Edwin Packer - Future Graduate
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2026 AMA Queensland Foundation Medical Student Scholarship recipient and 4th year medical student in UQRMP.
Edwin’s choice to study medicine came from a desire to alleviate suffering and help individuals in some of their most dire and vulnerable moments.
“My eye-opening moment came around eleven years old watching a news report on volunteering surgeons and physicians in Syria, who were caring for civilians brutally injured but ignored by the armed conflict and its medical divisions. Seeing how a skillset such as medicine could enable one to work so much good in an often-dark world compelled me to start pursuing this career,” Edwin said.
He completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at The University of Queensland, before embarking on the MD, entering the UQ Rural Medical Program in Toowoomba for his final two clinical years.
Edwin is still exploring what specialty to pursue but is keenly interested in critical care and rural/remote medicine.
He and his wife are both in their final year of the same medical program, and while this has been a great emotional and academic support, they have found it difficult financially, with neither having the support of their parents.
Sadly, Edwin’s mother, who had raised Edwin and his siblings largely alone, passed away during his first year of medical school.
“My mother was a great inspiration and support to me entering medical school. She passed away from metastatic breast cancer during my first year, which greatly impacted my studies and support system,” he said.
Despite this hardship, Edwin has dedicated himself to his medical studies. Up to now, he has been able to supplement Centrelink through working in hospitality roles around placement hours, but the increased frequency and duration of placements in his final year has reduced his availability.
“My job made me redundant whilst undertaking a rural placement away from Toowoomba, leaving me in a financially dire situation. The job market in Toowoomba is limited, and finding a casual role with my restricted availability has proven very difficult,” he said.
“My wife also has casual employment but similarly has been struggling to find shifts that don’t interfere with placement and assessment schedules, many of which we do not know about until shortly beforehand due to clinician availability.”
The scholarship will help with daily living expenses like petrol, food, rent and utilities, buffering them against the rising cost of living in a household where both are studying and without wider financial support.
“This scholarship will be life-altering for me, as I will be able to focus fully on medicine, engaging well with my placements and learning activities, to be a safer, more prepared intern next year and beyond,” he said.
“When I got the call to advise that I had been awarded the scholarship, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders; financial stress had really been affecting my focus, mental health, and time available to study. With my expenses now looked after, my wife and I will both be fully available for placement and vital learning experiences in the lead-up to intern year.”
Read more about our 2026 recipients here.
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