Rate My Professor Caryn Thomas

Caryn Thomas is a PhD candidate in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Otago, Dunedin, within the Faculty of Medicine, Division of Health Sciences. Her doctoral research centers on oral contraceptive access issues and short supply, specifically examining combined oral contraceptive utilisation in Aotearoa New Zealand. This encompasses the demographic and geographic distribution of users, patterns of medication use, and the impacts of recent shortages on users. Supervised by Dr. Helen Paterson of Women's and Children's Health and Professor Rhiannon Braund of Preventive and Social Medicine at Otago Medical School Dunedin Campus, her work extends her earlier Bachelor of Medical Science with Honours (BMedSc(Hons)) project, "The impact of short supply of a common contraceptive pill on pregnancy outcomes; a nationwide cohort study," supported by the Phyllis Paykel Memorial Scholarship valued at $8,500 awarded in 2020. As a final year medical student pursuing the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB), Thomas integrates research with clinical training.

Thomas contributes to medical education as an anatomy demonstrator for Early Learning in Medicine courses. Her publications include the 2026 article "Pregnancy rates among users of combined oral contraceptives in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2019: a nationwide retrospective cohort study" in BMJ Public Health (4(1): e003252), the 2023 paper "Disparities in utilisation of combined oral contraceptives in Aotearoa New Zealand: A cross-sectional whole-of-population study" in Australian & New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (63(3): 441-447), and the 2020 piece "Management of short supply oral contraceptives" in New Zealand Medical Journal (133(1519): 128-129). She delivered a verbal presentation, "Who and where? An analysis of combined oral contraceptive users in Aotearoa New Zealand," at the 42nd New Zealand Sexual Health Society Conference in 2021. Thomas presented at the APGANZ & NZCSRH Conference 2024 and participated in the Otago Spotlight on Equity series in 2021, highlighting her emerging influence in reproductive health equity.