Bridging the gap with rural New Zealand
OPINION: One thing I keep hearing from rural New Zealanders is the importance of relationships. Strong relationships don’t just happen - they take trust, consistency, and time.
The scholarships range from $2,500 to $5,000 and were awarded to assist students from rural backgrounds continue their study in healthcare.
The scholarships come from a funding pool of $90,000 provided to Rural Women New Zealand by Te Whatu Ora.
The students receiving the scholarships are studying a range of specialities from medicine, nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, pharmacy, Māori nursing and applied counselling.
“We know access to health care within rural communities, or being supported to access care when required, are key issues for rural communities. To improve access and rural health outcomes we need to invest in growing the rural health workforce,” says Doocey.
“I would like to congratulate the 27 students who have received scholarships and wish them all the best in their future studies and hope that they have a long and fulfilling career in healthcare,” he adds.
Rural Women New Zealand chief executive Marie Fitzpatrick says there was a “huge level of interest” in the scholarships.
“It can be extremely difficult to undertake study from a rural community and anything we can do to make study a little bit easier is great,” Fitzgerald says.
“While these scholarships cannot solve some of the challenges of travel and studying away from family and whanau, it is our hope they can help alleviate some of the students’ financial challenges,” she says.
“We know New Zealand faces a significant shortage of health professionals in our rural towns and regional communities, so it is great to see recipients studying in a broad range of fields including in the areas of medicine, nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, physiotherapy and counselling.”
Dr Sarah Clarke, national clinical director primary and community care at Te Whatu Ora says she congratulates the successful applicants and wants to recognise their hard work and commitment to their studies.
“Addressing the rural health workforce shortage is a priority for Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and we are committed to improving health outcomes for our rural communities,” Clarke says.
“I look forward to seeing these scholarship recipients joining our rural health workforce over the coming years as they complete their studies.”
