Enabling female medical students from rural areas

^{Dr Rosalind Terry (left) and Jacqueline Nguyen Khuong (scholarship recipient). Photo by Bec Walton}

“Nobody in my family had studied medicine. In fact, nobody had ever been to university. When I expressed interest in becoming a doctor in Year 12, my father took me aside and said, nobody in the family’s been to university and a girl isn’t going to be the first. Full stop!

It took me years to realise my ambition. When I won a Commonwealth Scholarship, despite my father’s misgivings, I studied biochemistry and microbiology at the University, thinking that if I ever got a chance to get into medicine, that would be the best background.

After years of working as a medical scientist, I was accepted into medicine at Melbourne as an older student.

But I had to work throughout my training. For five years I worked nights and weekends at the Royal Melbourne to support myself – I literally didn’t do anything else.

After qualification I became the first female surgical registrar at St Vincent’s in Sydney. My medical career eventually took me to the United States, Papua New Guinea and Norfolk Island. Everywhere I worked – in cities and remote locations – I saw the need for quality medical care.

I know from my own experience how challenging it can be for women in medicine. And how much harder and more expensive it is for people who live in rural areas to go to university.

There are so many families out there who just don’t have the capacity to give their children this advantage.

By leaving a gift in my Will to support female medical students from rural locations, I just hope to help someone from the next generation along.  I’m so grateful for my degree, and happy to give back a bit.”