Thanks to a generous Wildfire grant, I was able to attend the 2013 Conference for the Environment and Health held in Basel, Switzerland in August.  This conference brought together experts from across the world to discuss issues relating to the impact of the environment and climate change on human health.  I attended the conference in order to give an oral platform on “Preparing rural GPs and health services for climate change and extreme weather” which was research completed as a part of my Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours).

Basel is a city embracing environmentally friendly technologies and uses 100% renewable energy.  There is a strong focus on environmental preservation and strategies to minimise the impacts of the city on the environment.  With efficient public transport, cyclist friendly roads, and the River Rhine which is so clean that swimming is a popular local and tourist activity (a big change from the Yarra!), Basel is a fitting city to host such a conference.  Over 1700 clinicians, researchers and scientist from 70 countries across the globe converged on Basel for the conference week.

As the conference for the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology, International Society for Indoor Air Quality and the International Society for Exposure Sciences, the topics discussed at the conference were broad and reflected the wide scope of impacts that the environment has on human health.

The conference was a valuable opportunity to learn about other research being done internationally regarding the environment and health.  It was also particularly interesting to hear about this research in a rural context, from both researchers based in Australia and elsewhere.  It offered the potential to learn from other projects, and also to receive suggestions on further directions for this research in Australia, with particular relevance to rural health.  It was fantastic to be able to meet people whose work and ideas had helped shape how I structured the research I did for my BMedSci.  There was a strong representation of Australian researchers from across different universities and it was inspiring to meet some of these people working in an Australian context.

The research I presented, “Preparing rural GPs and health services for climate change and extreme weather” was based in the South West of New South Wales.  The project explored the views of rural GPs as to the needs for preparing rural health services for climate change and extreme weather events.  It also sought to identify the perceptions of rural GPs on their role as advocates in their communities for extreme weather and climate change issues, both in relation to community and patient engagement, and in the forward planning of rural health services.

Attending the Conference for the Environment and Health was a valuable learning experience and I would like to thank Wildfire for the support of their grants program.

Rachael Purcell

The 20th Wildfire Annual Dinner was a great night for all who attended. Held at Mamaduke’s on Caulfield Campus, the event included a delicious three-course meal and motivating speeches complimenting the theme –The Past, Present and Future of Rural Health.

Professor Sarah Strasser from Flinders University in Darwin spoke about remote and Indigenous medicine, shared her own survival skill toolkit for a rural doctor, and urged the audience to “invest in women” in health education as this has the highest likelihood of being passed on to the next generation. Dr. Ged Dalgeish, a former Co-Chair of Wildfire who has recently begun his Physician training, provided us with a wonderfully balanced perspective on working in rural areas compared with metropolitan medical practice, based on his own wide-ranging experiences. He was a strong advocate for the role of the rural experience in broadening the scope of medical training.

Finally, two of our very own council members summarised the club’s vision, and our impressive achievements this year.

A number of prizes were handed out, including the best-dressed prize which went to Thomas Shiels for the marvellous orange bow tie he wore on the night! Thank-you to the 2013 Wildfire Council, MWOP (Member without portfolio), Emma Sturm and her team, for organising this annual event. Good luck to Marcus Hall as he plans the 21^st Wildfire Annual Dinner in 2014 – see you all there!!

The 2014 Wildfire Council was announced at the conclusion of the evening. Representatives are as follows:

President – Patryck Lloyd-Donald & Jayden Harper
Vice President – Grace Andrews
Treasurer – Lewis Fry
Secretary – Emma Sturm
Snr NRHSN (National Rural Health Students Network) Rep – William Goss
Jnr NRHSN Rep – Steph op’t Hoog
Publications Rep – Hannah Corcoran
Promotions Rep – Ruth McLeod
IT Rep – Luke Fletcher
Snr ATSI (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Health Advocate – John May
Jnr ATSI Health Advocate – Noni Harold
Allied Health Rep – Mitch Simpson
Sponsorship Officer – Luigi Zolio
Liaison Officer – Tom Nicholls
Membership – Laura Donaldson
Gippsland Medical School Rep – Emma Cole
MWOP – Marcus Hall

We expect 2014 to be a promising year for Wildfire with such a highly motivated and enthusiastic group of individuals!

Title of Seminar:
“The Mad, The Bad & The Sad”: Life courses of women transported to Tasmani, Dr Rebecca Kippen

Date:
Tuesday 1 October from 5-6pm

Venue:
At the Auditorium, School of Rural Health, Monash University, 26 Mercy St Bendigo

RSVP
by Monday 30 September to Cathy Ward or ring 03 5440 9082.

