Optom student joins RHIP

August 5, 2019 Susanne Bradley

For the first time, a part five optometry student, Sushmita Chinchankar, participated in the University’s Rural Health Interprofessional Programme (RHIP) hosted in Whakatāne earlier this year.

Based in Whakatāne, the RHIP was designed to help address and fill health shortages in the regions by placing students in rural practices and hospitals. Previously focused on doctors, including trainee ophthalmologists, the programme is now open to optometry students, offering them an opportunity to gain and apply valuable insight and awareness surrounding cultural factors and healthcare.

Professor Steven Dakin, head of SOVS, said while the optometry degree has always had a large inter-disciplinary element, being part of the faculty of medical and health sciences has extended this further through participation in interprofessional education programmes.

“When I visited Whakatane for the RHIP Completion Ceremony I was struck by the students’ increased awareness of the barriers New Zealand’s rural population face in accessing health services. There is no substitute for direct experience of the inequity in healthcare this leads to and it was obvious that it had a profound impact on many of the students. In training a generation of optometrists who can better help manage the eye health of all New Zealanders, this is exactly the perspective we seek to promote in our graduates.”

Sushmita Chinchankar completed the five-week rural health programme in February 2019 and said she found the experience life-changing. “It gave me a better insight into the love, passion and care that everyone displayed towards their rural community.”

Hosted by Visique Whakatāne, Chinchankar shadowed optometrist owners Ian Finch and Michael White for three days a week, serving different demographics across all ages. “Being in a rural environment, the scope of practice is wider and involves greater responsibility, time management, patient interaction and optometrist involvement. It gave me the opportunity to serve the public and the confidence to deal with different situations at various levels.”

The programme culminated in students designing their own Māori health strategy for the community, which was presented in front of a wide panel including Prof Dakin. “I am delighted Sushmita made the most of this opportunity and she was an excellent ambassador for SOVS,” he said.

Chinchankar strongly recommends others apply. “The programme gives you an insight into rural health care that is difficult to achieve in urban conditions and the experience helps expose and decide which career path suits you in your future as an optometrist. It’s also a well-organised programme with amazing mentors, free student accommodation and access to the hospital library and gym.”

The RHIP is a five-week rural initiative for students across the healthcare sector. RHIP students live together in student houses while participating in the programme and their clinical placement. The programme provides an opportunity for students to meet other health professionals, experience rural optometry practice and learn about the barriers many New Zealanders face in accessing eye health care. The programme aims to improve the recruitment and retention of health professionals in rural New Zealand and commenced in 2013, originally with only three health disciplines represented. Since its inception, it has expanded to include optometry and eight other health disciplines.