Students get an early taste of rural life
Year 2 students started their day with a visit to a dairy farm.
Year 2 students were immersed in everything rural over two weeks including a jam-packed program of activities on Thursday 11 September.
Alda Dunlop put together a full program for the recent Year 2 student rural placement with the School of Rural Health East & South Gippsland.
With a focus on health and safety for all sessions, Alda scheduled a range of activities with the assistance of Maria Rose, the Dairy Extension Officer with the local Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI).
A 6am start (yes 6am on a cool Gippsland morning) saw the students arrive at a Tinamba dairy farm to view the milking and discuss dairy farm related health issues. The farmer, Hans van Wees, is an active dairy industry representative who took the students through the milking process while Mark Jago, from Murray Goulburn Maffra, facilitated discussion around services provided to the farmers on a daily basis.
Followed by a visit to the Maffra Motor Museum
Then it was off to the Maffra Motor Museum. A tour of the current vehicle display was something the students found fascinating, many of the vehicles being somewhat older than the students themselves! With students armed with material safety data sheets, Jane Rhodes, the leading Chemical Standards Officer with DEPI Maffra, spoke to the students on the hazards (many often not recognised) relating to a rural enterprise.
A delicious morning tea gave the students a short break and refreshed to move on to the next activity – still only 10am.
A visit to the Gippsland Water Treatment Plant included discussion about public health issues and the updated processes used to minimise these. Facilitated by Chris Wood from Gippsland Water, students found this session most informative giving many of them a new perspective on the importance of good quality and reliable supply of water for rural communities.
They talked to vegetable farmers.
Vegetable farming in Gippsland is a major primary industry and employer of local and visiting workers. During a visit to the booming Boisdale vegetable farm operation, Farms Manager Steve Hibberson discussed potential health and related injury issues in the industry.
And finished the day with a trip to Glenmaggie Weir and a privileged look inside the wall.
The next stop was Glenmaggie Weir. This body of water is well known for its recreational activities: water skiing, fishing and a general holiday spot for many visitors throughout the year. However, the weir plays a vital role in the water supply for Gippsland and surrounding areas. Students were fortunate to tour the weir wall, something restricted to those directly involved in the running of the weir operations by Southern Rural Water.
Following the tour and talk by guest speaker Rick Ziarkowski, the students relaxed in the area surrounding the weir for lunch and reflected on what was a busy, informative and interactive day.
Thanks to Maria for her invaluable assistance in organising a rural experience with such variety for the visiting medical students while at the same time, maintaining relevance to their curriculum.