Mungo National Park: Aboriginal people have walked through this landscape for thousands of years and survived extreme climate change that dried up the lakes that were once the lifeblood of the region.

Rain failed to dampen the spirits and experiences of Year 2 medical students on their annual visit to the Mungo National Park near Mildura.

Each year, the students who visit Mildura for the Year 2 rural placement program are taken by bus to Mungo National Park in the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area where they are given a tour behind the barricades with an Indigenous park ranger.

Heavy rain in the first week of the students’ placement saw the local council close the dirt road which delayed the tour by a week. The rain also forced the postponement of the school’s sports event in which many of the students participate.

This year, Mildura hosted an increased number of Year 2 students. Several new sessions were included in the busy two-week timetable. These included:

• changing the focus of the farm visit to incorporate current OH&S farm dangers such as heavy machinery, heights and mental health issues
• a panel discussion with three local patients sharing their personal health stories with an emphasis on the tyranny of distance and the impact of the lack of facilities in rural and remote areas
• School of Rural Health Mildura staff conducting interactive scenarios using the clinical skills laboratory as well as prescribing dilemmas for diabetes, and
• many of the Year 2 students participating in Teddy Bear Hospitals at local primary schools.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2014 at 3:02 pm and is filed under Mildura, Student news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.