• Two Charles Sturt University rural medical graduates have been recognised with a national body’s ‘Student of the Year’ state awards

Two graduating Charles Sturt University medical students have been acknowledged as ‘Medical Students of the Year’ for New South Wales and Victoria.

Ms Chloe Campbell and Ms Heidi Annand are soon-to-graduate fifth-year students in the Bachelor of Clinical Science (Medicine) / Doctor of Medicine in the Charles Sturt School of Rural Medicine.

The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) awarded ‘Medical Student of the Year’ for each state at its recent annual conference awards night in Perth.

Ms Campbell gained her recent clinical experience at the Riverina Rural Clinical School and was named as the 2025 ‘Medical Student of the Year for NSW’.

Ms Annand received her clinical experience at the Mallee Rural Clinical School in Swan Hill in north-western Victoria and was named as the 2025 ‘Medical student of the Year for Victoria’.

Dean of the Charles Sturt School of Rural Medicine Professor Lesley Forster said it was a proud moment for the award winners and all the students and staff of the School.

“It is a huge achievement for the Charles Sturt University School of Rural Medicine to have two graduates from the very first cohort acknowledged as leaders by the ACRRM and I congratulate Chloe and Heidi,” Professor Forster.

“This award recognises the students’ connection and commitment to training in rural and remote locations, and their strong focus on becoming a Rural Generalist.”

Ms Campbell is a nurse and founder of the not-for-profit ‘Boots to Scrubs’, the Rural Women In Medicine Scholarship providing more than $60,000 in scholarships and mentoring for rural women in medicine. Upon completing her studies, she is determined to return to rural practice.

“As a girl from a small town who never thought she would even be accepted into medicine, I feel very privileged to win NSW Medical Student of the Year,” Ms Campbell said.

“It is a huge testament to the work that ‘Boots to Scrubs’ has achieved in such a short time.

“To stand alongside Heidi as winners both from Charles Sturt University is a great honour and we are very proud to represent what our year has achieved as the first graduating cohort in the School of Rural Medicine.”

Ms Annand comes from Bathurst and gained clinical experience at the Mallee Rural Clinical School with combined clinical placements in Swan Hill, Deniliquin, Melbourne and Karnataka, India, with a strong leadership record.

She has served on the National Rural Health Student Network, founded her university’s medical society and edits its student newsletter, and will begin her professional career in Albury-Wodonga in the new year.

Ms Annand said receiving the award is an affirmation that she’s on the right track.

“I hope that I can continue to promote health access equity as well as late career changes to health, particularly in the local footprints where I’ve trained and will start my career,” she said.

“Studying medicine in rural Australia has been nothing short of amazing and I’m impressed everyday by my peers who have taken on the challenge of not only becoming doctors, but of being the first Charles Sturt School of Rural Medicine graduates.”