Rennie has graduated with a Masters of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She hopes to work as an academic surgeon in the future and pursue a PHD after her clinical training in general surgery. Rennie will strive to carry on Yvonne Smith’s legacy as a woman shaping the field of global surgery throughout her career. Below we share an excerpt from her progress to date:

“My academic training also encompassed my research fellowship with the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change at Harvard Medical School. In this role, I continued to support Pacific Island Countries in developing national surgical plans. As a part of this, I published an article in the Lancet Western Pacific, outlining how surgical systems can be sustainable and climate-resilient, taking into account the challenges of climate change. I was invited to speak at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons’ environmental sustainability seminar. A highlight of my academic training was attending the 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva with my research program. After working together during the pandemic, we were finally able to meet the delegation of Fiji, Nepal, Malaysia, and South Africa in person and continue our support of their surgical system strengthening efforts.”

“My time at Harvard has given me clarity on my future research direction. I hope to be a mixed-methods researcher in the field of health policy and system research. Studying other countries’ health systems has made me reflect on my own in New Zealand. I hope to analyse the system for surgical care delivery in New Zealand and improve its design to be truly patient and community centred. I hope to empower and equip colleagues in the Pacific region with the skills to analyse and improve their surgical delivery systems and share our mutual learnings in doing so.”