03 Nov 2009 09:00 PM
Innovative Rural Student Named Medical Student Of The Year 2009
A passion for promoting the benefits of rural practice to other health students has seen rural NSW medical
student, Shannon Nott, receive the Westpac RDAA Medical Student of the Year Award for 2009.
The fourth year medical student from the University of New South Wales received the prestigious award at the Rural Doctors Association of Australia's and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine's Rural Medicine Australia 2009 conference, held in Melbourne over the weekend.
Shannon received his award in large part for his significant efforts in establishing an innovative annual Rural Appreciation Weekend (RAW) for university health-stream students, which has been held on his family property at Dunedoo, 325 kilometres northwest of Sydney, since 2007.
The weekends have been Shannon's inventive way of introducing health students from all sectors of the profession to country life and, in doing so, inspiring them to take the next step towards a rural health career. Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) President, Dr Nola Maxfield, said Shannon deserved high praise for his initiative and motivation to help solve the huge problem of attracting and retaining doctors and other health professionals in the bush.
"We know that providing early, positive rural experiences are a critical way of encouraging medical students and other health students to work in rural and remote areas after graduation, where they are desperately needed" Dr Maxfield said. "Shannon has come up with a great way of doing just that.
"In the first year of RAW, Shannon invested his own money into making the weekend a success-and the investment has paid off. Since then, it has grown from involving 35 people from two university rural health clubs to this year attracting over 100 people from rural health clubs across Australia.
"Students stay on Shannon's family property, are given a tour of the farm by Shannon's father and brother, meet the local community at social events, take part in Indigenous cultural awareness sessions, listen to talks on rural health, get involved in team-building exercises and even meet a snake handler and watch sheepdog trials…
The fourth year medical student from the University of New South Wales received the prestigious award at the Rural Doctors Association of Australia's and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine's Rural Medicine Australia 2009 conference, held in Melbourne over the weekend.
Shannon received his award in large part for his significant efforts in establishing an innovative annual Rural Appreciation Weekend (RAW) for university health-stream students, which has been held on his family property at Dunedoo, 325 kilometres northwest of Sydney, since 2007.
The weekends have been Shannon's inventive way of introducing health students from all sectors of the profession to country life and, in doing so, inspiring them to take the next step towards a rural health career. Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) President, Dr Nola Maxfield, said Shannon deserved high praise for his initiative and motivation to help solve the huge problem of attracting and retaining doctors and other health professionals in the bush.
"We know that providing early, positive rural experiences are a critical way of encouraging medical students and other health students to work in rural and remote areas after graduation, where they are desperately needed" Dr Maxfield said. "Shannon has come up with a great way of doing just that.
"In the first year of RAW, Shannon invested his own money into making the weekend a success-and the investment has paid off. Since then, it has grown from involving 35 people from two university rural health clubs to this year attracting over 100 people from rural health clubs across Australia.
"Students stay on Shannon's family property, are given a tour of the farm by Shannon's father and brother, meet the local community at social events, take part in Indigenous cultural awareness sessions, listen to talks on rural health, get involved in team-building exercises and even meet a snake handler and watch sheepdog trials…
