Jemma is a final year medical student from the University of Melbourne who has worked hard to promote rural medical careers to her peers – particularly the 1400-strong medical student cohort at her university. With a father who worked as a bush nurse, and a childhood spent in numerous rural locations, it was nearly inevitable that Jemma would embark on a career in rural health…but there was a detour along the way!

Of Punjabi-Sikh heritage, Mandeep was raised on her immigrant family’s vineyard in the remote NSW town of Hillston – nearly 700 kilometres from Sydney. After undertaking her initial medical studies in India – her family’s country of origin – she returned to Australia to train as a junior doctor at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, before moving to Sydney to commence Basic Physician Training at St Vincent’s Hospital. While her passion is cardiology, Mandeep is equally passionate about pursuing a career in Rural Generalism and returning to country Australia to live and work. The road to Rural Medicine has been an exciting one for her, detouring not only via India but also past what could have been a career in viticulture…had it not been for some timely advice from her mum!

Kate Hurst is a final year medical student at the University of Notre Dame’s Rural Clinical School in her home town of Wagga Wagga, NSW. A born and bred country girl, she’s been a strong advocate for initiatives to encourage and assist more rural high school students to consider Medicine and other healthcare fields for their future careers - and in her own backyard, the Riverina region, she's put this into action.