Rural Health West

16/02/2026

2 WEEKS TO GO!

Final Call for Entries: $3,500 Prize Pool Up for Grabs as Live and Work Rural Competition Closes 1 March 2026

The Live and Work Rural Video Competition invites final-year students completing a rural placement in Western Australia, and health professionals currently living and working in rural WA (MMM 2–7), to share their story.

Participants are encouraged to create a short video showcasing what makes living and working in rural Western Australia unique, rewarding and inspiring , from career opportunities to community connection and lifestyle.

With a $3,500 prize pool on offer, the competition celebrates the people strengthening our rural health workforce.

The competition is proudly supported by the RACGP, reflecting a shared commitment to promoting and growing rural health across Western Australia.

Winners will be announced at the WA Rural Health Conference on Sunday, 15 March 2026.

For full details and entry information, visit:
https://ruralhealthwest.com.au/live-and-work-in-rural-wa-competition-2/

13/02/2026

If you are a health professional working in rural and remote Western Australia, the Health Workforce Scholarship Program has grants and bursaries available to help you extend your skills and knowledge.

Funding is available for doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, Aboriginal health practitioners and workers, and allied health professionals for training and education that will help improve the health of Western Australian people.

Applications are open from 9 February until 24 May 2026.

For further information please contact Rural Health West on 6389 4500 or hwsp@ruralhealthwest.com.au.

13/02/2026

The WA Rural Health Long Service Awards is underway. Thank you to all the recipients along with their friends and family who were able to be here tonight.

12/02/2026

More than two hundred medical students from Curtin University and Notre Dame University will be coming to the Wheatbelt from Tuesday 10 to Friday 13 March 2026.

This rural immersion program is a life-changing experience for students, with the aim of inspiring them to pursue careers in rural Western Australia.

As a host, we will ask you to provide accommodation and meals for two or three students, to assist with transporting them to/ from town, and share what it is like to live in your town with the students.

The students will visit the following towns: Brookton, Corrigin, Kondinin, Kulin, and Southern Cross.

If you live in or near one of the towns listed above and can host students, please contact Rural Health West: T 08 6389 4500 E futureworkforce@ruralhealthwest.com.au.

11/02/2026

Health Team of the Year
On behalf of Rural Health West and Country Health Service we’re proud to recognise the Health Team of the Year category, generously sponsored by CRANAplus

CRANAplus is a grassroots, not-for-profit, membership-based organisation that was founded in 1983. It provides services, support and opportunities to nurses, midwives and other health professionals to ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality primary healthcare to remote and isolated areas of Australia.
CRANAplus delivers educational courses contextualised to the remote and isolated setting to upskill the remote health workforce. Its Bush Support Line provides free, confidential, 24-hour telephone support to members of this workforce and their families.
CRANAplus also serves its membership by representing the workforce and advocating for change within the remote health sector, providing scholarships and grants, facilitating remote health employment, and providing career support and advice.
~ ~ ~
Congratulations to our finalists
⭐ Juniper Guwardi Ngadu
⭐ South West Aboriginal Medical Service – Child Health Team
⭐ WA Country Health Service, South West – Older Person Complex Care Team

Thank you to CRANAplus for supporting the 2026 WA Rural Health Excellence Awards.

For more information on the 2026 WA Rural Health Excellence Awards please visit: www.waruralhealthexcellenceawards.com.au

10/02/2026

In this episode, we hear how about recent development in the literature surrounding Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) from Rowan and Phoebe of the Complex Care team at Western Kids Health. Rowan is the Head of the Complex Care team and also a Senior Physiotherapist at Western Kids Health and Phoebe works as a Clinical Psychologist for the Complex Care team.

You will hear:
• FND in the context of Western Australia (specifically in rural and remote areas)
• Recent developments in the literature of FND and where to find associated literature
• The prevalence of FND amongst different demographics and different stressors that can influence FND development
• How to effectively discuss FND to ensure patients have an thorough understanding of the disorder and how to navigate the variety of ways that FND can present both physically and mentally.

You can listen here: https://on.soundcloud.com/cqEZ2ZqGKfWv5cD6hF

09/02/2026

Dr Ella Forkin’s journey back to Kalgoorlie is a beautiful example of the impact rural training and pathways can have, not just on individual careers, but on entire communities.

For Dr Ella Forkin, returning to Kalgoorlie has been more than a career move – it’s been a chance to reconnect and give back to the community that shaped her.

As a Resident Medical Officer in the Paediatrics Unit at Kalgoorlie Health Campus, Ella has worked alongside the clinicians who looked after her as a baby, cared for newborns of old school friends, and helped local kids through key health and development milestones.

