“There was one young boy who we treated for cerebral malaria.

“After the treatment was finished he remained unresponsive, and as the clinic could no longer provide care for him he was discharged home.

“Two weeks later he returned bright, reactive and with no obvious residual deficit. It was humbling to know the care we provided him likely saved his life.”

Scholarships don’t always help their recipients save lives, but for Flinders University student Annabelle Wood, that is exactly what her Phil Hoffman Travel scholarship has done.

Ms Wood, who is in the fourth year of Doctor of Medicine degree, has recently returned from working in Malawi, where she was able to broaden her knowledge of diseases, improve her clinical skills and assist her understanding of health care delivery in a resource poor nation.

She said the experience had also taught her to appreciate the healthcare system in Australia, and had inspired her to volunteer to help more people in poorer parts of the world.

“Working in a resource poor environment improved my clinical skills and broadened my knowledge base of tropical diseases, but it also gave me a greater appreciation of how lucky we are in Australia to have access to universal health care,” Ms Wood said.

“From the moment we arrived at the clinic there was a line of patients out the door waiting to be seen. On some occasions we couldn’t even stop for meals break because of the overwhelming number of people who needed treating.

“The wards were crowded and many patients were sharing beds or sleeping on the floor.

“Seeing how much need there is has ignited my passion for volunteering and I’m looking forward to the future when I return there to work as a qualified doctor .”

Ms Wood said she had also been humbled by the strength of community spirit she had witnessed in Malawi, which is one of the poorest countries in the world.

“There was such a sense of family and community within the village,” she said. “Groups of women and children would sit on the ground outside of the clinic preparing and sharing food.

“It was not uncommon to discharge one patient and to see more than a dozen relatives, who had come to support them, leave with them.”