Dr Mandy Li at the Monash Regional Clinical School, which works alongside Latrobe Regional Hospital.

A warm and welcoming experience when undertaking rural rotations as a Monash University medical student has led to Dr Mandy Li returning to the Latrobe Valley as a consultant paediatrician. Dr Li started work in her paediatrics role with Latrobe Regional Hospital recently and it was like “coming home” to the place where she also worked after graduating from Monash University in 2004.

“I did a paediatric rotation as a fourth year medical student here, then came back as an intern and again later as a registrar, so I have come to know the hospital and the area very well over the years,” Dr Li said.

“It’s a lovely place and I enjoyed working here, so that helped make my decision to come back again as a consultant paediatrician.” (more…)

The Monash University Centre for Chronic Disease Management, coordinated through MUDRIH, has received a major international award.

Dr Hanan Khalil accepted the award, the Evidence Transfer International Award for Development of the Node, on behalf of the Centre of Chronic Disease Management at the Joanna Briggs Institute Colloquium in Thailand.

It was presented for 39 new evidence summaries contributed in November 2012, and was one of only four awards at the ceremony.

The Centre for Chronic Disease Management is a collaboration between Monash Gippsland’s School of Nursing and Midwifery and the School of Rural Health through MUDRIH, partnering with Latrobe Regional Hospital and Latrobe Community Health Service. As well as evidence summaries, the centre’s work included establishing the executive members committee, the expert reference group and the corresponding reference group.

Representatives from more than 70 international centres were present at the colloquium for presentation of the awards.

The Joanna Briggs Institute is based at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Adelaide and works with more than 70 entities across the world. The institute supports the synthesis, transfer and use of evidence through identifying feasible, appropriate, meaningful and effective healthcare practices to assist in improving global healthcare.

It maintains a free database of evidence-based resources, JBI COnNECT+, to help practitioners with clinical decision-making.

That's me on the right, enjoying a bit of sun on the Great Wall of China

Your name and position

Ian Needham, editor Rural Health Matters and Communication Officer with the Gippsland Regional Clinical School

Describe your job/role

As editor of RHM, I pull together the various snippets from around the School of Rural Health. In my role with Gippsland Regional Clinical School I work on various projects that will help engage the local community – such as school visits and interaction with other organisations as well as some media liaison and developing communication materials.

Why is it important?

Ask almost anyone what the top three issues in their workplace are and it’s a fair bet communications will be up there. Helping communicate what the school does is important.

What is the best aspect of your work with the School of Rural Health?

As I’m a journo by trade, I enjoy seeing all the goss that comes through for Rural Health Matters. It’s good to hear about the things that are happening across the school.

When you are not at work, what do you enjoy doing?

I have been involved in a few community organisations at board level, including Lifeline Gippsland and the Old Gippstown Committee of Management. I’m currently on the Gippsland Coastal Board and the Committee for Gippsland and am looking to be more involved next year with the Moe Football and Netball Club, where my youngest son plays.

Apart from that I like kicking back with the occasional glass of red around the barbie and travelling around the region … which brings me to the next question.

What was your most recent holiday destination and why did you choose it?

We have just returned from a couple of weeks in China and a stopover on the way home in Thailand.  My last three weekends have been in Beijing, Shanghai and Bangkok respectively, so a weekend in Victoria seems a bit low-key! It is good to be home through.

We went to China with some friends to have a break and it was fabulous. People great, food as well – expect for the donkey sandwich and the jellyfish – and the scale of most things in China is just amazing. They do roads, bridges, history and bathrooms very well.

If you were Emperor for a day, what is one thing you would implement?

Apply some common sense to energy conservation.  It should be compulsory that every new home is constructed with solar panels as well as double or triple glazed windows. If every new home had solar, the level of demand would rise and therefore supply and hopefully bring down the price of solar units for existing homes.

Surprise us! What is something about you that most of your peers would not know?

A very long time ago, when I was at school, I did the Duke of Edinburgh Award.  Nothing special about that but I was lucky that the year I completed the Gold Award the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were in Australia for the Centenary Test match. That meant the awards were presented by the Duke himself aboard the royal yacht Britannia. My folks were very impressed, especially since they had an invite.

A big vote of thanks to all those within the School of Rural Health who supported Rob Evans, son of Gippsland Regional Clinical School Manager Elaine, who has recently completed the Melbourne Ride to Conquer Cancer in support of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Rob originally had the aim of raising $2,000 through various supporters and sponsors but ended up raising $3,050.

Collectively the event raised more than $6.2 million which helps researchers continue their critical cancer research for the benefit of patients across Australia and around the world.

More than 1,600 riders took part in the 200 kilometre ride.

Plans for a ‘girls night in’ to help cancer research have grown and grown for Gippsland Regional Clinical School’s Senior Clinical Educator, Meagan Presley.

Meagan has planned the event after a very difficult year in which both her maternal and paternal grandmothers have been diagnosed with cancer.

