This Friday local medical students will swap their scrubs for mortar boards as they graduate with a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Queensland Rural Clinical School.
Graduating student Oliver Wightman has enjoyed living and studying in Bundaberg and experiencing the inclusiveness of the community.
Oliver has studied for the past two years through the UQRCS and said the hospital environment gave him the opportunity to be incredibly hands-on and involved in the care of patients.
“Growing up in Brisbane all my life, I would have never come to Bundaberg were it not for the opportunity presented by the rural clinical school,” Oliver said.
“Now I've spent two formative years here, I know I'd be able to really happily train or build a long-term career in a town like Bundy.
“Apart from the obvious benefits of living 10 minutes from the beach and five minutes from the hospital, the community in Bundy made the experience worthwhile.
“It helped us get a sense of how smaller, more connected communities can have a huge benefit for your social wellbeing.”
Director of UQRCS, Associate Professor Riitta Partanen said that the common themes among rural clinical school students was that spending time living and studying in a regional area had given them a deep appreciation of the challenges in regional medicine.
She said it had even inspired many to pursue careers in regional, rural and remote locations.
“This year marked 20 years of the UQRCS, and we celebrate our 1,638 graduates who have studied with us for at least one year, over the past 20 years, in one of our four locations of Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Rockhampton and Toowoomba,” Associate Professor Partanen said.
“Congratulations to our graduating students; you should be incredibly proud of your efforts, and we know that collectively you will go on to impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
“We are immensely proud to be part of the start of your journey into medicine.”
For further information on studying medicine in Wide Bay, please visit rcs.medicine.uq.edu.au.
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Well done all of you