Please note seating is limited.

Dr Rebecca Kippen is an ARC Future Fellow and visiting Academic at Monash University.  Dr Kippen graduated with a PhD in Demography from the Australian National University in 2002 and currently holds an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship in the Centre for Health and Society at the University of Melbourne. Her two main research projects are ‘Epidemics, mortality and longevity in Tasmania, 1838-1930’ and ‘Convicts and Diggers: a demography of life courses, families and generations’.

The School of Rural Health participated in the Gippsland Campus Open Day on Sunday 25 August, which coincided with the University of Ballarat’s Open Day.

From next year the general Gippsland campus will operate as the new Federation University Australia, although the SRH graduate entry program will remain under the Monash University banner.

The Open Day was a success with an estimated 4000 plus people visiting the campus.

Staff from the graduate entry program and the Gippsland Regional Clinical School, as well as a number of Year A students, attended the event.

The number of enquiries about the MBBS course was much smaller than at the Clayton Open Day earlier this month and the Graduate-entry Information Day held in May.

Visitors were keen to ask questions about the arrangements for Year A at the Federation University’s campus and the changing entry requirements into the course.

As you read this, Gippsland Year 3B student Brooke Driessen is in Africa, gaining a totally different perspective on medicine.

Brooke flew to Africa last weekend (Saturday 31 August) for nearly two weeks as part of the Specialists without Borders group, which offers the opportunity to experience the issues and conditions in other lands.

Before she left, Brooke said: “I haven’t been to Africa before so it’s a really good opportunity to have a taste of the country and to meet the people. I don’t have any real expectations, I’m just really glad I will get to be there.

“It will be fascinating to see what health care is like over there and see what it is like to work with the community as an outsider group. I’m sure the needs are very different; it will be interesting to see the impact of diseases and health issues that they have.”

Brooke expects to spend time in Malawi and Zimbabwe. The project involves working with and helping to train health professionals, so that there are more local medical professionals who are able to provide services.

The chance to take part came about thanks to her year at the Gippsland Regional Clinical School, where tutor and local surgeon David Birks works.  He has had a long involvement in the specialists without borders program and encourages students to grab the opportunity to be involved.

For Brooke, it is part of the benefit of spending Year 3B of her undergraduate program in Gippsland. “It has been really good this year, the group is great and it’s really nice being with the post graduate students (who come through the Gippsland Medical School). We all have a different perspective, which aids our learning, and here everyone gets to know you better so there are lots of opportunities.”

Year 3 student currently in Mildura, Adam Louws, has a long list of talents that includes acting, a skill he has utilised to good effect since moving to the north of the state.

Adam considers that there are many benefits to this outside interest.

“I’ve been involved in productions since 2002, most notably playing John Proctor in Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible.’

“When I moved up to Mildura, I decided to get involved in the local community, and joined both the Red Cliffs Players as Oliver for their performance of ‘Spider’s Web’, and the Red Cliffs Musical Society as Carmen in Mel Brooks’ ‘The Producers.’ I even had a minor role as a father in the Mildura Base Hospital’s obstetrics Prompt training day!

“Being in the groups allowed me to make lots of new friends, develop my talents further, and have a lot of fun. It also helped me to feel like a part of Mildura, like I was giving back to the community that had welcomed me.”

Students linked up from Otago, Bairnsdale and Sale for the annual Pat Farry Quiz.

The annual Pat Farry Memorial Trans Tasman Quiz between Otago University and Monash University, East Gippsland, was again a huge success – especially for the East Gippsland team!

Competing for the highly sought after “Pat Farry Cup” Year 3B and 4C students from Sale campus along with Year 4C Bairnsdale campus students made up the 18 strong Monash team. Otago had the edge on the numbers with 20 students but Monash students were determined to retain the coveted trophy.

Questions such as, “Name the three actresses who have all married Tom Cruise” and “Give the full name of the 1^st child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge”,  were amply sprinkled with medical questions such as “what is the medical name for a tongue tie.” *

Thirty questions in all were asked, with the evening supervised by Monash and Otago staff to ensure there was no underhand access to Google or Wikipedia.

Quizmaster Buss Burrell, the Otago University Rural Medicine Immersion Program (RMIP) Regional Coordinator for Marlborough area, entertained everyone dressed as a large red lobster. He ran the quiz like clockwork, without a hint of home-side favouritism and although the incumbents got off to a slow start things warmed up as the quiz progressed.

