Opening titles of the Canadian series, Hard Rock Medical

It was lights, camera and action in Gippsland in late February, with a film crew from Canada in the area to gather information and some visuals for a documentary on rural clinical schools.

The documentary, tentatively titled ‘Rural, Remote and Revolutionary: The real story behind Hard Rock Medical’, is designed to accompany a 13-part dramatic TV series loosely based on the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) in Canada, where Professor Roger Strasser, one of the main drivers in development of the School of Rural Health model, is now based.

The series, ‘Hard Rock Medical’ is a joint Canada-Australia production and will include an Australian dimension, so it made sense that the production team comes to Gippsland where the rural health model was originally developed.

The first series of the program will be shown on NITV (SBS 3) beginning in June/July.

The aim of the trip , according to Thunderstone Pictures Inc producer Dave Clement, was to “help flush out the story of the pre-NOSM Australian work that informed the innovative approaches he [Roger Strasser] implemented in Northern Ontario.”

The film crew spent a couple of days in Gippsland with Professor Strasser, with some filming at the Gippsland Regional Clinical School and at MUDRIH in the old Latrobe Valley Hospital in Moe, where the Centre for Rural Health which later became the School of Rural Health was based.

While in Australia the team also visited Alice Springs to gain information on training of rural physicians for remote Australia.  They will spend time at NOSM in Canada, where Professor Strasser is the Dean, to develop the documentary.

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.

Local intensive care specialist and physician Associate Professor Alistair Wright and paediatrician Dr Cathy Coates have been appointed as Clinical Deans at the Gippsland Regional Clinical School.

The role of the two Deans is to develop and lead clinical teaching for Years 3B, 4C and 5D students who are learning and training at the Regional Clinical School and Latrobe Regional Hospital.

Acting Director at Gippsland Regional Clinical School, Associate Professor Elmer Villanueva, said the Clinical School was delighted that Associate Professor Wright and Dr Coates had agreed to the roles.

“We were looking for senior medical officers and experienced medical educators with excellent communication skills and both Cathy and Alistair fulfill those criteria,” he said. “They will work with senior medical staff at the Hospital to deliver innovative clinical teaching programs with the hospital, teaching on the ward and in outpatient clinics.”

The roles include facilitation of medical students’ practical clinical placement needs within Latrobe Regional Hospital, a liaison role between Gippsland Regional Clinical School and medical administration and they will also join the State-wide network of Clinical Deans.

Jackie Fankhauser

The opportunity to be involved in a world first neurolinguistic case – while still a medical student at the Gippsland Regional Clinical School – has culminated in Jackie Fankhauser being cited as co-author of an article in the prestigious ‘Journal of Neurolinguistics.’

The case relates to a West Gippsland woman who was diagnosed with Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS), a baffling disorder where a person afflicted starts to speak with what sounds like a foreign accent. (more…)

Gippsland Regional Clinical School will have new Year 2B coordinators this year, with both Nadine Pollerd and Kerry Sibson moving on from the role.

Nadine has relocated to Melbourne and Kerry had an addition to her family last year, daughter Ella Jane, so both opted to finish their roles at the end of 2012.

The positions are about to be advertised for 2013.

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.

The ‘girls night in’ event run by Gippsland Regional Clinical School’s Senior Clinical Educator Meagan Presley last month was a huge success, raising more than $3,700.00. “Guests opened their purses and with their generosity of buying auction items we raised a total of $3717.60, which was a whole lot more than the $600 I had put on my form as my goal for the night!” Megan said. (more…)

A morning tea to mark the retirement of Dr Kaye Birks from the School of Rural Health will be held on Friday 21 December in Gippsland.

Kaye has been a long-term tutor, most recently with the Gippsland Regional Clinical School Year 3B program, with her main areas of interest including occupational medicine, environmental medicine, problem based learning and also as an MCR tutor.

She is also very well known in the Latrobe Valley area for her work as a general practitioner. The whole Birks family has a close involvement with the School of Rural Health; Kaye through her work, husband and surgeon David Birks who is involved in the School and also son Rob, a former student and tutor.

The morning tea for Kaye is on the last day of the School year, Friday 21 December at 10.30am.

Marlene is pictured with Elaine Duffy (left) and Dot Angel at the morning tea in her honour.

The contribution of Professor Marlene Drysdale to the School of Rural Health will continue to be acknowledged through the development and naming of a garden in her honour.

A proud and strong Aboriginal woman who is currently Adjunct Professor for the School for Indigenous Health Clayton, Marlene was employed at Monash University from 2002 until 2012 as the Head of the Indigenous Health Unit and occasional Acting Deputy Director for the Department of Rural and Indigenous Health within the School of Rural Health and Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. (more…)

At Traralgon the students and staff were delighted with the books. From left are student Sophie, teacher’s aide Paula, students Richard and Caleb, teacher Fiona Derham, student Jodie and Principal Barb Walsh.

A group of students and staff at another specialist developmental school has benefited from the assistance provided to Gippsland Regional Clinical School students throughout the year. The School presented two valuable learning books to the Traralgon Specialist Developmental School to say thanks for hosting the medical students at various times during the year. Students from the Latrobe Valley campus of the Clinical School spent time at the Developmental School, learning about communications and working with people with a disability.  A similar arrangement was in place with Baringa Special School in Moe for the Warragul students.

The students and staff were delighted to help out the medical students and nominated the books as their gift of choice as a way of saying thanks.