Students interested in rural health have numerous opportunities throughout the year to attend conferences all around Australia. Each has their own unique flavour but all give students the occasion to mingle with like minded students, discuss the broader issues and have a great time doing it.
Outlined below are the more popular conferences. For further information on any of them or to enquire about other conferences that might be of interest, please visit the attendant websites, the NRHSN’s website or e-mail nrhsn@trohpiq.org.
Rural Doctors’ Association of Queensland Conference – click here to visit the website
Run every year on the Queen’s birthday week-end, much to the consternation of 1st and 2nd year medical students, this conference seeks to provide a forum for (unsurprisingly) rural doctors to discuss the issues facing the practice of medicine in their state. As well, workshops are run in the preceeding few days and there is always a student presence to the whole conference.
National Undergraduate Rural Health Conferenec (NURHC) - click here to visit the NRHSN’s website
Once every two years (on the ‘even’ years - 2010, 2012 etc.), all of the rural student health clubs from around Australia get together for a week of workshops, presentations and socialing. Student presentations are rich and varied and the Golden Windmills competition is always eye-opening. It might be best described as a jamboree, perhaps as a sort of Mecca, or as a clambake or a wingding. Whatever the label, get to one of them if you can, you won’t regret it.
Rural Medicine Australia – click here to visit the website
Co-hosted by the Australian College of Rural and Remote medicine and the Rural Doctors’ Association of Australia, this annual event is an excellent way to dip your toes into more advanced skills and to gain an insight into the workings of Australia’s peak rural medical bodies. Student tickets are open to anyone however, students attending in their 3rd or 4th years are likely to get the most out of it.
National Rural Health Conference – click here to visit the website
This conference has the broadest scope of all the rural health conferences in terms of the background of the participants. Health professionals and students, represenatives from all allied health disciplines, nursing, medicine and other stakeholders such as government. To get a global picture of where rural health is at in Australia, this is where you want to be.
