New arrival: going through the intubation simulation training session are, from left, Dr Suri Hariprakash, Dr Chellam Kirubakaran, Dr Dan Turn, Associate Professor Fiona Wright, and Laerdal trainer Amy Dearsley going through the intubation simulation training session.

Amy Dearsley from Laerdal Melbourne spent two days in Mildura installing new additions to the Simulated Learning Environment and training key staff in their correct use.

Scenarios which are used in teaching sessions cover a range of situations including, for the Sim New Born, Resuscitation with Positive-Pressure Ventilation and Chest Compressions, Resuscitation with Positive-Pressure Ventilation and Endotracheal Intubation and Care of the Infant with Asthma for SimNewB.

The new scenarios for the sim baby covered areas including Care of the Infant with Asthma, Pediatric Nasogastric Tube Insertion for SimBaby and Management of the Child with a Bradycardic Episode.

The range of new scenarios will add substantially to the learning opportunities provided by the sim lab.

Mildura Regional Clinical School is gradually collecting a nice bank of community people who enjoy being crash test dummies for mock OSCEs.

In September the Year 3 students were put through their paces in preparation for exam OSCEs later in the year.  The patients enjoy their roles, and are eager not to muck up.  Verbatim comments from the sim patients about why they are happy to help included:

• “to be part of the program to help support and retain students in Mildura”
• “I am happy to assist students and local facilities prosper”
• “A new challenge for myself”
• “[to be] valued as an individual”
• “interested in helping … encouraging medical students to the rural areas”
• “helping health professionals learn to treat patients”

Fourteen Year 2 students spent two weeks in Mildura for their rural immersion and, apart from clinical observations, the students experienced some exciting aspects of country life which they might not have otherwise seen.

Amazing Race

Students gained a very quick introduction to Mildura by forming teams led by a Year 3 student and navigating to find various Mildura landmarks / locations. As part of the ‘Amazing Race’ a small task had to be performed at each spot.

The race took students and their drivers-in-the-know across the width and breadth of the city, before finishing at the clinical school for a sausage sizzle.

The ‘race’ has been used previously with new students and is an immensely popular and fun-packed activity for both new and existing students … and the staff!

Tracking a friendly roo – well, hopefully friendly – is all part of the experience for Mildura students taking part in the amazing race.

Farm visit

Students looked a bit tentative as they ‘helped’ with the calf gelding exercise.

Each year the Year 2 students are introduced to the realities of outback farming while learning about animal-borne diseases under the guidance of local veterinarian Dr Bill Sutherland.

This semester, their animal observations included pregnancy testing on cows, and gelding calves.

Mungo national park tour

A day trip to the Mungo National Park, about 110 kilometres north east of Mildura, which encompasses The Walls of China always has its surprises!

Rose and Michael Gilby escorted the bus-load of students to Mungo, and also provided a fascinating overview of the area’s cultural history and importance to local tribal groups.  Remains of the earliest known humans to inhabit the Australian continent have been found in Mungo National Park, dating back to nearly 40,000 years ago. Mungo is thus the site of one of earth’s longest continuous human habitations. Originally a vast lake system, the current lunar-type landscape of the region is fascinating including the so-called Walls of China shapes.

While the students were exploring the Park, Nadine and Jenny were trying to staff the barbecue but were terrorised by the local crows who obviously hadn’t seen human food for a long time. They (the crows, that is) diligently pecked their way through the sides of plastic containers to get to the bread; since they had already made off with two tubs of butter it was appropriate that the bread would be their next target.

Year 4 & 5 Academic Coordinator, Mark Heald, showcased the Mildura facilities for a group of careers advisors.

Links between schools and local industry have been enhanced through a professional development program run by the Northern Mallee Local learning and Employment Network (NMLLEN) and involving the Mildura Regional Clinical School.

Mark Heald, Academic coordinator for Year 4 and 5 students, showcased the Mildura Regional Clinical School to 18 local careers advisors on a tour of the facility.

They also took in an information session around the requirements needed for entry into medicine and the different pathways open to rural students, which they were happy to take back to their individual organisations and share with students in the upper secondary year levels.

