16 FEBRUARY 2016
APPLICATIONS CLOSING THIS WEEK FOR NMS 2016 ASIA-PACIFIC SCHOLARSHIP

Applications close this Friday 19 February for the ‘quality use of medicines’ scholarship which allows a health academic, health worker or policy maker from the Asia-Pacific region to travel to Australia to attend the National Medicines Symposium (NMS) 2016 in Canberra, Australia in May.

The ninth biennial NMS has the theme ‘Making wise decisions about medicines, tests and technologies: co-designing policy, practice and priorities’. 

The Asia-Pacific scholarship provides flights, accommodation and complementary registration to NMS 2016 to someone with an interest in quality use of medicines or rational drug use, who will also be invited to present their work at the symposium.

NPS MedicineWise spokesperson and chair of the NMS Program Committee Dr Robyn Lindner says this is the fifth time a scholarship has been offered to someone from the region to attend NMS.

“Our 2014 scholarship winner, Irene Farinas—a medical officer at the Department of Health in the Philippines—shared insights with delegates at NMS 2014 about empowering stakeholders with knowledge and skills in quality use of medicines and the wider medicines management cycle. She also presented a study identifying challenges faced by government health facilities accessed frequently by poorer members of the community,” says Dr Lindner.

“We hope the 2016 Asia-Pacific scholarship will provide an opportunity for someone who otherwise would not have been able to attend NMS 2016 to join us in Canberra to share their experience and knowledge about quality use of medicines in their country for us all to learn from what else is happening in our region.”

To find out more about eligible countries of residence, and to access the application form and more information on how to apply, visit www.nps.org.au/nms2016