Read more: bit.ly/4pdUjh6

07/02/2026

FIFO GP opportunity in the Kimberley

Looking for meaningful work, incredible landscapes, and a roster that actually gives you time off? This well-established Aboriginal Medical Service is seeking General Practitioners to join its team in the Kutjungka region - Balgo, Billiluna and Mulan.

FIFO role: 4 weeks on / 8 weeks off
Live in a modern, furnished unit in Balgo Community
Return flights to your preferred destination anywhere in Australia
Permanent opportunity

You’ll be part of a highly respected Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service with more than 30 years of experience delivering high-quality, culturally safe primary health care across the Kimberley.

Who should apply?
FRACGP or FACRRM
Specialist registration with Ahpra
Experienced GPs and recently qualified GPs welcome
No previous remote or Aboriginal health experience required as strong support and mentoring provided.

What’s on offer:
Competitive base salary circa $307,595 p.a. (pro rata)
Superannuation and a range of great benefits
A rare chance to combine career impact with genuine work–life balance

Location: Broome / Kutjungka region
Apply now and take your GP career somewhere truly extraordinary - https://ruralhealthwest.com.au/vacancies/general-practitioners/?id=2649

06/02/2026

Emergency medicine… but make it epic.

Imagine this:
By day, you’re navigating emergency medical scenarios deep in the gorges of Karijini National Park - red rock cliffs, Pilbara blue skies, and zero hospital walls in sight.

By night, you’re swapping stories under a sky full of stars with fellow rural and remote clinicians ✨

Rural & Remote Retrieval Weekend
7–10 May 2026
Karijini National Park, WA

This immersive weekend is all about real-world emergency care in remote settings with limited resources, high-stakes decision-making, teamwork, leadership, and learning that actually sticks.

Open to rural and remote health professionals with an interest in emergency or acute care. Led by experienced emergency physicians and GPs who truly get remote practice.

If you’ve ever wanted to sharpen your skills in one of Australia’s most spectacular landscapes - this is it.

Find out more here: https://ruralhealthwest.eventsair.com/2026-rural-and-remote-retrieval-weekend

06/02/2026

What a proud, full-circle moment 🧡

Huge congratulations to Dr Arkayla McPhee, who has officially graduated from medicine at Curtin University. Arkayla has been supported by a Rural Health West scholarship throughout her medical degree, and seeing her cross the finish line is incredibly special for our team.

When we first awarded Arkayla her scholarship, she told us how much it meant to be able to ease the pressure of juggling work and study.

“Since being awarded the scholarship I’ve really been able to dedicate and test myself and make it through my first year of medicine successfully,” Arkayla told us at the time.

The support allowed her to cut back work hours, invest in study tools, and focus fully on learning – something that can make all the difference in a demanding degree like medicine.

Arkayla’s motivation has always been clear. Drawing on her experience working at Kimberley Renal Services in Broome before starting medicine, she spoke about discovering her passion for health and being confronted with the inequities facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

She told us her goal was “to be an advocate for people in my community — and be someone other young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can look up to.”

We certainly think she is achieving that.

Arkayla knows plans develop her clinical skills before returning to work in rural and remote settings, with a particular interest in Aboriginal health – exactly the kind of future our scholarship was designed to support.

Our Deputy CEO Kelli Porter was proud to attend the graduation ceremony this week and to celebrate Arkayla’s achievement in person. It was also incredibly powerful to see two other Aboriginal students graduate as doctors – a milestone that matters for representation, culturally safe care, and the future of health outcomes across WA.

The journey into medicine can be long, expensive and demanding and we have been honoured to make the journey that bit easier for Arkayla.

Congratulations Arkayla – we are so proud of you, and can’t wait to see the impact you’ll make 🌟

https://www.curtin.edu.au/news/media-release/curtin-delivers-three-aboriginal-doctors-from-country-to-clinic/

05/02/2026

Rural health students, this is your sign!

Rural Health West is offering sponsored registrations for a limited number of med students, allied health students and junior doctors to attend the WA Rural Health Conference 2026

Theme: Future-Proofing Rural Health: Innovation, Equity & Resilience
Date: 14–15 March 2026
Location: Crown Perth

Big ideas, inspiring speakers, great connections, minus the rego fee.
Applications close COB Monday 16 February 2026.

Apply here: https://ruralhealthwest.com.au/financial-support/students

04/02/2026

Calling all GPs.

Don’t miss your chance to win a Haigh’s Chocolate Hamper!
If you haven’t done so already, complete your Rural Health West Annual GP survey, either online or via the paper copy that has been sent to you.

Your feedback and insights help make a difference.

If you have any questions, please contact our Database Team on database@ruralhealthwest.com.au.