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Health on the Road: Navigating Rural Communities in Tasman and Marlborough – A Rural School Visit reflection.

One van, six health care students and 1,496 kilometres travelled through Tasman and Marlborough - what could possibly go wrong? Turns out one COVID case sending our seventh member into isolation and one lost room key was all the adversity we faced on this trip. Incredible planning by the Hauora Taiwhenua team and a lovely group of students made our biggest issue deciding what to have for dinner. This reflection will look at the five days we spent on the road travelling to rural communities of the Nelson region and the highs and lows of our experiences.

Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Student Research Scholarship winners announced

Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network is pleased to announce the winners of the three Rural Student Research Scholarships for the 2023/24 year. Two of the Scholarships were to support health students to support a 12-week elective/studentship, and/or research placement within a rural community of the student’s choice. A BNZ Rural Development scholarship was also available to any year two and above Medical Student for the same period. Read below for the three recipients for the 2023/24 year, with a summary of the research that they each will be undertaking below.

Bridging Communities: Empowering the Future of Rural Healthcare

Earlier this year, Beth Hines, 3rd year AUT Paramedicine Student, volunteered for Hauora Taiwhenua’s Rural Health Careers Promotion programme. Beth's passion for rural healthcare was ignited during her attendance at the Rural Health Interprofessional Programme in Greymouth. Today, she is employed as a paramedic intern with Hato Hone St John, a direct outcome of her active participation in these initiatives and the meaningful relationships she cultivated.

Reflection of Kaikohe Rural School Visits

It is safe to say that our five-day journey through schools and medical practices across the Northland region has etched profound impressions upon us, as we reflect on our drive to contribute to the enhancement of rural healthcare in our respective fields in the near future. Our week began with a three-hour drive up to Springbank school in Kerikeri, with three sessions including almost 100 students that day. From early on we were left impressed by their health knowledge (which we considered to be advanced at a high-school level) and their willingness to participate and learn.

Rural New Zealand Needs You!

While many students were trying to find somewhere warm over the mid-semester break, a fellow Nursing student and I joined student health professionals from Otago University and Victoria University on a trek around Taranaki to promote health careers in rural schools. With a severe rural General Practitioner (GP) shortage making it almost impossible to find a GP who’ll take on new patients, one waits a month to see a GP if you’re lucky enough to have one, and half of the GPs that are seeing patients are planning to retire in over next five years the often-over-used phrase “crisis” is an understatement. It’s not just rural GPs. At one rural hospital we visited, the dentist visited once a fortnight, despite a large waiting list of people needing urgent care. Walking through an empty dental unit, all set up to see patients was eerie and demonstrated the dire need for health professionals in rural areas.

A Year of the Rural Health Careers Promotion Programme 

2022 has been a fruitful year for the Rural Health Careers Promotion Programme. The programme is part of the answer to the rural health workforce crisis, and by promoting rural health careers to students all over rural Aotearoa we have seen a real growth in interest in those careers.

2022 has been a fruitful year for the Rural Health Careers Promotion Programme. The programme is part of the answer to the rural health workforce crisis, and by promoting rural health careers to students all over rural Aotearoa we have seen a real growth in interest in those careers. In fact, 45.2% of secondary students surveyed said that the programme had encouraged them to pursue a health career.

When we consider the number of schools visited, 94 schools in 15 regions and three noho marae experiences, the reach of the programme has been great and the impact it has made on students valuable.

Tertiary students studying 20 different health disciplines over 11 different tertiary institutions engaged with rural secondary students, as well as visiting over 20 rural medical practices. With more than 300 tertiary students applying for the opportunity to take part in the Rural Health Careers Promotion Programme, it’s clear to see the value the programme offers tertiary medical students, who not only want to give back to their own rural communities but are also keen to look at the rural towns they could work for after graduation.

Looking to 2023, we are excited to continue the work of promoting rural health careers and inspiring future generations of rural health professionals.