Cadet and final year medical student, Ellie Gundry tells RDN why she will never “not” be a cadet

RDN, on behalf of the NSW Ministry of Health, offers Rural Resident Medical Officer Cadetships for students interested in undertaking a medical career in rural NSW.

Cadet and final year medical student, Ellie Gundry tells RDN why she will never “not” be a cadet and how it’s offered her more than just professional and financial support, it’s given her a community.

When Ellie Gundry became a Cadet after successfully applying for a Rural Resident Medical Officer Cadetship with RDN, she says she gained a “like-minded community and a sense of belonging” that she was missing from home.

“I don’t think I’ll ever ‘not’ be a Cadet now,” Ellie said.

Growing up by the ocean on the Central Coast of NSW, Ellie says the importance of getting amongst, and advocating for, her community was instilled in her from a young age by her mum, whom she fondly remembers volunteering on the BBQ every Sunday while she and her brother attended Nippers.

With her mum working as a nurse at Gosford Hospital, it wasn’t until she studied an undergraduate degree in health science specialising in health policy, that Ellie developed an interest in health, specifically rural health. As Ellie describes, “it was the first time I learnt that there was more to life than the beach.”

Ellie’s now in her final year of Medicine at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra and it’s the striking similarities between her coastal upbringing and the community spirit fostered in country towns, that has her excited about the future!

Ellie took part in a six-week placement at Tennant Creek and her eyes were opened to what rural communities really had to offer.

“It was incredible, a whole different world of medicine, a great big eye-opener to culturally safe care,” Ellie said.

During her first year studying Medicine, Ellie took part in RDN’s ‘Go Rural’ Road Trip to Wagga Wagga. “I absolutely loved it!” Ellie exclaimed. “Everyone was so motivated, and the communities were so welcoming to a bus full of strangers. By the end of the trip, everyone on the bus was good friends.”

Ellie admits she held some preconceived notions about what rural life could offer before she experienced it first-hand.

“I literally thought country people wore flannelette shirts and there would be dust balls rolling past red and unpaved roads - I had no clue,” Ellie vulnerably admitted.

“The trip really opened my eyes. I found my place and I saw paved roads, roundabouts, green grass and I don’t even think I saw one flannelette shirt!” Ellie laughed.

During the trip, Ellie overheard a number of students talking excitedly about applying for an RDN Cadetship and their career plans, with several guest speakers also former Cadets.

“The way they spoke about being a Cadet was so positive – they were Cadets for life,” Ellie said.

Ellie said she marked the application date down on her calendar but decided she wanted more rural exposure first, so applied for a Bush Bursary Scholarship and travelled to Tamworth.

“I had no expectations of what I could offer the community. I had an eager mindset and, beyond the placement, I ended up teaching swimming lessons, helped a swim instructor to implement a nipper program and I still have contacts there,” she said.

“If you go to these towns, you’re not just stuck in a hospital, you become part of the community,” she said.

With her rural and regional exposure only further cementing her desire to apply for a Cadetship, Ellie applied and was successful. Ellie says that when she became a cadet, she joined a community.

“The Cadetship offered me a like-minded community, a sense of belonging, and the community that I was missing from home. I joined a really proud group of people who all shared a passion for rural medicine and we were able to tap into a trustworthy network of people who shared the same passion.”

Ellie said she’s benefitted greatly from the Cadetship and has appreciated all the opportunities given to her, including meeting senior GPs and specialists at RDN Conferences.

“To learn and see how they’ve integrated rural medicine into their life, it was such an invaluable experience,” Ellie said.

Reflecting on the rural communities she’s visited as part of her Cadetship, Ellie emphasised how valued she felt.

“You belong and you have a role in the community,” Ellie said. “No matter your status or your background, people value you and you’re not just your job. I’m not just the anaesthetist, I’m Ellie, who’s also an anaesthetist, and I’m also Ellie who’s on the sporting team.”

Long-term, Ellie says that her dream is to become an anaesthetist or surgeon.

“My dream is to be a specialist with a pink clinic, where everything is pink and I have pink cups of tea with everyone,” Ellie said.

But for now, her immediate goal is to get through her upcoming exams.

“Right now, I’m still on the beach having a good time, but there are different waves crashing in - a giant tsunami,” Ellie laughs as she alludes to the multitude of exams she has coming up.

And, in exciting news, Ellie’s experience finding her new community as a cadet has even inspired her family to follow in her footsteps.

Ellie’s mum is now studying to be a nurse Practitioner and is looking to go rural, and her brother has just moved to Canberra also.

“Mum’s studying to be a nurse practitioner and has done a lot of work in regional hospitals. It all links back to the Sunday nippers and community. Mum has seen that she can get that again by going rural.”

APPLICATIONS OPEN

Applications are NOW OPEN for RDN’s Rural Resident Medical Officer Cadetships and the Rural Resident Medical Officer Cadetships for Indigenous Medical Students.

RDN, on behalf of NSW Health, is offering 48 cadetships to medical students interested in undertaking a medical career in rural NSW.

Successful applicants receive:

• Up to $15,000 per year in the final two years of their medical degree and agree to undertake two of the first three years of their hospital training in an eligible rural NSW hospital in return
• A relocation grant when moving to a rural location
• Ongoing mentoring and support through RDN
• Subsidised attendance at RDN conferences and the annual RDN cadet weekend trips.
   

Applications close 9am August 5 2024. For details on eligibility and to apply, see here.