Monash students were well fed with brain food to give them every chance of retaining the cup but it was their quick responses and entertaining exploration of details which won the day.

It was a close finish with the Monash side retaining the cup with a 23 to 19 win. (Yes we know that 23+19 does not add up to 30!) Scoring is another Quite Interesting exercise!

So the cup is East Gippsland’s and will be displayed at the Sale campus until the Kiwis and the Aussies meet again next year.

PS: *If you are interested, answers to the quiz questions listed are:

1. Katie Holmes (latest ex-wife), Nicole Kidman and Mimi Rogers

2. George Alexander Louis Mountbatten-Windsor

3. Ankyloglossia

Bree Morris takes on the task of shoulder strapping for Moe football assistant coach and star play James Blaser, who won the team’s best and fairest, before one of the recent games in the Gippsland League.

Gippsland Year 4C student Bree Morris has been braving the chilly Gippsland winter afternoons as well as extending her medical experience by helping out at one of the local football netball clubs.

Bree answered a call from the Moe Football Netball Club, which competes in the Gippsland League, for anyone interested in helping out the trainers.  With a long term interest in sports medicine, Bree went along to several games and learned a bit about pre-game strapping for ankles, knees and shoulders as well the intricacies of the pre-game rubdown.

Bree was also able to help the trainers – a number of them long term volunteers – by sharing some of her knowledge and skills.

Certainly her efforts were much appreciated by the club … and expanded her learning experience at the same time!

The Monash University Medical Undergraduate Society (MUMUS) Teddy Bear Hospital was held at Leongatha Primary School recently and introduced a grand total of 93 grade prep students to hospital and clinical settings.

The MUMUS Teddy Bear Hospital was run by Monash medical students who played the role of Teddy doctors.  Through the event Monash students aim to help reduce the anxiety children may experience if they or someone close to them has to go to hospital.

The preps each filled out a chart about their teddy, stating why teddy needed to go to hospital. The children were then divided into smaller groups to visit four stations: Ambulance and Emergency; Hygiene and Surgery; Exercise and Healthy Eating and X-ray and Plastering.

At the stations Teddy doctors took the preps through what you should do if someone is hurt, what happens when someone has an operation and why the doctor might need to take an X-ray.

At the healthy eating station the preps got the chance to munch on some of the fresh fruit.

Teddies of all shapes and sizes attended the event, including dogs, a hammerhead shark and superman. These poor teddies were afflicted with sore tummies, broken legs and in the case of the hammerhead, one killer headache.

Despite their suffering a lot of fun was had by all. “This is awesome”, exclaimed one prep while gowned and masked at the Surgery station. Fortunately all teddies were feeling a lot better by the end of the day.

Thank you to the teachers and children at Leongatha Primary School for hosting the MUMUS Teddy Bear Hospital.

–  By Margaret Young, Year 4C South Gippsland

RFDS trivia winning team

Travellers from the Sunraysia community flocked to The Grand Hotel in August for a special event – the Royal Flying Doctors Service Trivia Fundraising Night 2013, hosted by the Monash University’s rural health student club Wildfire.

Headed by MC Captain Fleur Muirhead and assisted by the air hostesses from Wildfire Airlines, all passengers had a pleasant and enjoyable flight.

There were 110 passengers from the local and wider community who participated in the evening. Among the attendees were staff from Monash University’s Mildura Regional Clinical School and the Mildura Base Hospital as well as members from sporting and Rotary clubs.

Gary Layton, General Manager of Primary Health Care with the Royal Flying Doctors Service was also present and spoke about future initiatives as well as what the service does in the Sunraysia area and across Australia.

After departure the questions and games got underway. And it is fair to say that while some teams took off, others were left to travel with the baggage! Several tables were in close contention for first class although the wooden spoon was clearly taken out by the netballers.

In the end it was all down to the music round and famous faces that determined who took out the top spot. Upon arrival, it was a combination of medical students and out-of-towners that took out first place. Prizes included hampers from local businesses that generously donated vouchers and goods to support the night.

The event was very successful, raising a total of $2500 for the Royal Flying Doctors Service from both ticket and raffle sales. It was well received by both the local community and particularly by the RFDS. Without the support of the community, the Wildfire Mildura sub-committee and the staff from the Mildura Regional Clinical School this would not have been possible. We hope that Wildfire initiatives such as this can become an annual event to continue improving our relationship with and support for the RFDS, who provides such a crucial service to our rural communities.

– By Catherine Smale, Secretary Wildfire Mildura sub-committee 2013