RANZCOG International Fellowship program

A collaboration with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO)

The International Fellowship program offers a one-week intensive experience at an Australian hospital for early-career O&G specialists and advanced trainees from countries of the Asia-Pacific. 

The program enhances professional and personal development by giving participants new clinical insights and experiences. The program provides opportunities for interaction with other Fellows and senior colleagues in the host country, and guided immersion in the local health system.

Participants will develop their professional networks and connections, to ensure a continuing legacy of engagement and collaboration as they develop their careers.

Successful applicants are also offered complimentary registration to attend the RANZCOG Annual Scientific Meeting.

This program is supported by the Australian Government and implemented by RANZCOG.

Eligibility

The program is open to O&G specialists and advanced trainees in the Asia-Pacific region.

Number of scholarships

Varies dependent on funding; in 2022, 30 places were offered.


Apply

Applications for the 2022 program have closed.

Successful applicants have been offered a place in the face-to-face Fellowship Program hosted by RANZCOG in 2022, and are offered complimentary attendance to the RANZCOG 2022 ASM, held on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, from 10-12 October 2022.


Meet our participants

Dr Erika Hernandez

Dr Erika Hernandez and family

Meet Erika Hernandez: Erika is 33 and lives in the Philippines.  

She has been a specialist for five years, looks after a wide range of women and sees a wide range of both obstetric and gynaecological issues in her practice.  

Drawn to O&G training by the joy of being part of delivering a child into the world, Erika balances her work life with baking and singing, when she is not working 24-36 hour shifts in a busy hospital in Manila. 

Erika is looking forward to gaining more experience and exposure to O&G practices and procedures when she participates in the RANZCOG International Fellowship program in October 2022.

Dr Fahmida Joty

Fahmida is 41 and has been a practising O&G specialist for 13 years in Bangladesh.  

Fahmida was drawn to the specialty by the joy and fantastic emotions of seeing women as they become mothers.  

In her practice area in Dhaka, Fahmida and her colleagues look after around 10,000 women, often women with high risk pregnancies and important post-natal care for mothers.  

Fahmida hopes that after participating in the RANZCOG International Fellowship program, she will be able to take new skills back to her colleagues in Bangladesh to continue to improve the lives of women and babies.  

Dr Mairini Rokovunisei

Meet Mairini! 

Mairini is 39 and has been a specialist for three years, living and working in Suva, Fiji.

Drawn to the O&G speciality by the diversity in practice and patients (from teenage years to menopause), Mairini believes that the training she has received as a specialist makes a huge difference to the lives of both mother and baby, and as a result makes it an engaging and exciting specialty to be a part of.  

Dr Wen Hao Wong

Dr Wen Hao Wong

Meet Wen Hao! 

Wen Hao is 33 and has been a specialist for three years, and lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  

Wen Hao looks after around 700 women a year through clinics, surgery and ward rounds: days generally conclude with a training session with his trainees.  

Wen Hao loves working in O&G as he can help caring for women from preconception to postpartum, and the feeling of watching this process he considers amazing.  

Wen Hao is hoping that as part of the International Fellowship program, he will be able to become a more mature and confident clinician, and the skills he learns will result in better care for the women in his community. 

When not at work, Wen Hao enjoys cycling and spending time with his family.   

Dr Zolboo Batsuuri

Dr Zolboo Batsuuri

Meet Zolboo Batsuuri! 

Zolboo is 34 and works and lives in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.

Zolboo has spent the past few years as part of a seven-person team of junior O&Gs looking after all pregnant women in Mongolia who were infected with COVID-19. Taking care of 100 pregnant women with COVID-19 as part of this team is no small task for a specialist of three years!

Zolboo believes training and working as an O&G is more than a job: it’s a calling. She says delivering a baby is one of the greatest joys you can experience, and considers it an honour to assist a woman in feeling that joy.

Whilst she is in Australia, Zolboo hopes she can learn more on gynaecological endoscopic surgery in order to assist her and her colleagues in Mongolia to continue to deliver high-quality, cutting-edge services to women back home.

Dr Yi Pei Goh

Meet Yi Pei Goh! 

Yi Pei is 37 years old and lives and works in Malaysia, where he has been a specialist for three years. Drawn to the profession from a young age, his training in O&G was inspired by helping others to deliver babies, and women’s health is his passion.

With a daily theatre schedule and labour ward, Yi Pei has always got something on. He looks after more than 2,500 patients a year in a city of three million people. He also enjoys educating medical students at the busy O&G clinic.

Yi Pei has a passion for teaching: as well as medical students locally, he also works as an Adjunct Lecturer for Monash University. By teaching, Yi Pei is also constantly learning by passing on knowledge to the next generation of specialists and at the same time keeping up to date with the latest in evidence-based guidelines.

Outside of work, Yi Pei enjoys reading and exercise, to keep balanced.

After participating in the RANZCOG IFP, Yi Pei is keen to take the latest experience and knowledge of Australian hospitals and RANZCOG Fellows back to Malaysia, and to encourage more women to come forward for essential healthcare.

Dr Neha Tandon

Meet Neha Tandon!

Neha is 36 years old and has been a specialist for nine years. Living in New Dehli, Neha never has a dull moment: with two outpatient clinics each week (each with 70 women a clinic), and 30 patients admitted every day to her department, she’s always on the go!

Neha and her colleagues look after 6,000-7,000 women each year in their department, and her day-to-day duties also include morning lectures for undergraduate students and daily ward rounds, as well as bedside teaching for postgraduate students.

Neha was drawn to medicine as a child and during her undergraduate degree found that O&G was her calling. Wanting to help women in her society was a great motivation for her.

Outside of work, Neha enjoys travelling and exploring new cities, as well as listening to music and shopping.

Neha hope that by participating in the RANZCOG IFP, she can take back new skills for herself, her colleagues and her community in diagnostic pathways and testing.

Dr Tshering Tamang

Meet Tshering Tamang!

Tshering is 41 years old and lives in Bhutan; he has been a specialist for four years. Drawn to the speciality to care for women and their babies, he describes his days as “fun-filled and hectic”. Tshering and his colleagues look after about 5,000 women each year in their hospital system, and out of work with sport.

Tshering hopes that his time in the RANZCOG IFP will help with learning new updates to the O&G practice he can take back to Bhutan to improve the lives of women in his care, and to share his new knowledge with colleagues.


Contact

For further information please contact the Global Health Unit coordinator:

Email: globalhealth@ranzcog.edu.au
Phone: 61+ 3 9412 2926

Updated
3 July 2023