We had the opportunity of running a GP Anaesthetic Registrar Workshop which was well attended by all the GPA registrars in Gippsland.

The workshop was kindly supported by Southern GP Training (SGPT).

The day was a mixture of lectures from anaesthetic specialists and experienced GP anaesthetists, an ultrasound workshop and scenarios made realistic with monitors that alarmed and desaturated.
It was a splendid opportunity to utilise the excellent simulation facilities at Sale.

Dr Antony Wong, GP Anaesthetist

Lionel Dukakis (Program Manager of Wulgunggo Nglau) and the students in front of a sculpture made by the program participants and local Indigenous Elders.

Early on a cold and drizzly September morning 14 undergraduate students left Inverloch with their trusty tutor and coordinator in tow. It was a journey that would see them traverse the beautiful South Gippsland country side in search of the elusive Wulgunggo Ngalu Learning Place nestled high in the hills above Yarram.

Wulgunggo Ngalu Learning Place is a program run by the Department of Justice for adult indigenous men undertaking a community-based order. It is a live-in facility that aims to connect and strengthen indigenous men back to their culture. In the Gunai Kurni Language “Wulgunggo Ngalu” means “which way together”, a sentiment strongly held by all who lead this program. Our amazing guide for the day was the passionate Lionel Dukakis who, after warmly welcoming us to country, took us on a very informative tour of the facility explaining as we went the education, skills and lifestyle programs the facility run. The participants also have the opportunity of “giving back” to the local community and to take part in local community activities, like lawn mower racing!

After sitting down to lunch together, the students took part in a forum where they could openly discuss contemporary indigenous issues. Lionel encouraged students to ask the questions that they always wanted to ask, but were maybe a little too embarrassed to broach. An excited discussion followed, and it was hard not to be taken by Lionel’s contagious fervour for indigenous welfare. I think it was unanimous – an informative day was had by all and  at the end of the day 14 students left with a new found enthusiasm for indigenous health and welfare, and a greater understanding of indigenous culture.

Mildura Regional Clinical School have developed Mini Medical Academy Days (MMAD) to expose local secondary school students in the Sunraysia region to rural health careers. The days involved hands-on clinical experience run by medical students and Monash University staff to raise awareness of pathways to further studies in health. The students have the opportunity to engage with current medical students at the clinical school and to learn about what it is like to study in the rural setting.

The half-day program consists of four stations focused on a different skill required of a medical student, which the students rotate through over the course of the session. These involve a grand tour of the hospital, plastering, a simulation session with SimMan 3G and basic life support. For some students this may be their only exposure to life at university, which may otherwise be offered at open days in Melbourne. It gives them a chance to ask questions and experience a day in the life of a medical student.

One of the highlights of the program so far is the stories from Monash medical students about their personal journeys at university and the application process. This highlights to the secondary students that attending university is a real and achievable goal. To date, four local secondary schools have participated in the initiative and in future years this will be offered to all schools in the Sunraysia region.

A fantastic day was had by all, we'd like to thank Liddiard Road for coming along with 40 lovely smiles and teddies.

One fine day, the year 3B medical students invited 40 prep students from Liddiard Road Primary School to come and visit the clinical school for a very special morning. Our aim was to introduce the kids to the concept of good health, good eating and emergencies.

Being kids ourselves (sort of), we wanted to make the day as fun as possible – so naturally, the kids were invited to bring their Teddies along to help. The kids learned about exercise, healthy eating, x-rays, what to do in an emergency, and got a real plaster cast on their thumb – very exciting stuff.

Peter Nightingale, Year 3B Student, GRCS

Dr Elizabeth Farrell, gynaecologist, pictured with a gynaecologist she is mentoring whilst in Australia for continued training.

A series of three inspirational dinners have been held at the South Gippsland campus of the East Gippsland Regional Clinical School. The dinners, the brainchild of Dr David Iser, are held for the Year 4C students to show them the myriad opportunities that doing medicine opens up to them.

The first dinner was held in August this year with Dr Andrew Steer speaking about infectious diseases and rashes. Dr Steer is an Infectious diseases physician with the Department of General Medicine at the Royal Children’s Hospital and a senior research fellow at the Centre for International Child Health, Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne.

Following Dr Steers talk, retired Paediatric specialist, Dr Robert Birell, spoke of his journey as a doctor at the Royal Children’s Hospital and his work to introduce mandatory reporting of child abuse, for which he is recognised.

The second dinner was held in October with Dr Elizabeth Farrell as the guest speaker.  Dr Farrell talked to students about her involvement over the past 20 years in the management, education and research of the menopausal woman. Dr Farrell has her own private gynaecology practice and is head of the Menopausal Unit at Monash Medical Centre, a senior lecturer in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology with Monash University and a Director and consultant gynaecologist at the Jean Hailes Foundation.

