Year 4 Bendigo-based medical student, Saada Malouf, has just returned from several weeks in Uganda, part of a team on a visit organised by Monash medical student global health group, TeaMMEd.

Before she went, Saada, who is originally from Gippsland, spoke to the Bendigo Advertiser and what she hoped to achieve on the trip. (Read the article).

The team originally had a choice between Tonga and Uganda, but Saada chose Uganda because it appealed to her more.

The group took numerous medical supplies to help out the local people and to leave supplies once the trip had ended. In a country where people live on $A1.25 a day and a box of band-aids costs about $4.00, the group decided the medical supplies would be valuable.

Saada approached several business and Rotary clubs in Bendigo as well as in her home area of Gippsland to support purchase of the supplies and was delighted with the response.

One of the current Mildura students, Tom Kavanagh (Year 4) demonstrates an ear examination in the sim lab to a potential doctor.

Early in June, Mildura Regional Clinical School opened its doors to more than 25 school students, their families and careers advisors, for the annual information evening for aspiring medical students.

Guest speakers included Head of the School of Rural Health, Professor Judi Walker, Mildura Director, Associate Professor Fiona Wright and Juliet Baxter from MBBS admissions Clayton, who gave a very informative and engaging presentation on the pathways into health sciences at Monash.

A range of current medical students and one recent graduate also spoke on their experiences, a privilege enjoyed by those attending.

The students were fantastic ambassadors for Monash University and its medical program and spent considerable time talking with families and students over supper about medicine as a career. The students helped run simulation demonstrations in conjunction with Howard, Jenny and Kristi, Mildura’s formidable simulation /skills lab team.

Thanks for their involvement go to Elliot, Amy, Scott, Charles, Fiona, Thomas Hannah, Steph, Amy (some of the current medical students) and Georgia, a recent Graduate, as well as the staff from Mildura Regional Clinical School.

Of the 45 evaluations completed on the night, 24 were from the secondary students.  Overwhelmingly, the highlights of the evening were skills lab / practical work, and the opportunity to meet current students and hear their stories.

Paired questions to students and parents were asked as to whether the information evening has affected career choices. Obviously it has for some, with this response from one parent: “She definitely knows what she wants to do now – I know from the smile on her face!”

The majority response to “which university / course do you intend to apply for” was Monash Medicine, or variations of medicine.

Elliot Anderson (centre) takes delivery of a load of supplies from Mildura Base Hospital Director of Corporate Services Ms Julia Morgan, and Supply Manager Rod Moore.

Students from Mildura travelled to Tonga during their mid-year break to take part in a volunteer medical program.

Mildura-based Elliot Anderson (Year 4), and Fleur Muirhead (Year 3) together with other Monash students Andrew Long and Olivia Wells, joined the program run by TeaMMED, a student-driven, not-for-profit organisation.

It provides an avenue for Monash University medical students to become involved in medical volunteer initiatives world-wide, including medical resource collection and fundraising events in addition to local volunteer opportunities.

TeaMMed has been sending small groups of volunteers to the island of Vava’u, Tonga for three years.

As volunteers the students help alleviate the problems of limited resources and medical staff, and implement an educational approach to problems of obesity and increasing diabetes.

Elliot and Fleur visited schools located on Vava’u, holding workshops/lectures to teach children about the importance of exercise and healthy eating, and how they can avoid risk factors.

The team also headed to rural towns and villages to offer free “health checkups,” that included brief talk about the importance of healthy living, measurement of blood pressure and blood glucose level, a body mass index (BMI) calculation, and the distribution of brochures regarding diabetes and healthy lifestyle.

Another aim of the program is to aid in the treatment of those who have been previously diagnosed with diabetes, particularly those who suffer from diabetic wounds. This is a largely undervalued part of diabetes treatment, particularly in developing nations. Diabetic wounds are very common complications that often go unnoticed due to their painless nature and the fact that they are often hidden on the soles of the feet.

Appropriate dressing and treatment of these wounds are vital so that they do not become infected and potentially life-threatening.

To tackle this issue, the team helped increase local access to appropriate dressings by purchasing these and making them available for free administration within the Prince Wellington Ngu Hospital.

Before their trip Elliot and Fleur did some fundraising to help the cause; Mildura Base Hospital donated essential supplies and equipment and Nuttelex also provided generous financial support.

Gippsland Regional Clinical School’s Renee Laidlaw (right) and Michelle Livingstone measure up the area for cubicle curtains in the revamped Clinical Skills Room, along with local tradesman Charlie.

