VMC study scholarship to Sweden is advancing Australia’s future doctors

In a once in a lifetime experience, another two University of Western Australian medical students are about to embark on a unique study opportunity thanks to the support of the Virtual Medical Centre (VMC).

In only a few weeks time the 2009 scholoarship winners, Alison Carter and Brittany Knezevic will be taking their first steps on Swedish soil to spend six weeks studying at the renowned oncology department of Lund University.

VMC has been running the competition with UWA since it first started as the Virtual Cancer Centre. VMC sponsors two fifth year MBBS students to do their oncology rotation in Sweden with the aim to foster clinical and cultural exchanges to help develop Australia’s future doctors.

The exchange program was established in 2002 by Professor Håken Olsson (Oncology department – Lund University) and Dr Andrew Dean, Oncologist and Medical Director of Virtual Medical Centre.

The VMC provides funds towards accommodation and airfare without which this experience to study with Sweden’s experts is beyond the reach of many Australian medical students.

Each year entrants are asked to write an essay on a chosen oncology topic. Entries are then judged by academic achievement, shortlisted by the faculty and interviewed by a panel of specialists from the VMC Editorial Advisory Board.

Student Affairs Administrative Officer for UWA’s Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Neil Bryan said the scholarship support provided by VMC to UWA’s medical students was invaluable.

"For many students the costs involved in participating in this exchange would be prohibitive especially as the placement happens during the months of May and June when airfares to Europe are at a premium," he said.

"The scholarship provided by the Virtual Medical Centre means that all applications can be assessed equitably based on academic merit and the students’ own enthusiasm without financial considerations playing a significant part in the decision to accept or decline the award."

The chance to learn from some of the best oncology minds in the world was a big lure for Brittany who had heard wonderful things from a friend and was eager to expand her exposure to this field.

"Oncology is a field of medicine which I have not had much exposure to during my undergraduate degree thus far, so I was keen to study oncology in a world class facility for a more extended period of time," Brittany said.

The Lund facility research spans across a broad area from basic experimental research to applied research, in order to answer questions related to clinical practice, the health sciences and society.

Increasingly, the university’s Faculty of Medicine is contributing to developments in the fields of healthcare by interacting with society and facilitating industrial application of the latest in reserch findings.

The Faculty collaborates with the University Hospitals in Lund and Malmö to create an environment with productive communication between basic research and the healthcare system. One of the products of this collaboration is the Biomedical Centre (BMC), a research and education centre in Lund, as well as the newly established Clinical Research Centre (CRC) in Malmö, which are affiliated with the University Hospitals.

The chance to experience an environment which combines research and clinical work is one element which drew Alison Carter to apply for the scholarship, as well as her developing interest in oncology and the role of genetics.

"I saw this placement as an opportunity to experience medicine in another part of the world, to be taught by some of the world’s leading cancer physicians and scientists and gain an appreciation for the ongoing work that they do," Alison said.

"I also hope to see new treatment options both in use and in development."

Past students who have taken part in the exchange program have gained a great benefit from experiencing not only the study and research facilities, but also effectively working in a different healthcare system to Australia’s.

Aleisha Anderson won a place in the exchange for 2008 and said the experience had been invaluable.

"Our Oncology exchange was a wonderful opportunity to witness Medical practice in a country with a similar level of health care and medical technology to our own," she said.

"Oncology patients at Lund hospital appear to benefit greatly from the integrated approach the Medical team undertakes. We had the chance to be involved in the delivery of numerous treatment modalities, some which are in common use in Perth, others that were less familiar to us."