Year 3 medical students bought a touch of realism to the information-sharing session with an overview of both their learning and personal experiences at Mildura’s clinical school.

Mildura RCS introduced prospective students to the skills lab at their May information evening.

Mildura Regional Clinical School  enjoyed an excellent turnout at its second annual information evening for years 10, 11 and 12 secondary school students, together with their families and carers.

More than 70 people, including more than 30 students, attended the evening to hear from Monash staff and students about the pathways and possibilities that Monash University offers school students who would like to pursue a career in medicine. (more…)

Medical students based in Mildura are taking part in a mentoring program for secondary school students. The program will launch in second semester, with preliminary contact and secondary student identification now taking place.

The Year 3 students currently in Mildura have committed to providing mentoring in various subjects to assist Year 10 to Year 12 secondary students, either one-on-one or for groups of no more than three at a time. The subjects offered are Maths Methods, Biology, Physics, English, Chemistry or History, but the medical students will consider other requests.

The 10 Monash students are primarily aiming this project at students who demonstrate an interest in  medicine or rural health, but who might not otherwise have the confidence or finances to access private tutoring.

Year 3 student Emma Sturm said: “It is a chance to foster good relationships [with] outreach into the community and to share some of our experience with the younger generation (of students.)”

Mildura Regional Clinical School has jumped on the front foot with its local media, inviting all of the local news outlets to enjoy a cup of tea and a chat at the Mildura Regional clinical School. Representatives from WIN TV, Sunraysia Daily newspaper, Mildura Weekly newspaper, Radio 3MA / FM radio and ABC Radio were all included in the invitation to meet the staff and view the facilities.

Mildura RCS invited local media for a morning to see what the clinical school offers. They now have six stories to run over the next few weeks.

The purpose of the media morning activities was to showcase the facilities and learning opportunities at Mildura Regional Clinical School, to alert local reporters to the presence and activities of the medical school and to facilitate publication and broadcast of stories about medical students or the clinical school through the local media outlets. (more…)

WILDFIRE Mildura pitched in to raise awareness for Oxfam’s Close the Gap campaign to improve indigenous health during March. The week of activities began on Monday 19 March with committee members tagging the Mildura Base Hospital with Close the Gap posters and balloons. But this was only a taste of what was to come!

On Wednesday, the Year 3 students gathered to watch a DVD on the Close the Gap campaign. Then the production line got underway making pins to be distributed on Close the Gap Day (Thursday), closely overlooked by Kavya and Emma who had given up their Sunday to engineer the badge design.

Mildura-based medical students created and staffed a display about Indigenous health in the hospital foyer.

(more…)

Mildura Year 3 student, Travis Taggert, was recently asked by a local school teacher if he could run a couple of workshops for some grade 5/6 school children at St Paul’s Primary School in Mildura, an invitation he gladly accepted.

At the time the classes had just started a new unit of work about the human body and how to best keep themselves fit and healthy. Travis determined that the foundation of any first aid situation, learning DRSABCD, would be a good start for the students and also fun and interesting to learn.

Step by step, the children were taught how to recognise an emergency situation, were directed through each phase of the action plan and were given the opportunity to put these skills into practice in a simulated situation. These steps are the major considerations for anyone involved in the care and treatment of people in a first aid situation.

Throughout the workshop, the students were given the opportunity to build from their prior knowledge and extend their understanding of each stage through a combination of theoretical and practical experiences. Travis observed that it was great to see the students have so much fun with what they were learning, and hewas able to see them put their newly acquired skills into practice.

Around 1000 people attended the Mildura Aboriginal Health Services Health and Wellbeing Community Day featuring guest star Jessica Mauboy.

The event was held from 10am until 10pm on Saturday 25 February to create awareness of sexual health problems, and aiming to break the Guinness World Record for the most sexual health screenings in 12 hours. Several of the medical students currently in Mildura assisted on the day, recruited by local Harvest Alliance School of Indigenous Health lecturer, Rose Gilby.