This paper performed serial surveys in general practices across 4 countries and demonstrates something that many of us intuitively know – rural general practice is different: adaptable and resilient – in response to COVID-19 anyway. We agree with Kyle and his team that further efforts are required to define and understand NZ rural general practice – and would extend that to include all rural health providers.

Background: Measurements of creatinine and glucose on the i-STAT point-of-care testing (POCT) device are known to be elevated in the presence of hydroxyurea. This interference can lead to differences between creatinine and glucose results reported from the i-STAT and samples analyzed with other methods. We sought to characterize the extent of this interference and to compare results with the epoc, a POCT device similar to the i-STAT.

This study explores student experiences of the now established partnership between the University of Otago rural postgraduate programme and Pacific Island country-based doctors.

In a post-COVID19 era we have all experienced a move into the virtual environment especially for ongoing education/professional development and will relate to this study’s findings.