Kimarnie Baskerville said she has wanted to be a doctor since the first time she “operated” on her dolls when she was little. 

“I have scoliosis so I grew up around doctors and specialists,” Miss Baskerville said. 

“From the time I was in year six I’ve been exposed to medicine and I just decided one day that I wanted to do what the people who were helping me did,” she said. 

Now enrolled at the University of Wollongong and studying Medical and Health Sciences, the Mudgee local is hoping to continue with her medical journey with a medical internship with Gap Medics in January 2016. 

“I first heard about the program in Year 11 when I attended a University of NSW medical workshop. One of the speakers had just returned from a placement in Tanzania with Gap Medics and told us all what an amazing opportunity the program was,” Kimarnie said. 

“When I was accepted into my course I just decided to go for it.”

Gap Medics is a specialist company dedicated to providing year-round hospital experience placements in Tanzania, Croatia, Poland, and Thailand. 

Programs with the company run between one and eight weeks and give medical students the opportunity to gain insight into the work of doctors, nurses, midwives and dentists before beginning their clinical training. 

During the program Kimarnie said she would be shadowing health professionals as they perform their day-to-day duties within the hospital environment.

“As an aspiring doctor, the experience is the perfect opportunity to gain insight into global health and enhance my understanding of the clinical environment,” she said. 

Miss Baskerville said she was hoping to take part in a two week work placement with doctors in Tanzania and she was hoping the experience would give her a look at what to expect in the coming years as she finished her current course and applied for post graduate studies. 

“The people who I’ve spoken to said as well as shadowing doctors around the hospital I’ll be able to watch surgeries and even help with patients,” she said. 

During her time overseas, Miss Baskerville with join other work placement students in volunteering at a local orphanage to help paint walls and make the place more of a home for the children. 

“I’m really excited about the whole experience,” she said. 

As a first year university student, Kimarnie said she was spending most of her time focusing on her studies. 

“I’m hoping a few members of the local community will help sponsor me on my trip,” she said.