Kerrie Thomsen enjoys her work

Your name and position

Kerrie Thomsen, Regional Manager, Bendigo Regional Clinical School

Describe your job/role

As the Regional Manager for the Bendigo Regional Clinical School I am responsible for our overall budget, HR management and needs of the School, day to day operations for our building and staff as well as all of our student accommodation, partnership agreements and special projects such as the Loddon Mallee Simulated Learning Education Project.

Why is it important?

Finding and creating ways to ensure Rural Health and Education is the best it can be against metro standards and any other relevant standard. There is a very strong sense that we want to keep on contributing to improving the health of everyone in our community at BRCS and this team includes people who have been here for years and are very committed, so as the new person it is easy to be committed too.

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

The team of people I work with who have supported and empowered me in my leadership role, our morning teas and projects that you can really sink your teeth into!

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

Bush-walking near my home and walking my dog Rocky, or painting birds and animals with acrylic on canvas or having coffee at Apple Annie’s in Castlemaine with a friend or two.

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

Mackay, Queensland for my beautiful niece’s 21^st Birthday. I had a couple of extra days with my sister to help prepare for the party at her home, which was just fun “sister time”.

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

I would allocate the money and decree the set up of “Rescue Wildlife” with funds big enough to last decades in every regional community.

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

I was the first person in my family (from both sides) to go to University. I was 17 years old and moved 380 kilometres away from my home in North Aramara (near Maryborough north of Brisbane) to the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

Lyndsey and Leigh's engagement

School of Rural Health couple, Lyndsey Brown from Bendigo Regional Clinical School and Leigh Kinsman (Research) were engaged to be married recently and are naturally very happy with the news!

Bendigo staff celebrated the announcement with the couple with a few bubbles and many admiring glances at Lyndsey’s engagement ring, a beautiful square cut Aquamarine surrounded by dozens of sparkling diamonds.

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.

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…)

Gippsland Medical School Administrative and Clinical Skills Support officer Kelsey Giardina has proved her skills in the sporting arena, taking out the Gippsland Football and Netball League Best and Fairest for C Grade.

Kelsey plays goal keeper for Morwell Football Netball club and also captained this year’s team.

Kelsey stormed through with 27 votes, three better than the runner up.  It topped another excellent year for Kelsey who has played at Morwell for a number of years, including three years in C Grade, with her team in the grand final each year.

This year the Morwell girls came up against Traralgon in the final; unfortunately Morwell was runner up but it was another great achievement for Kelsey and her team.

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.

Your name and position

Melanie (Mel) Craig – Administrative Officer, Rural Education Program

Describe your job/role

I manage the rural placements for MBBS students from years 2 to 5 and help Laura, Gayle and our academic and professional staff deliver the year 1 and 2 program. I liaise with Year 1 and 2 students who are still centrally located here on Clayton campus, provide administrative support and consultation to the WILDFIRE Rural Health Student Club and also provide executive support to Judi Walker whilst she is at Clayton.

I also project assist in the implementation of the RCTS program. It has been very exciting being part of the development of new programs.

Why is it important?

I get to be a part of and work with inspiring staff and students. It makes me part of the team of academic and professional staff at our rural sites working towards building great rural medical doctors and developing an innovative and professional rural program and school that can have the same inspiration as the one founded by Roger Strasser 20 years ago.

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

The variety of people I get to work with. The School of Rural Health has staff from different walks of life and bring different skills to their role. I feel like I am always learning.

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

As you (readers of RHM) already know raising puppies. I love spending time with (husband to be in December) Cam and our Australia Cattle Dogs Cain and Ziva.

I looooooove cooking, having been raised by my grandmother who was Spanish. My love of food extends to growing it, so getting out in the garden. I love getting into a good book, movie/TV series or craft project. I love hanging out with friends and being a big kid with their kids. Cam actually got asked the other day what I was like to live with; his reply was it is like living with a mix of Dawn French and Nigella Lawson. I love cooking food, eating it, eating with others, being hilariously funny and just being an idiot like singing to the dogs (nothing wrong with that is there?).

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

Tasmania (mmm, six years ago or more) I did it as a treat for Cam for putting up with me in my first year of uni. Living with a student can be a nightmare.

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

I need to put in a funny one and serious one. The funny one would be to install jumping castles at work, what an interesting way to have meetings especially video conferences, and secretly good for afternoon nanna naps in the sunshine. Seriously, I would share the wealth across the world to stamp out behaviour brought on by poverty.

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

When I came in for my interview at MBBS Assessment, I knocked back a chance to go into Channel 7 and be on ‘Deal or no Deal.’ Regret or not? I will never know – I could have been 50 cents richer or $200,000 dollars richer or something in between. Would I be any better off? Probably not as Cam would have brought a motorbike and something else and …

Gippsland Medical School has welcomed two new appointments, Ms Michelle Machado and Dr Nicole Wallis.

Both have qualifications in the biomedical sciences and will make significant contributions to theme III teaching. They will also play important roles in the implementation of MBBS assessment in the Gippsland region.

Nicole’s areas of expertise are neuroscience and pharmacology. She has recently completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Howard Florey Research Institute. Nicole will support assessment implementation across Years A, 3B and 4C.

Michelle has been associated with the school since 2009 and impressed with the quality of her teaching. She will be responsible for the coordination of Year A assessment and will provide support to assessment in the other years of the program when required. She will continue to be involved in the Year A anatomy program and teach some aspects of physiology.

Michelle and Nicole officially started their new appointments in mid September.

Michelle Machado

Nicole Wallis