Visionary leader, highly respected teacher, healer, mentor, tireless advocate and champion of Rural Health, Dr Pat Farry was unmatched in his efforts and contribution to Rural Medicine and General Practice education. His vision of sustainable and quality health services for rural communities and small towns of New Zealand was through education. He devoted much of his career to advocating and lobbying for improvements and funding for rural medicine. The Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust was established in March 2010, with the purpose of continuing this legacy. › Continue reading…
Cameron Toogood has been announced as the 2019/2020 recipient of the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Travelling Scholarship by Sue Farry on behalf of the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust’s trustees.
The scholarship is worth $5,000 and will assist Cameron with costs associated with undertaking trainee intern electives in innovative and challenging overseas situations next year. Cameron will be travelling to Colombo, Sri Lanka and Darwin, Australia. › Continue reading…
The Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust has announced application details for its Travelling Scholarship for 2019/20. The annual Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust Travelling Scholarship awards up to $5,000.00 to one recipient. The scholarship aims to assist a medical student to travel internationally to a rural situation to observe new concepts, develop their own skills and share their learning with other students when they return.
My time in Guatamala is coming to an end now; my Spanish has improved, I have become part of the local football team and my days at the medical centre have been varied and very different from New Zealand.
Each day brings something new. Most days I take consultations, examine the patient and provide basic treatment where necessary.
I am living in Boloncó, a small village in the Alta Verapaz region. This region is known to be the poorest, and also the most dangerous region in Guatemala. The latter I have not experienced as of yet. The people here are beautiful; they are welcoming and kind. The closest town is Fray Bartalomé de las Casas, a 50 minute drive along a bumpy ‘road’. The area has a tropical rainforest climate and much of its economy has been built on the cultivation of palm oil. Much to my excitement, it is also well known for cacao and coffee plantations.
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My first impression of Guatemala was a good one. It is a beautiful country; it is mountainous, with terraced hills, numerous looming volcanoes, and diverse forests. Traffic is busy and chaotic, people are everywhere and food stalls; notably fruit, line the roadside. Churches stand tall in every town, Catholicism being the main religion here. And of course, a town is not complete without a football field, even if it does consist of a dirt patch with makeshift goals at times. I was looking forward to getting out the small football I carry with me everywhere when I travel. › Continue reading…