2024 Winner: Young Alumnus Award (Griffith Health)
Bachelor of Medical Science, Class of 2017
Doctor of Medicine, Class of 2021
2024 Overall winner
Dr Kathryn Woodward has dedicated her career to helping others. As a doctor and a Rhodes Scholar, she is currently pursuing her doctorate in Primary Health Care at Oxford University. Her research aims to explore the experiences of health services among refugee populations in regional Queensland. Kathryn is also Deputy Chair of the Board at Canteen Australia, Australia's leading youth cancer charity.
Throughout her career, Kathryn has also shown exceptional commitment to serving rural and remote communities. “As a Griffith University medical student, I elected to complete most of my clinical training in rural and remote areas of Australia, living and working in towns across the Darling Downs and Scenic Rim,” she explains.
“This was atypical as most of my peers elected to compete for coveted training places in large urban teaching hospitals; however, I had the opportunity to spend an extended period becoming a part of a regional community and delivering care to those most in need.”
During her rural clinical placements, Kathryn valued the opportunity to work in partnership with the communities near her clinical training sites, undertaking health promotion and research projects.
“These experiences highlighted for me the significance of the challenge of maldistribution of healthcare access across rural and remote Australia, particularly for Australia’s First Peoples and other marginalised communities,” Kathryn says.
“My time as a Griffith medical student in these rural areas directly led to my decision to return to regional Queensland to work as a doctor. Even from Oxford, I used these experiences to shape my current research into the experiences of healthcare among rurally resettled refugees.”
Kathryn has had many outstanding achievements in her career, but she still considers her high school graduation her greatest achievement. When she was in Year 10, Kathryn was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and had to drop out of school to undergo treatment.
“My treatment forced me to prioritise my health and place my studies on pause,” she says. “For so long, my high school graduation seemed unachievable.”
Her senior year of high school took three years to complete, in between treatments.
“I still recall chipping away at Shakespeare essays in hospital rooms and watching my peers graduate while I sat in a specially designed isolation area to protect my immune system.”
Despite the challenges, Kathryn successfully graduated and achieved entry into one of the most competitive pathways into medical school in Australia.
In 2016, she began her Bachelor of Medical Science at Griffith University, graduating at the top of her class. This academic success continued in the postgraduate Doctor of Medicine (MD) program in which she received the prestigious University Medal for her overall performance, as well as the Humanitarian Award and External Service Prize.
Kathryn's academic achievements, however, are only part of her story. She has demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities throughout her academic career and beyond. Perhaps motivated by her life-changing health challenges which she had to overcome as a teenager, Kathryn has dedicated a good part of her time, effort, and energy as a young adult in the service of community organisations such as Canteen Australia, a national non-profit supporting young people living with cancer.
Kathryn commenced as a Youth Ambassador at Canteen, and in a space of three years became the Deputy Chair of the Board and Non-Executive Director, with responsibility for leadership and strategic governance for overall performance and compliance.
Kathryn has held leadership and volunteer roles with groups including the Australian Medical Students’ Association, Children’s Health Queensland, Consumer Health Forum of Australia, and Youth Cancer Services.
As a Rhodes Scholar, Kathryn completed a Master of Applied Digital Health graduating with a Distinction and is currently undertaking her Doctor of Philosophy in Primary Health Care at the prestigious Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at Oxford University. Her research aims to explore the intersection of rural health and refugee health to improve our understanding of the needs and experiences of refugees and their healthcare providers.
Kathryn hopes to return to Queensland to continue her work as a physician, researcher, and healthcare leader who is engaged in planning and advocating for improving healthcare access and services for underserved Queensland communities.
“As a doctor researching rural and refugee health, I am driven by the pursuit of knowledge to support and uplift underserved communities and progress our shift towards more patient-orientated health systems,” Kathryn says. “Witnessing the resilience and courage of these marginalised communities fuels my commitment to improving healthcare access and outcomes, ensuring they receive the quality healthcare they deserve.”
“Having seen firsthand the persisting rural/urban health divide in Australia, the hope that my work can contribute to a more equitable and compassionate world keeps me striving for excellence every day.”
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