Registration for Converge 2023 open to health professionals and students

Augusta University is once again part of the third annual Converge International Rural Health Symposium. The virtual symposium is hosted by the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy and is in partnership with the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University located in Scotland, as well as the NHS Education for Scotland.

The event will be held Nov. 8-9 and will focus on the understanding of rural health challenges and seeking opportunities to foster collaboration.

The symposium will feature rural health experts from the partnering universities and from the NHS. There will be catalyst talks, panels and breakout sessions focusing on access to care, experimental learning and emerging opportunities relevant to the culture.

The conference was initially spearheaded by Neil J. MacKinnon, PhD, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Augusta University. It is designed to focus on innovative and collaborative efforts to provide better care with limited resources through education and training initiatives from health professionals, colleges and universities.

“Converge is an excellent opportunity for faculty, clinicians and students from different backgrounds to learn from each other on the topic of rural health, and it’s exciting to think that we are in our third year,” MacKinnon said. “This symposium is a vital component of our focus on more meaningful international partnerships with a focus on collaboration and innovation. From this, we have been able to fund numerous research projects that show true collaboration and innovation between researchers from not only different universities, but different backgrounds and disciplines, and I am excited to see the progress of the many projects we have already funded.”

MacKinnon will also provide opening remarks as his office has sponsored funded projects and grants.

In April of this year, it was announced four collaborative research projects stemming from the Converge International Rural Health Symposium have each been awarded $10,000 grants from MacKinnon’s office.

Health care in Scotland compared to Georgia can be different on many levels, but the two regions share an ongoing challenge of educating for rural health care contexts and of supporting health care professionals once they are in the region.

Those interested in attending the symposium can register online. Following registration, detailed information will be emailed to the participants.