The skies may very well be the limit for three University of Tasmania medical students, who recently completed rural placements with the Royal Flying Doctor Service assisted by a Commercial Travellers Association (CTA) Student Scholarship.
Fourth year medicine students Ashleigh Gibson, Dariel Roper and Hannah Nichol were recipients of the Commercial Travellers Association (CTA) Student Scholarship, which assists Tasmanian medical students with the costs associated with their 4th year elective placement, in a rural or remote area of Australia.
Thanks to the scholarship Hannah Nichol was able to complete her placement with the RFDS Western Operation in WA, spending two weeks both at the Jandakot base in Perth and in Broome.
“It was a fantastic experience,” she said.
“I was able to see the entire patient retrieval process from the initial phone call referral through to delivering the patient to the receiving hospital, and I flew on everything from routine inter-hospital transfers to primary and neonatal retrievals.
Ms Nichol said it was also encouraging to see how many women worked for the RFDS.
“I have caught the ‘flying bug’ and would love to be back in the air with the RFDS one day.”
Dariel Roper said while she knew she was lucky to undertake an RFDS placement from Port Augusta base in South Australia, she didn’t expect the experience of a lifetime that was ahead of her.
“I was able to visit some of the most rural places in Australia and had the opportunity to meet some incredibly tough people, see unique medicine and experience the breathtaking desert scenery,” she said.
“One of the highlights of the trip was the opportunity to visit remote Aboriginal communities and meet some of their remarkable people, from respected elders to cheeky toddlers.
“I was also able to assist with a blood transfusion on a very sick patient at 20,000 feet, bat away flies for minor surgery in a motel room and chat to patients about their lives in remote Australia - It was truly unforgettable.”
The CTA Student Scholarship program was established in 2016 to provide scholarships for 4th year University of Tasmania medical students who are either from a rural and remote area and/or have expressed an interest in working in rural and remote areas.
The scholarship provides 4,000 to each recipient to fund travel and expenses incurred as part of the clinical placement.
Image: RFDS, L-R Dariel Roper, Hannah Nichol and Ashleigh Gibson.
