Meeting place: practices in the South Gippsland Year 4C cluster met at the school's new offices in Leongatha for the first time.

The Year 4C South Gippsland practice cluster, comprising GP practices from Foster, Korumburra, Leongatha and Wonthaggi, had its first meeting in the new offices of the School of Rural Health  South Gippsland.

The offices are located in the grounds of the Leongatha Hospital.

The group meets bi-monthly for a meal and to discuss any student issues, as well as to keep updated on current Monash University plans and policies.

Representatives from all five practices attended and were impressed with the increased space and facilities for both students and staff.

The new premises have a tutorial room, four offices for staff, a kitchen area, a storage room and a foyer.

Intestinal: Dr Bob Irungu explains the workings of the intestines using a very long sausage to students Madeline Jong, Sophie Nicholls, Jamie Chin, Piper Stubbs and Grady Blake.

A group of 17 enthusiastic grade 6 students from Gippsland Grammar School in Bairnsdale recently spent a few hours getting hands-on experience with body parts.

The day was coordinated by Laurea Atkinson, Marnie Connolly, Eleanor Mitchell and Angelo d’Amore with the aim of generating interest in science.

Four stations of body systems were set up: respiratory, the skin, digestive and cardiovascular. Students rotated through the various areas, learning how long the short intestine is, where our food goes, how to look after skin abrasions and how the heart works.

The digestive system station required getting the local butcher to make a 17 foot long sausage/intestine to illustrate the digestive system.

Dr Bob Irungu had the students fascinated explaining the various parts of the body involved in digestion of food. (more…)

Laurea Atkinson from School of Rural Health East Gippsland had access to the best of simulation in Australia when she attended the SimHealth/SimTec T Conference in Adelaide.

Simulation on show came from sectors including healthcare, aviation, defences and games industries.

Laurea was one of five successful recipients of the SimHeatlh/SimTec T Conference travel awards. She presented a poster “Simulation Education in the Rural Sector: Can we make a difference?”.

The conference was attended by 650 delegates from Australia, America, United Kingdom, Korea, Israel and New Zealand.’

Following the opening welcome and a discussion on differences in the use of simulation within industries, there was a spectacular change of pace. The centre stage was transformed into a motor vehicle accident rescue, complete with emergency workers sliding down ropes from the rafters to a transformer designed vehicle utilised in training exercises for emergency services.

The poster hub showcased projects such as the development of a portable and sustainable simulation-based program for health professionals in rural and remote areas.

Laurea attended many and varied sessions over the three days of the conference including an oral presentation on “Camp Simulation – a Rural Initiative”. This session, which drew on involvement by the Ambulance Community Officers (ACOs) in rural and remote Victoria, was presented by Terry Houge.

Coordination of the training sessions for the ACOs is a joint effort in which Laurea is involved as the Simulated Learning Environment Project Officer for East Gippsland. It was a proud moment for Laurea to hear Terry present this report around such important training and learning initiatives.

Four medical students  – two from East Gippsland and two from New Zealand – exchanged places recently, experiencing each other’s courses and cultures.

New Zealand exchange student, Gracie Soutar, was based in Bairnsdale.

New Zealand exchange student, Natalie Ron, who was based in Sale.

Year 4 students from the Monash School of Rural Health East & South Gippsland have spent two weeks in New Zealand. Mayuri Raviskanthan from the SRH Bairnsdale and Jo Borgelt from the Sale site were part of an exchange program initiated by Otago University. At the same time, New Zealand year 5 students, Gracie Souter and Natalie Ron, were in Bairnsdale and Sale respectively.

The exchange program was set up some years ago between the two schools, emanating from the friendship between SRH East Gippsland director Dr David Campbell and his close friend and colleague, the late Dr Pat Farry. Both men are highly respected for their contribution to rural medicine and GP education. Both have also been honoured by the Queen in their respective countries’ honours list.

Otago University offers its medical students the opportunity for rural practice experience through its Rural Medical Immersion Program while Monash University allows students to study medicine in a rural setting through its School of Rural Health.

According to Gracie, New Zealand’s fifth year is the equivalent of Monash’s Year 4.

A “city girl” from Auckland, Gracie jumped at the chance to study medicine in a rural setting. “That’s why I applied for the exchange program,” she added. “I chose to do it (the course). It is exciting, interesting and a great opportunity to do more medicine while seeing the country.”

Medicine runs in her family; she has a sister studying medicine at Flinders University in Adelaide.

Gracie was keen to compare the health of rural people in New Zealand and Australia which she said was “slightly different”.

“It was a fantastic opportunity to see what happens here (Bairnsdale),” she said. “It was also great to work so closely with the local General Practitioners in both a hospital and clinical setting.”

Gracie said Maori health was a significant part of the training in New Zealand. “We not only learn the language but we tailor consultations in a culturally appropriate way. The health problems for Australia’s Indigenous people are very different.”

According to Gracie, it is “too early” to think about her field of specialising yet. “I’m still enjoying everything but I really enjoy GP work and the continuity of care. I also enjoy surgery. It’s important to get a mix of these things.”