Taking a lead from both women, who have been very positive about the future, Meagan has started a fund raising exercise through the Girls’ Night In program, which encourages people to get together and donate some dollars for cancer research. (more…)

The concrete slab went in at the start of October

The last of the major building works to complete the makeover of Gippsland Regional Clinical School facilities at Traralgon are well underway.

The breakout area adjacent to the Roger Strasser Auditorium is being extended substantially, so that it can used as extra space when running conferences and sessions. As well as being suitable for break-out purposes, it has been designed for multi-use such as an area to run education sessions and have displays.

Once the new area is completed early in the New Year, work will start on refurbishing and upgrading the existing auditorium. It is scheduled for completion around May 2013.

The work will finalise what has been a major redevelopment program for the School of Rural Health, the Monash nursing program and for Latrobe Regional Hospital.

By the end of October, the extension was taking shape

Construction of new accommodation off-site but adjacent to the hospital grounds early in 2012 enabled the upstairs area to be redone as office space and a new library established. The new break out area followed on and with refurbishment of the Auditorium the program will be complete – at least for now!

Following the success of last year’s End of Year break-up at Old Gippstown, the Gippsland Regional Clinical School has booked the venue, and Santa as well, for Sunday 25 November.

Further information will follow closer to the time but all those likely to attend are asked to note it in their diaries. Old Gippstown is a heritage park in Moe where many original buildings from the across the Gippsland region are maintained and numerous Christmas and other events are held.

Bernadette Cranswick joined the primary school students for a discussion on the skeleton.

Students at the small and scenic Jindivick Primary School enjoyed a lesson on the human body and how it works from three Monash University medical students.

The trip to Jindivick, north of Warragul, was also an eye opener for the medical students, Heidi Zoumboulakis, Bronia Lewis and Bernadette Cranswick, who are all undertaking their Year 4C medical education through the Gippsland Regional Clinical School’s Warragul campus.

The medical students were impressed by the rural primary school and also the wonderful views at Jindivick as they provided year three, four, five and six students with a session on the human body and health.

The trio presented to a mix of 17 students and enjoyed the opportunity to interact with different age groups. As well as fielding all sorts of questions and running an activity on healthy eating, the medical students used a demonstration skeleton to show how the body operates.

The School was also impressed, with Jindivick Primary School Principal Wendy Arnott saying the medical students were “an absolute credit to Monash University.”

“The children thoroughly enjoyed the very informative and ‘hands-on’ session run by your students. Bronia, Bernadette and Heidi were very organised, professional and displayed beautiful personal/communication skills with the children,” Ms Arnott said.

Primary school visits such as the one to Jindivick are one of the ways the medical students use local opportunities to enhance their learning. The visits make the medical students think about how they need to communicate with a young age group, while also encouraging the primary school students to think about how the body works and how to keep it running smoothly.

A number of similar sessions are being held in other primary schools in Gippsland and as well as providing great experience for individual students, also raises the profile of the Gippsland Regional Clinical School in the community.

From left Heidi Zoumboulakis, Bronia Lewis and Bernadette Cranswick enjoyed their chance to teach students about the human body

The teddies benefited from some high tech help, even if this primary student found it a bit confusing.

Another group of disgruntled and off-colour teddy bears, along with their owners, popped into the Gippsland Regional Clinical School to see if they could get some help to fix their ailments.

Luckily for the teddies and their carers from St Paul’s Traralgon primary school, a group of Monash University Year 3B medical students who are undertaking their studies locally this year, were on hand to provide medical aid.

The visit by the 36 grade preps was part of the Teddy Bear Hospital visits that have proved so successful. The program has been running at Monash for the past four years and aims to alleviate ‘white coat anxiety’ in children which they can associate with going to the doctor or hospital.

As usual, the students –primary and medical – learned a lot from the session and many a teddy went home feeling much better too!

Pictured with Olympian Richard Hamilton, left, and Paralympian Stuart Tripp, third from left, are Terence Ting, Dr Paul Brougham, Bernadette Cranswick and Tiro Ottiomile.

Gippsland students were able to wind down after their recent practice OSCEs with some food and a couple of excellent guest speakers.

Australian Stuart Tripp, who has just returned from the London Paralympics, was joined by Richard Hamilton who was in Great Britain’s men’s rowing 8 at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

Both told the students about their experiences and journey to being an elite athlete and the dedication required to get there.

Stuart’s story is particularly inspiring. In 1994, as a 24-year-old, he was involved in a car accident and after weeks in a coma, woke to discover his right leg had been amputated and had also suffered head trauma and his kidney damage.

On what was at times an emotional physical journey of recovery, Stuart took up hand-cycling and channeled all of his positive energy into the sport. He managed this so successfully that he finished in the top ten in both of his events at the London Games early last month.

For the students, the stories told by both men put in perspective some of their anxieties about undertaking the practice OSCEs!