Study Tour Testimonials

Nerellie Richards - Postgraduate Diploma in International Health student

"As my first overseas experience, I don't think I could have picked better than the Health Sciences Asia Study Tour. This gave me a firsthand insight into life, both rural and urban in three very different countries. I really enjoyed meeting the local people most of all. Everyone was very welcoming and put a lot of effort into making our visit fruitful.

All tour participants got along very well with those who were seasoned travellers giving tips to us greenhorns who were finding the humidity quite a lot to bear! Durian fruit was a real experience...and Kota Kinabalu National Park a very welcome green oasis away from the heat and humidity.

The local tour directors were a hoot, passing on tips on local culture to help us blend in just that little bit better. I was very interested to see how public health matters were handled in different countries and was particularly impressed with the rural clinics and their organisation.

I couldn't resist a little shopping while away and have some very nice mementos from my tour. I would highly recommend this tour to any students who wish to gain an international experience in a group setting."

Ilse Blignault - BSC(Hons), MClinPsych, PhD

In a word, it was "excellent". Even better than I expected and, as a widely-travelled, mature-aged post-graduate student, I had reasonably high expectations.

In particular I enjoyed:

  • The contrast between the three countries visited - their society and their health system

  • The contrast between urban and rural

  • The opportunity to speak to and question policy makers at the national and state levels as well as local health service providers and project managers

  • The briefings on the political and economic context provided at the Australian embassies in Manilla and Bangkok

  • The balance between "work" and "rest and recreation" - I think it was just right.

I felt that each of the three main themes - maternal and child health, environmental health and HIV/AIDS - received due attention. In addition, in all three countries I was able to pursue, to some degree, my own special area of interest - mental health.

Overall, I was impressed by the achievements, inspite of continuing challenges, in the areas of health promotion and prevention and the implementation and monitoring of community-based services. There is much that we in Australia, where health resources are still largely directed towards hosptials and acute care could learn. The emphasis on patient self-mnagement, exemplified in the universal use of maternal and child health records in Sarawak, is something else we could emulate.

I know I will be able to apply many of the lessons in my own work as a health service manger in the area of primary mental health care. To actually see that other ways of doing things are possible and, in certain circumstances, may even be better is an invaluable experience. It would be wonderful if all health students were able to have this opportunity.

If I had to identify those aspects of the tour that I found most useful, they would be:

  • The visit to the WHO WPRO in Manila

  • The comprehensive briefing on public health services in Kuching

  • The video "Sacrifice" and Mark Ritchie's briefing and debreifing in Chaing Mai

Three weeks was a good length. It was a pity that the planned visits in Sabah fell through. In future tours, you might want to consider a briefing on/by AusAid, focussing on health and social projects.