected representatives from each Australian state and territory and Aotearoa New Zealand will be invited to present virtually at the finals in 2024, where the presentations will be judged by a panel, and an overall winner selected.

Related content

Frequently asked questions
Terms and conditions
Hear from past recipients
History of John Snow and the Scholarship