Profiles And Contributions To This Article

The impact of interpersonal relationships on rural doctors’ clinical courage

qualifications: FACRRM

contribution: Study conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting of manuscript, Critical revision

position: PhD, Professor and Director

Australia

Prof Ian Couper

qualifications: MFamMed, FCFP(SA)

contribution: Study conception and design, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting of manuscript, Critical revision

position: Professor and Director

South Africa

Professor Ian Couper is Director of the Ukwanda Centre for Rural Health and Professor of Rural Health at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. A trained family physician, he spent nine years practising in a remote rural hospital in northern KwaZuluNatal province, and then 16 years working in primary care and health service development in rural North West province. He held the first chair of rural health at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). He has chaired both the Rural Doctors Association of Southern Africa (RuDASA) and the Wonca Working Party on Rural Practice (WONCA Rural).

Prof Ruth Stewart

qualifications: FACRRM, DRANZCOG adv

contribution: Study conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data, Critical revision

position: Adjunct Professor

Australia

Role and profile Associate Professor Ruth Stewart MBBS (Uni Melb 1985), FACRRM, DRANZCOG Dr Ruth Stewart is the Director of Rural Clinical Training and Support, Associate Professor of Rural Medicine at James Cook University School of Medicine, Australia. She works clinically at Mareeba Hospital in far north Queensland as a Senior Medical Officer, is a Director of Rural Generalist Training with the Queensland Rural Generalist Program and is a member of the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service board. Ruth worked for twenty-two years as a procedural GP in South West Victoria, Australia. And between 2008 and 2012 she worked with Deakin University where she developed and implemented the Integrated Model of Medical Education in Rural Settings (Deakin IMMERSe) for Deakin University. In December 2013 Ruth was awarded a PhD by Flinders University Faculty of Health Sciences for her thesis "Lessons from the development of a maternity managed clinical network in a low Volume rural context" Teaching Responsibilities Associate Professor Stewart is the academic lead for the Rural Internship rotation at James Cook University College of Medicine and oversees all rural placements at JCU. She is also course director for the Masters of Rural and Remote Medicine post-graduate course at JCU Research Interests Ruth's research interests are rural maternity care and policy, rural health service and rural medical education.