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Each year, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) President’s Prize is awarded to two budding medical students who are passionate about a career in rural generalism.

The 2021 recipients of this award are Laura Beaumont and Tia Gordon who were hand selected by ACRRM President, Dr Sarah Chalmers, from a large pool of impressive applicants.

Dr Chalmers says, “it’s a difficult task to pick only two winners from the large number of excellent applications submitted by our next generation of Rural Generalists.” 

“The understanding and acknowledgement of rural generalism as a profession has come such a long way so far, and with the aspirations of this generation, it’s encouraging to see the future of rural and remote healthcare is in excellent hands,” says Dr Chalmers.

Laura is a third-year medical student at Western Sydney University and, besides clinical medicine, is passionate about promoting rural health and wishes to become involved in advocating for the needs of small country communities. Growing up in a small town herself, Laura’s goal is to return to a similar environment, equipped with the medical skills necessary to help take care of the community. 

“Through my studies, the rurally-practising doctors that I have encountered truly embody what I believe it means to be a ‘good doctor,’ and I am extremely grateful to ACRRM for this opportunity, taking me one step closer to realising my own career in rural medicine,” says Laura. 

Tia is a Ghungalu/Bidjara woman from Queensland and a final year medical student at Flinders University in Darwin. Tia moved to the Northern Territory to study medicine because she is passionate about Indigenous health and rural medicine. 

“My main career goal is to experience as many varied rural and remote regions as possible, from Aboriginal communities around Australia to the Antarctic territories,” Tia says.

Upon accepting this award Tia explained, "I feel very honoured to receive the ACRRM President's Prize, winning this award at the conference for rural generalism really reaffirms my excitement for my future career pathway.”