Professor Marlene Drysdale, well known to many in the School through her long association with MUDRIH, will be one of the guest speakers at a forum on Indigenous Health in March.
Run by the Bass Coast and South Gippsland Reconciliation Group with support from the two local councils, the event is on Tuesday 19 March in Inverloch in South Gippsland.
See the poster for details of the forum.
Director of the East Gippsland Clinical School Dr David Campbell (right) with guest speaker at the Bairnsdale student welcome dinner, Geoff Wigney and his wife Lynice.
Representatives from Bairnsdale Regional Health Service, local medical general practitioners and specialists, members of the Indigenous community and representatives from Secondary Schools in the area were among those who took part in a welcome dinner for East Gippsland Regional Clinical School (Bairnsdale campus) Year 4C medical students.
Each of the nine students gave a short talk outlining their background and their expectations of the year spent in the Gippsland area and at their respective local medical practices.
The students and guests also heard a fascinating talk by guest speaker, Mr Geoff Wigney, who spoke of his work in many countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Africa, offering assistance for women affected by sexual, substance and alcohol abuse as well as trafficking of young girls. Many of these women are suffering from AIDS.
Geoff and his wife Lynice have built, with the help of volunteers, a factory in Thailand for women to manufacture products such as handbags, picture frames and trinkets.
In addition they are building a kitchen in Cambodia for the local women to run cooking classes for the many tourists who visit their area. Geoff and Lynice wife run a local business in Bairnsdale called Empower International, which buys and sells all the produce from these countries.
The successful evening was an opportunity for students to get to know each other and the staff from their practices. All students are now looking forward to immersing themselves in their respective communities.
Pictured are Monash graduates and new doctors, from left, Tom Walsh, Elisabeth Hatzistavrou, Sharon Johnson, Ruth Briggs, Andrew Thomas, Sarah Wilmot, Derek Pol, Danielle Winkelman, Shane Robbins and Steph Pong.
Monash School of Rural Health graduates have flocked to the Gippsland intern program in 2013.
All ten of this year’s intake to the Gippsland Regional Intern Training (GRIT) program are Monash graduates and seven of those already have a close association with the area, having undertaken much of their training through the School of Rural Health’s Gippsland Regional Clinical School, East Gippsland Regional Clinical School and were enrolled at the Gippsland Medical School at Churchill.
Those seven include Derek Pol, Sarah Wilmot, Andrew Thomas, Danielle Winkelman, Sharon Johnson, Shane Robbins and Ruth Briggs. The other three new interns are Tom Walsh, Steph Pong and Elisabeth Hatzistavrou, who completed their MBBS at Monash Clayton.
Seven former students returning as interns is a record for the Monash University School of Rural Health. (more…)
For East Gippsland Regional Clinical School student Lauren Tanzen, working in the High Country in a rural GP environment was an unexpected high point. Here is her story.
The GP component of Year 4, primarily at Omeo and Swifts Creek, has not simply been a matter of another year down, attendance ticked off and signatures gathered for the log books.
I’ve found it rather difficult to leave.
To provide an overview of the area and access to health care, Omeo, Swifts Creek and Ensay have a population catchment of around 2,100 across 5,500 km2 in East Gippsland, Victoria. This population is served by one of six rotating, very busy Consultant GPs. The Doctor on duty provides a 24 hour service at any given time from Sunday afternoon to noon the following Friday. It is no ‘sleepy hollow’. (more…)
The GMS graduating group from 2012
The 75 students who began their studies in 2009 have graduated as the second cohort from Gippsland Medical School after completing their course in 2012.
Among the graduating students, six are from overseas, 13 are from interstate and seven have either lived or worked in the Gippsland area prior to becoming medical students.
The School is especially pleased that the graduating class includes three students from a secondary school situated less than five minutes’ walk from the Gippsland Medical School itself. They are Dr Danielle Winkelman, Dr Andrew Thomas and Dr Carly Jennings.
Everyone at the School of Rural Health wish the graduates all the best for their internships in 2013.
Laurea Atkinson works with two visiting Bairnsdale 2013 Year 4C students who had the opportunity to have a go in the Simulation Learning Environment.
The Simulation Learning Environment (SLE) project is funded by the HWA and is progressing forward at a robust pace, with further training and education days featuring SimMom held recently and Nhetsim (National Health Education and Training in Simulation) training in February 2013.