Dr Farrell established the first Early Menopausal Clinic in 2002, the first Adult Turner’s Syndrome Long Term clinic  and in 2009 established the first Women and Cancer Clinic in Victoria at Monash Medical Centre.

The third dinner is scheduled for November and by all accounts the dinners have been extremely successful events, rewarding and informative experiences for the students fortunate enough to be involved.

During semester two, Mildura Regional Clinical School hosted 16 students, and the program was certainly up to expectations; Orange World, Glen Esk Station, Mutawinji – all whimsical or exotic names for places which the students might experience during their rural health immersion based in Mildura for two weeks.   The aim of the Mildura team is to make rural health REAL, through the people, the sparse outback landscape, or interaction with local Aboriginal peoples.

A network television ‘infomercial’ raising awareness of domestic violence and its implications has been filmed at Monash University’s regional clinical school in Mildura.

Commissioned by Mallee District Aboriginal Services (MDAS), the production features three Monash students as actors playing the part of surgeons in filming at the Mildura Regional Clinical School’s simulation laboratories, which doubled as an emergency ward in the storyline.

Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and Mildura Base Hospital also participated in the production, shot at locations around Mildura.

MDAS, north west Victoria’s major service provider for Indigenous people, worked through a rigorous community consultation process in the development of this confronting campaign publicising an important regional issue.

The infomercial will screen on WIN TV Mildura and Bendigo during the Christmas period.

The Year 2 placement in Bairnsdale travelled to the village of Bruthen, a small town (population 624) located alongside the Tambo River, approximately 25kms from Bairnsdale on the Great Alpine Road in East Gippsland. Nestled in the hills, the small town boasts the last coffee before the snow fields which gives it a daily buzz more akin to a larger town.

Sixteen Year 2 medical students visited the Bruthen Primary School, which has 44 students in all, so it was a manageable ratio to help with first aid training. The primary students were engaged from the beginning with our medical students giving them hands-on activities in small groups of mixed grade levels. Practicing CPR on our simulated equipment was a great hit as was helping locate body parts and learning how lungs work.

It was then time to feed the medical students. The Year 2 students had worked hard and earned a fabulous BBQ in the park.

We were very fortunate to have a paramedic from Omeo, Scott Fyfe, come to Bruthen to conduct hands on Basic Life Support sessions, complete with Jimmy, the simulated model who had fallen from his bike and later had cut his leg with an axe. The inclement weather meant we lay claim to the town’s rotunda. Wet weather failed to dampen the spirits of those involved and even engage travellers in the town who were intrigued with the activity.

The Year 2 students at Bairnsdale campus finished off the week with more community activities and in their spare time were able to explore the area and even  go kayaking in the canals at Paynesville. We are sure they will take back to Melbourne stories of a great placements which combined lots of fun with a valuable learning experience.

The staff in Bendigo are a talented group, but we were all stunned by the amazing skill and creativity on display at the first ‘Off Ramp Creations’ exhibition held at the School of Rural Health in Bendigo this month.

Bendigo staff were invited to showcase their artistic and creative talents during a two-week exhibition. Paintings, jewellery, poetry, children’s books, masks, textile collage, candles, tapestry, long stitch, cross stitch, a streetscape diorama, ceramics, quilting, knitting, beading, a coffee table, gift cards and crotchet ‘bombing’ decorated the foyer.

At the closing of the exhibition, a number of donated art and craft pieces were auctioned. There was fierce competition for all the items, but the most hotly contested item was the painting “Platypus at Play” by Regional Manager, Kerrie Thomsen.  The final winning bid for the painting, along with all the proceeds of the other auction items and gold coin donations raised $425.00 for St Luke’s Anglicare. St Luke’s assists children, young people, adults and families to make positive change in their lives and to be connected and contribute to their community.

The organising committee and Bendigo staff would also especially like to thank the family of Kay Togno for generously allowing us to display Kay’s beautiful art during the exhibition.  Kay was a long time Monash Bendigo employee who died 2 years ago in October 2011.

The School of Rural Health participated in the Gippsland Campus Open Day on Sunday 25 August, which coincided with the University of Ballarat’s Open Day.

From next year the general Gippsland campus will operate as the new Federation University Australia, although the SRH graduate entry program will remain under the Monash University banner.

The Open Day was a success with an estimated 4000 plus people visiting the campus.

Staff from the graduate entry program and the Gippsland Regional Clinical School, as well as a number of Year A students, attended the event.

The number of enquiries about the MBBS course was much smaller than at the Clayton Open Day earlier this month and the Graduate-entry Information Day held in May.

Visitors were keen to ask questions about the arrangements for Year A at the Federation University’s campus and the changing entry requirements into the course.