Apply for Indigenous Health Scholarships

Eight Indigenous Health Scholarships worth up to $40,000 are being offered to medical students or RACP Members who identify as being of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Māori or Pacific Islander heritage.

The scholarships provide a funded pathway through either Basic, Advanced, Faculty or Chapter training in Australia and New Zealand. They cover:

• RACP training fees for the duration of either Basic or Advanced, Faculty and Chapter training
• examination fees 
• attendance at RACP Congress each year (return economy airfare, registration, three nights' accommodation) or a relevant Annual Scientific Meeting
• additional assistance in the form of $2,500 cash at beginning of scholarship.

Applications for the scholarship close on 30 November 2018. Full details, and contact information for people who have questions, are online.

“The scholarship removed the significant financial cost associated with the Basic Physician Training examination process and allowed me to make career decisions without this being the limiting factor,” says Dr Will Naughton, a 2016 Indigenous Health Scholarship recipient now undertaking his first year in General Medicine Advanced Training.

“I have had the opportunity to work at Alice Springs Hospital as the Cardiology Registrar for the first six months of this year,” he explains.

“As part of my training approximately one week in four was spent in rural communities providing specialist care to patients from as far as Yuendumu to Kintore to Tennant Creek to Ti Tree with a committed cardiology team.

“The burden of cardiovascular disease in the Indigenous community is enormous and working with the dedicated staff at Alice Springs Hospital was a highlight of my training to date.”

Dr Naughton is now undertaking a rotation in Neurology at a stroke centre in Victoria.

“The unit works tirelessly to provide care for a huge population and has given me the opportunity to hone my skills in Neurology, particularly in management of acute stroke.”

Attending RACP Congress and engaging with the wider physician community was a key benefit of the scholarship, Dr Naughton says.

“It provided excellent networking opportunities [at Congress]. Of particular note were the talks on Maralinga and the British nuclear weapons testing and the lasting effects on the community as a result, and the talk by Gillian Triggs on the Moral Obligations of Physicians.”

In 2019 Dr Naughton is undertaking his first year as an Infectious Diseases Advanced Trainee. He intends to dual train with a combination of General Medicine and Infectious Diseases.

“This a brilliant opportunity. Apply,” he urges potential Indigenous Health Scholarship applicants.