Help us find the next generation of Physics, Science and Engineering Healthcare Leaders
The Better Healthcare Technology Foundation
Proposed facilitation and travel exchange scholarship – 2022 and beyond
At the Better Healthcare Technology Foundation our vision is to help
‘…drive the the pace of research in physics, engineering and other sciences for better healthcare technology, with the aim of making medical practice more effective for patients and more economical for the healthcare system. We seek to promote tomorrow’s techniques today ; – to engender higher quality and safer healthcare for as many patients receiving treatment as possible.’
We are seeking your support to help us find, assist and encourage the next generation of healthcare leaders to help us achieve this vision!
Introducing our scholarship for: Next Generation Healthcare Leaders
Who is the scholarship for?
The scholarship would be open to:
- practising Australian or New Zealand health practitioners working in clinical physics, science or engineering fields in medicine; and
- candidates who show leadership qualities in research and development, bringing new innovative medical technologies or techniques for the betterment of patient care.
What does it involve?
The proposed scholarship would fund the costs of the recipient candidate to travel to and work within either an international or national Centre of Excellence research unit for a sufficient time period to bolster their clinical and research knowledge in their specialist field.  The scholarship would require the recipient to bring back advanced skills and refined collaborative ideas-sharing experiences to their Australian or New Zealand professional environment to share their learnings and apply their knowledge.
How would it work?
Centres of Excellence institutions suitable for this scholarship as host organisations can be sighted by the applicant or identified by the Scholarship Committee. The candidate can then approach the Centre to apply to go there and be hosted with justifications as guided in the scholarship application. Applications would be assessed based on the potential for the candidate to gain further professional knowledge and experience with new medical techniques and methods via high level research investigations at the Centre, and then to disseminate these knowledge gains with academia, industry and community groups upon their scholarship term completion.
Scholarship aims
The scholarship is designed to foster our next generation medical science leaders here in Australia and New Zealand. The scholarship would be designed to attract candidates who show leadership qualities in research and development, adaptability, as well as skills in driving innovation and solutions-focused medical techniques. We would wish the successful candidate to also be committed to sharing their knowledge; and applying their post-scholarship work for the betterment of patient care and the broader community.
Why Support the Foundation’s ‘Next Generation Healthcare Leaders’ project?
Our Past Track-Record
Our Foundation medical physicists, engineers and other scientists working in medicine have made significant contributions to healthcare for more than fifty years. The website section Pioneers and Archives describes this early period.
Recent examples where the Foundation has supported knowledge-sharing of research advances have included:
- better medical imaging techniques (ultrasound, CT scans, MRI and nuclear imaging).
- innovative biomedical engineering in rehabilitation medicine, orthopaedic surgery, cardiac pacemakers, neurophysiological signal analysis, the bionic ear, etc; and
- significant improvements in the delivery of radiotherapy, brachytherapy and linear accelerator treatments with computer controls and imaging accessories.
The Better Healthcare Technology Foundation wishes to continue this fine record with this scholarship initiative.
Major Donor/Partner Appeal
Click here to discover the many benefits of partnering with us on this exciting new scholarship initiative
As a corporate partner and/or major sponsor of this scholarship you are able to:
• exercise naming rights and ongoing ownership equity in the proposed scholarship, working alongside the Foundation as a major partner
• negotiate with the Foundation in designing specific scholarship terms, award value, facilitation, areas of speciality, 3rd party associations and program fulfilment
• access scholarship award winners and Foundation resources for specific agreed donor promotion and support activities associated with the scholarship program
• directly participate as part of the Scholarship Management Panel; - in application assessment, candidate sourcing and scholarship award decision-making.
•enable the development of talented future leaders working on innovations and new-horizon medical science developments that compliments your own R &D programs. (included potential negotiated joint patent rights)
• nurture and enhance productive relationships between your organisation and linked hospitals, universities, business and the medical industries associated with the scholarship recipient’s field of endeavour.
2022 – a new medical science leadership scholarship for the next decade
There’s no doubt that we are on the verge of a new era of mathematical, physical and engineering methods deployed in medicine.
The Foundation believes that establishing a leadership scholarship of this nature is an important step today to help foster tomorrow’s next generation of healthcare leaders. We will be relying on then to help us cope with the many future challenges and innovations in healthcare.
Professional context of this scholarship
Healthcare Technology – a small but vital link in today’s healthcare delivery system – but one poised to play a stronger role in the future.
Why we should support and encourage medical scientists and engineers working in our health system. Click for more.......
Operational context
For a population of approximately 24 million, Australian Healthcare employs more than 1 million people. Australia enjoys high-quality patient care for a cost of $170 billion annually. New Zealand quality of healthcare is a similar standard for their population of 4.7 million people.
The number of general nurses, medical specialists and general practitioners registered in the Australian Health System, totalled 471,168 with approximately 450 (0.1%) providing critical medical physics, physical sciences, biomedical engineering and radiopharmaceutical science services for healthcare. Their major work area is in the radiation imaging, radiation therapy, clinical instrumentation and operation theatres.
Critical healthcare responsibilities
Despite the limited number, these healthcare professional experts underpin the services by ensuring medical equipment and procedures under their responsibility are accurate and safe. Regular quality assurance and scientific collaboration with medical specialists, surgeons and technical staff, are essential in maintaining safe patient care.
In addition, the profession provides the technical and scientific connection between the medical companies and hospitals to maintain, upgrade and improve equipment and techniques of healthcare technology. It’s a vital collaboration link between the medical suppliers and the hospital user for eradicating unsafe designs or methods and for the creation of new, innovative and safer healthcare modes of operation.
The need for ongoing innovation and upskilling
Our practising health professionals, working at the patient coalface, must continue to upgrade their scientific skills to be a key contributor in future improved healthcare technology and methods of patient treatment. It’s a very worthy investment to support.
An insight into this expected future role of these health professionals is briefly described at Healthcare Research Activities and  Articles: Research and Development
Our scholarship will encourage exploration of some exciting new horizons in healthcare technology.
Some of the new areas already identified for these scholarships are:
- Adaptive radiotherapy;
- Artificial intelligence (many specialties);
- Biomarkers (surgery and imaging);
- Data driven healthcare; (clinical surveys and administrator decision making);
- Image resolution and fusion (surgery, radiotherapy, cardiology and diagnostic imaging);
- 3D printing (rehabilitation surgery, cancer radiotherapy);
- Targeted radiation therapies (radiopharmacy and cyclotron technology, metastic cancer therapy);
- Tumour tracking (radiotherapy)
Your support will help……
If you would like to be involved in supporting future researchers and clinicians develop the breakthroughs and further technological advances in these fields – with the end goal of delivering a better and safer healthcare experience for the whole community, then become a donor supporter of our scholarships for Next Generation Healthcare Leaders!
Any donation you may be able to give to help us establish and maintain this scholarship will:
- be an investment in achieving a better future healthcare system driven by tomorrow’s technology today;
- enable us to strengthen ties with international major medical centres and universities;
- help provide long-term reliable funding that will attract and support the best available scholarship applicants; and
- support initiatives that can have real impact in seeking better healthcare for the benefit of our patients and their communities
Support our cause
Better Healthcare Technology Foundation is a financially independent non-government organisation with strong partnership ties to National and International healthcare organisations. The Foundation needs your support.
Help us achieve the Foundation’s mission by investing in future young professional leaders who will continue the good work providing better quality, safer healthcare services with improved cure rates for patients.
