Some Rhodes lead to Oxford

A COMMUNITY-minded Western Clinical School graduate is bound for Oxford University in the UK after being awarded a Rhodes scholarship.

Dr Jenny Tran, who graduated last month from the Sunshine-based school with a bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery, is one of only nine students selected from Australia.

Dr Tran will travel to Oxford next year to study for a master of science degree in global health sciences at the university’s department of public health.

Western Clinical School director of medical education Associate Professor Stephen Lew said Dr Tran was destined to make a difference to the communities she served.

“Dr Tran has worked tirelessly while she has been with us and her dedication and sense of purpose are an example for us all,” he said.

She has been a director of student-run clinic REACH (Realising Education and Access in Collaborative Health), treating patients from disadvantaged areas of Melbourne’s west.

Dr Tran’s achievement was recognised with an afternoon tea with the Governor, Alex Chernov, last week.

Associate Professor Lew said 2012 had been a great year all round for the Western Clinical School. It had 47 graduates who were the highest academic performers among the University of Melbourne’s six clinical schools.