The training days have involved staff from Bairnsdale, Orbost and Omeo in the East Gippsland region. Key stakeholders in the region have been identified and the formation of an email group, East Gippsland Simulation Interest Group (EGSIG) has been launched to communicate the project updates. (more…)
Deb Johnston from East Gippsland Regional Clinical School has recently returned from the trip of a lifetime. The main reason was to attend a birthday party, but there were many highlights on the way to and from the party. This is Deb’s story.
The spectacular Bogong High Plains in the Gippsland High Country was one of Deb’s favourite spots.
We left Bairnsdale on 18 October, destination Townsville by 9 November, with plans to return to work on 21 November.
Was this a carefully planned timetable to miss OSCE’s and exams and then return in time for student farewells? Many of my colleagues thought so, however, my (very good) excuse was that it was my son’s 21st, and he’s in Townsville studying medicine with the opposition!
My husband and I had no set plans, just hook up the camper trailer and go, and we decided to head up via the coast and return inland. Weather wise we had one wet day in five weeks. Hottest temperature was St George, 41c at 9am. Coldest was Goulburn at just 4c at 5.30am.
The scenery, the animals, and the lifestyle were all fantastic. If it could be looked at we did so, and if it wasn’t on the tourist trail we went there. We relied on information from fellow campers for the great places to visit. Lovely beaches were Lennox Heads, Yamba, Seaforth, Hillsborough National Park, Dingo Beach, Hydeaway Bay, Alva Beach and Picnic Bay on Magnetic Island.
Inland my favourites were Carnarvon Gorge, Lightning Ridge, Parkes, Dubbo Zoo and Bogong High Plains in the Gippsland High Country, which goes to show that some of the prettiest places are in your own backyard.
All I can say now is bring on retirement! There is so much to see and do that we need to be out there seeing and doing it now!
By Deb Johnston
Laurea Atkinson brings a background in the post-anaesthetic /anaesthetic field and adult pain management to her role in the recently upgraded simulation suite in Bairnsdale.
Along with its new simulation training facilities established during this year, East Gippsland Regional Clinical School has recently welcomed a new Simulation Learning Project Officer, Laurea Atkinson.
The School this year secured a simulation grant from Health Workforce Australia to support clinical training in East Gippsland using simulation learning modalities.
The grant funded the purchase of a variety of mannequins that can be borrowed for clinical training. Some of the mannequins such as SimMan 3G, SimMom and SimNewb are utilised for high fidelity simulation and not easily transported, and are therefore housed in the Simulation Suite at East Gippsland Regional Clinical School. (more…)
A cold night in a tent, brightened up by...
...a gorgeous snow landscape that appeared overnight
Three Year 3B students at East Gippsland Regional Clinical School decided on an unusual preparation for their exams – a trip to the mountains and the snow.
Kane Treble, Lizzie Duffett and Meri Salmon Krone took it upon themselves to conquer the might of the Alpine National Park, with intentions to head up to Mt Howitt (1742m) and show it who was boss. This is their story of their trip, the snow and their sunburn!
Unfortunately, only a few kilometres up Howitt Road our efforts to come, see and conquer were almost thwarted by a rather sturdy looking padlock in the middle of the road. While this usually wouldn’t be an issue, the large (some would say sturdier) gate that it secured was. (more…)
Two staff members from East Gippsland journeyed to Sydney last month for a national Sim Health conference. This report is by one of the members, Academic coordinator/lecturer Loy Perryman.
Marnie Connolly from the Bairnsdale campus and I were fortunate to attend the Sim Health 2012 Conference in Sydney. The conference was designed to bring experts from around the world and Australia together to share new aspects of simulation learning, the theme being around ‘Making Teams Work.
Throughout the week I attended sessions on moulage which gave handy, quick and inexpensive tips in creating more realistic simulated patient scenarios without the use of significant staff and other resources.
It was reassuring to hear from plenary speaker, Dr KT Waxman, Associate Professor at the University of San Francisco School of Nursing and Health Professional Chair, DNP Department Director of California Simulation Alliance, California Institute for Nursing and Health Care, USA.
Dr Waxman spoke about the evolution of a state wide simulation alliance in California which has established governance and polices for high quality simulation in a sustainable environment.
This was of particular interest to me, as East Gippsland has begun talks with the aim of establishing alliances with external organisations involved in simulation in the Gippsland area.
We are excited by these developments and look forward to incorporating many of the concepts outlined at the Conference with further development of a formalised teamwork approach to simulation between EGRCS and other Gippsland stakeholders.
By Loy Perryman, Academic coordinator/lecturer