Geraldton doctors Pippin Holmes and Andrew Nguyen have been announced as the 2024 Newnham Fellows.

Established in 1987, the Dr Arthur and Mary Newnham Fellowship supports clinical education and positive public health outcomes in the communities where rural doctors live and work. The Rural Clinical School of WA (RCSWA) coordinates the Fellowship program each year. 

Dr Holmes and Dr Nguyen will undertake The University of Western Australia’s Graduate Certificate in Health Professions Education online course part-time with a Masters Degree in their sights.  

Rural GP and RCSWA co-lead medical coordinator Dr Holmes said she was drawn to the medical education field during her junior doctor years but had never seen it role-modelled or advertised as a career path as a medical student. 

“As I now actively pursue this career path, I would like to elevate the status and visibility of this exciting, rewarding, fun and challenging discipline. I encourage my colleagues and the next generation of doctors to share my passion for being a skilled and informed medical educator,” she said. 

Dr Nguyen, a public health registrar, research fellow and lecturer based at the WA Centre for Rural Health (WACRH), has long held a passion for teaching and providing care in rural areas, including as an infectious diseases physician. 

“The graduate certificate will not only deepen my understanding of learning theories but also refine my clinical teaching methodologies and qualitative research skills. I also hope it will allow me to complete a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy through my professional portfolio,” he said. 

In his spare time, Dr Nguyen also helps coordinate the WACRH Student Health Academy to introduce high school students to medical and allied health professions, and teaches RCSWA penultimate medical students. 

The RCSWA team congratulates Dr Holmes and Dr Nguyen on their achievements and wishes them well for their studies. 

The late GP Dr Arthur Newnham and his wife Mary were passionate about supporting doctors in rural areas. Their children, Dr Ian Newnham, Ms Helen Newnham, Professor John Newnham and Mrs Jill Morgan, are helping to realise their parents’ vision through the Fellowship.