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Indigenous Scholarship - Recipients thank AMA

Article from AMA Rounds of 14 December 2018

Two recent recipients of the AMA Indigenous Medical Scholarship have written to the AMA, outlining how the Scholarship has helped them.

The 2016 recipient, Dr Darren Hartnett, officially completed his studies at the University of Newcastle on 7 December, and will start as a Junior Medical Officer in the Hunter New England Local Health District on 21 January, 2019.

Dr Hartnett, a mature-age student with a young family, said the $10,000 a year Scholarship had made a huge difference to his life.

“Previous to the Scholarship, my usual routine was to attend university Monday to Friday, then work Friday and Saturday night shifts as a registered nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at the Newcastle Mater Hospital,” he wrote.

“This left me with one day to spend time with my family, and catch up on any extra reading. The Scholarship enabled me to scale back work, spend more time studying, but it also allowed me to spend extra time with my boys.”

The 2017 recipient, James Chapman, has just finished his first clinical year of medicine, and was able to relocate from Wollongong to Wagga Wagga with the support of the scholarship.

In 2019, as part of his fourth year, he will complete a 30-week independent learning project on Indigenous foetal-maternal outcomes in Wagga Wagga.

“Medicine is a challenging experience and, sometimes, a little daunting and overwhelming,” Mr Chapman wrote.

“Being a recipient of the AMA Indigenous Medical Scholarship is a constant source of motivation and an opportunity I am and will always be grateful for.”

Donations to the AMA Indigenous Medical Scholarship are tax-deductible.

You can read their letters in full here.

https://ama.com.au/ausmed/thank-you-letters-recipients-ama-indigenous-medical-scholarship