The clinical skills training facilities at Gippsland have been undergoing significant upgrades in the past few months.

As well as the opening of the new simulation labs upstairs in the former accommodation floor, the Clinical Skills Room downstairs is also being refurbished as part of a $4 million training precinct shared with Latrobe Regional Hospital and the School of Nursing.

The upstairs area includes two state-of-the-art simulation suites with five of the latest simulator mannequins.  There are also observation rooms, complete with one-way glass and the latest in video monitoring equipment, adjoining the simulation suites.

While the work on the clinical skills area has not been quite as major, it still means a significant improvement in its usability.

The old carpeted floor has been replaced with more appropriate and clinical-looking flooring and a proper basin has been installed. Curtains to create hospital-style cubicles are also being installed.

The overall project means better facilities that will be used by School of Rural Health medical students, the Monash School of Nursing and Midwifery and Latrobe Regional Hospital staff.

The Chinese delegation at the Bendigo Regional Clinical School with staff.

A delegation of Chinese health professionals, hosted by Bendigo TAFE, visited the Bendigo Regional Clinical School recently and was particularly intrigued by our training methods and use of facilities such as simulation suites.

The group of 10 health professionals (nine medical specialists and one nurse) is from Lanzhou, Gansu Province, North West China, and is visiting Australia for a study program to improve English language skills and learn about the Australian Healthcare system and culture.

Bendigo staff had the privilege of spending time with the delegates for a morning before the delegates visited the La Trobe Rural School, also situated in the Bendigo Hospital education precinct.

The group will spend three months in Australia with members visiting health services across Bendigo and the Loddon Mallee Region for the first two months, followed by a month in Melbourne. The delegates’ medical specialties are in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Psychiatry, Cardiology, Respiratory medicine, Dental, Radiology/Ultrasound and Nursing.

The Chinese delegates were given a tour around the Monash building by Bendigo Regional Manager, Kerrie Thomsen and they enjoyed browsing through the Bendigo Health library.

The favored opportunity was observing students participating in a clinical simulation session run by Cathy Driver in the Monash Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre. The delegates are familiar with clinical skills and simulation suites but were particularly interested to see how they are used them in Australia. They were surprised that only a small group of three students were being taught as well as the relaxed and friendly environment.

They particularly enjoyed seeing the equipment in use during the simulation and asked many questions about the cost of the center and the cost of training a medical student.

After the presentation of a gift to each delegate and a group photo, Monash staff were invited to visit Lanzhou if ever in China. Thank you to Angela Cahill, Director, Health and Human Services at Bendigo TAFE, for inviting Bendigo to participate in a lovely morning.

Associate Professor Leigh Kinsman has travelled to Canada to work on an evaluation project of Saskatchewan’s health care transformation using the Lean Management System.

Leigh will work with Dr Thomas Rotter from the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, and meet with a research team from the University of Western Ontario.

The group is looking to adapt the Lean Management System to the health industry to reduce health-care costs, maximize efficiencies and improve patient oriented experiences. The initial focus for the group is on leadership, strategic alignment, training, and creation of a supportive infrastructure.

This is the planning phase to develop a complete evaluation plan where the goal is a whole system transformation that produces ‘better health, better value, better care, and better teams.’

Mildura

The experiences of pre-school children from the Pacific Islands and their families, who now live in Australia, will be examined in a study in the Mildura region.

The study is being conducted by the School of Rural Health and Sunraysia Community Health Services and will provide a snapshot of how experiences before starting school can affect a child’s development.

Fiona Tipping, Occupational Therapist at Sunraysia Community Health Services and Monash adjunct, said that there were significant gaps in early childhood development and by the time children started school it was hard to change their developmental pathway.

Mildura Rural City Council has a high proportion of children who are considered developmentally vulnerable. While not all those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds are developmentally vulnerable, it is one of the risk factors.

A recent Mildura Rural City Council investigation found that the number of CALD children accessing funded kindergarten places in the year before starting school was extremely low and there are also low rates of utilisation of paediatric allied health services.

The Mildura region has a diverse population. The Pacific Island migrant community is one of the larger migrant groups in the region, with approximately 2000 Pacific Islanders from Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.

Dr Bernadette Ward from the School of Rural Health said early childhood was a critical time in development where experiences prepare children for transition to full time school, and establish lifelong learning pathways.

“We are interested in hearing from parents about what they feel is important for their family and child’s journey before they start primary school,” Dr Ward said. “This research will assist us to better understand the factors that influence people from rural Pacific Island migrant communities’ decisions in accessing services for their children.