Natalie, from the rural area of Masterton in New Zealand, has spent her exchange in Sale.

She embraced the chance to see many more patients on her exchange. “It’s much more hands-on for students here and that is the major appeal of the course,” she said. “I also found people here much more stoic.”

However she said health issues were similar between Sale and Masterton. “The teachers and doctors here are especially helpful – it seems like everyone loves teaching,” she added.

Natalie appreciated her time spent in surgery at Sale hospital however she too is undecided about the area of medicine in which to specialise although it will be surgery of some kind.

Meanwhile another highlight of the connection between the two medical schools is an annual knowledge competition between East Gippsland medical students and their New Zealand counterparts. They compete for the Pat Farry Memorial Trophy (see additional story).

Laurea Atkinson is now a board member of the Australian Society for Simulation Healthcare

Simulation Learning Environment project officer with School of Rural Health East & South Gippsland, Laurea Atkinson, has been elected to the Australian Society for Simulation Healthcare (ASSH) as a member of good standing.

Laurea, together with other new board members, was officially welcomed to her new position at the SimHealth conference in Adelaide by ASSH chair Michelle Kelly, and introduced to those attending the conference.

ASSH’s mission is to promote simulation education, training and research to enhance the safety and quality in healthcare.

It represents a cross-section of the Australian healthcare community who share simulation as a common interest, including healthcare professionals, academics, industry groups and policy makers. ASSH operates under the auspices of Simulation Australia Ltd and is officially affiliated with the international Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

Laurea Atkinson explains a research poster to research fellow, Dr Eleanor Mitchell.

Job done: third year nursing students farewell Bairnsdale ( front l-r) ) students Fiona Veith, Brooke Conduit and Jo Blake with (back l-r) Christina McGowin, lecturer Beth Jacob and Leah Wardhaugh

Year 3 nursing students with the School of Rural Health East & South Gippsland completed their on-campus component recently.

They celebrated the milestone with a morning tea and a “thankyou” to their lecturer, Beth Jacob.

The students are now on clinical placement for eight weeks to complete their degree. All have applied for graduate nurse placement for 2015 and are eager to start practising as registered nurses.

Meanwhile, Year 2 nursing students hone their plastering skills under the watchful eye of tutor, Darren Jacob.

Cross Tasman challenge: Respected quiz master “Buzz” Burrell (aka Big Bird) ran the videoconferenced competition from Otago University.

It may not have been the Bledisoe Cup, but the rivalry between the New Zealand and Australian teams was just as fierce. And the teams were competing for a prize just as important for them….the coveted Pat Farry Trophy.

Year 3B and 4C students from both Sale and Bairnsdale sites selected  a combined team to compete against the Year 5 NZ students studying in the Rural Medicine Immersion Program with Otago University.

This time it was New Zealand who recorded a narrow win over SRH East & South Gippsland in the annual cross Tasman challenge. (more…)

Award: Professor Christina Mitchell (left) presents Dr Jane Graecen and Associate Professor David Campbell with the Dean's Award for Social Inclusion for their work in Aboriginal health in East Gippsland.

Two leaders at the School of Rural Health East & South Gippsland have been given the Dean’s Award for Social Inclusion.

Director, Associate Professor David Campbell, and senior lecturer Dr Jane Greacen received the award to acknowledge their work towards improving the health and wellbeing of the local Aboriginal community in East Gippsland.

The award nomination highlighted four areas in which David and Jane had contributed. This included establishing and providing a significant amount of ongoing support for the Centre of Excellence for Aboriginal Health in East Gippsland (CEAHEG).

David and Jane significantly assisted with the establishment of this centre and its associated not-for-profit organisation, obtaining support from the Faculty Dean as well as local health services and schools.

They have undertaken local community-based research alongside CEAHEG to understand the barriers and issues faced by local Aboriginal families and students for them to complete school, attend university and aim for health careers. (more…)

Jo spent time with New Zealand medical students during her exchange.

Jo Borgelt, based this year with SRH East & South Gippsland, spent two weeks in New Zealand on exchange.

I have just returned from New Zealand having been lucky enough to be one of two students from the School of Rural Health East & South Gippsland to be given the opportunity to undertake a two-week exchange with the University of Otago. I was based in Masterton, a town on the north island with a population of around 20,000. It is about 1.5 hours’ drive north from Wellington across ‘the hill’, a section of the highway that is regularly closed due to snow in winter. (more…)

Hands-on: a local secondary school students gets up close to a neonatal unit during a Hands-On Health day at Sale.

Forty-five senior secondary school students from Sale, Maffra and Yarram had a taste of working in the health sector when they took part in a Hands on Health day in Sale on 30 July 30.

Based loosely on a similar program at Monash University Clayton campus, the Hands on Health Workshop was put together by Ros Pearce and staff from the SRH East & South Gippsland in collaboration with Central Gippsland Health Service (CGHS) and local secondary schools.

It was held at the School of Rural Health’s  Sale site, under the auspices of the Community Advisory Committee.

Senior students from Sale, Maffra and Yarram secondary colleges, Gippsland Grammar School and Sale Catholic College, interested in pursuing a career in health, attended. (more…)