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 on Tuesday, 25 March 2025.

2024 Winners

Congratulations to our 2024 finalists and winner.

Lewis Weeda | 2024 winner
Western Australia (University of Western Australia)
How climate change degrades child health: A systematic review and meta-analysis (PDF)

Lewis is a doctor at Royal Perth Hospital who has an interest in environmental health and, specifically, how climate change can influence child health. He has been working at the University of Western Australia and the Future Child Health research team at the Telethon Kids Institute since 2021. He believes an understanding of the determinants of health should inform clinical practice and policy to improve the long-term health of all people. His latest work is on the quantification of child health outcomes due to climate change. This work has foregrounded the need for more population-specific geospatial studies across Australia, which the Future Child Health team are currently working on.

Nhung Tran | 2024 finalist
New South Wales (University of New South Wales)
Barriers to cervical screening in the Australian Indigenous community  (PDF)

Wai Chung Tse | 2024 finalist
Victoria (Monash University)
Does naloxone provision lead to increased substance use? A systematic review to assess if there is evidence of a ‘moral hazard’ associated with naloxone supply (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 2025 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 for Awards and Prizes valued up to $5000 before applying.

When applying for the Scholarship, you'll need to provide the following supporting documentation:

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 text-based 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

Download application form (DOC)

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 2025, 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