“It will guide local services in the area of health and education and ensure early years services are appropriate and accessible for Pacific Island migrant children in the Mildura region.”

The researchers are calling on parents from Pacific Island migrant communities in the Mildura region, who have a 4-5 year old child due to start school in 2014, to participate in the study.

Those who want to participate in the study have been asked to contact Dr Ward on 03 5444 9064 / 0427 059 205 Bernadette.Ward@monash.edu or Fiona Tipping on +61 3 5022 5444 / 0437 844 503 ftipping@shcs.com.au

Associate Professor Fiona Wright from the Mildura Regional Clinical School and Laura Major from the School of Rural Health Rural Education Program office headed to Malaysia in May to assist with implementing the Monash Malaysia Year 2 MBBS Integrated Rural Program (MIRP) pilot study.

The pilot was undertaken in Segamat, a rural town and district which is located about 172 km from Johor Bahru.

Year 2 student volunteers undertook the pilot under the watchful eye of Professor Shah Yasin, his team from Monash Sunway in Kuala Lumpur (KL) and colleagues from the Johor Bahru Clinical School.  Students had the opportunity to undertake daily ward rounds at the 320 bed Segamat Hospital, which serves patients from a large area, some as far as Gemas and Rompin about 45 minutes to an hour away.

Students also enjoyed the opportunity of attending daily clinical placements at district community clinics that deal with a range of health issues, as well as attending regular placements at much smaller village clinics which deal primarily with maternal and child health issues.  In addition, students undertook PBL tutorials as well as clinical skills sessions within a rural context. This was to ensure that they kept up with their central curriculum learning activities.

The regular recording of lectures at Sunway campus in KL allowed the student pilot cohort to download these each day in Segamat and view them during timetabled self-directed learning sessions or in their own time.

Fiona and Laura moderated an evaluation feedback session on the last day of the pilot.

The universal consensus among the students was that they felt the new rural program, focussing on the introduction of clinical skills to Year 2 students in a rural context and experience of rural health service systems rather than a focus on the Sunway curriculum, would enable them to feel better prepared to commence their Year 3 clinical studies.

More importantly the students stated that they felt this model would lessen the “transition shock” that many MBBS students experience as they move from pre-clinical to clinical years training.

The Malaysian Year 2 MIRP pilot student group on the last day of the study.

In collaboration with the Central Gippsland Health Service, Year 3B students at the Sale campus of East Gippsland Regional Clinical School joined transition nurses as part an interdisciplinary education program.

The skills session scenarios focused on detection of and communication with the deteriorating patient, both paediatric and adult.

All participants gave very positive feedback and it is hoped that opportunities for this type of interdisciplinary education continue and expand in the future.

Medical students and transition nurses enjoyed the chance to work in the interdisciplinary program in East Gippsland.

West Gippsland-based students had an opportunity to meet and discuss issues around chronic illness with a person suffering from Motor Neurone Disease (MND), thanks to an event organised by community advisory member Mavis Gallienne.

Mavis has been organising such meetings from some years now and the current cohort at the West Gippsland Campus of the Gippsland Regional Clinical School were fortunate to meet local lady Barbara Phillippi.

Barbara has been living with MND for about eight years but remains a fiercely independent woman who is determined to raise awareness of the illness by telling her story.

An active sportswoman, Barbara told the students how she had first noticed that she was starting to trip and stumble for no apparent reason when playing netball.

As the illness progressed she lost the ability to walk and has little use of her arms, but can drive a motorised wheelchair.

The students heard about the frustrations felt by someone who is now almost totally dependent on family and carers. They also learned a lot about the team available to provide assistance, including Barbara’s GP, a neurologist, physiotherapist, dietician, specialist MND nurses and staff for the Victorian Respiratory Support Service, as well as home care support.

In a recent news item in the local newspaper, the Warragul Gazette, Barbara is quoted as saying: “It is really important for people to understand that minds are not affected by this disease.” This was another key message to the students.

The sessions are important for students as it gives them an insight into the whole range of issues, other than the medical, which impact on people with chronic disease. These include the impact on and role of family, services and support mechanisms, as well as the reaction of other people.

Students have also been encouraged to look at other literature available, including a book out at the moment called ‘Until I Say Goodbye.’ It is by Susan Spencer Wendel, a person living with a form of MND.

West Gippsland students are pictured with Barbara Phillippi and community advisory member Mavis Gallienne, at left.