During semester two, Mildura Regional Clinical School hosted 16 students, and the program was certainly up to expectations; Orange World, Glen Esk Station, Mutawinji – all whimsical or exotic names for places which the students might experience during their rural health immersion based in Mildura for two weeks.   The aim of the Mildura team is to make rural health REAL, through the people, the sparse outback landscape, or interaction with local Aboriginal peoples.

The Year 2 placement in Bairnsdale travelled to the village of Bruthen, a small town (population 624) located alongside the Tambo River, approximately 25kms from Bairnsdale on the Great Alpine Road in East Gippsland. Nestled in the hills, the small town boasts the last coffee before the snow fields which gives it a daily buzz more akin to a larger town.

Sixteen Year 2 medical students visited the Bruthen Primary School, which has 44 students in all, so it was a manageable ratio to help with first aid training. The primary students were engaged from the beginning with our medical students giving them hands-on activities in small groups of mixed grade levels. Practicing CPR on our simulated equipment was a great hit as was helping locate body parts and learning how lungs work.

It was then time to feed the medical students. The Year 2 students had worked hard and earned a fabulous BBQ in the park.

We were very fortunate to have a paramedic from Omeo, Scott Fyfe, come to Bruthen to conduct hands on Basic Life Support sessions, complete with Jimmy, the simulated model who had fallen from his bike and later had cut his leg with an axe. The inclement weather meant we lay claim to the town’s rotunda. Wet weather failed to dampen the spirits of those involved and even engage travellers in the town who were intrigued with the activity.

The Year 2 students at Bairnsdale campus finished off the week with more community activities and in their spare time were able to explore the area and even  go kayaking in the canals at Paynesville. We are sure they will take back to Melbourne stories of a great placements which combined lots of fun with a valuable learning experience.

Our recently appointed Year 2 (and 3B) academic coordinator, Alda Dunlop, was thrown into the deep end when 15 Year 2 Monash medical students recently spent two weeks in Sale as part of their curriculum, getting a taste of rural medicine.

Alda had only been with the East Gippsland Regional Clinical School for a matter of weeks when asked to coordinate the Year 2 program. She was fortunate to have the assistance of Jennie Casey who had run the program over previous years and wasn’t far away. Jennie has moved to manage the Year 4C program at the South Gippsland campus.

Activities over the 2 weeks varied from visits to local medical practices, hospital wards and pharmacies, a day out with the Community Health department of the Central Gippsland Health Service to hands on plastering and basic life support tutorials.

All students agreed that the East Gippsland region has a lot to offer in both lifestyle and medical education opportunities. We hope some will return for more rural experiences at some stage during the remainder of their medical studies.

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!

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

Six Mildura-based students with their RFDS award

Congratulations to the six Mildura-based students who’ve been named best Health Check-In team by the Royal Flying Doctor Service for their work at the recent Mallee Machinery Field Days. In partnership with the RFDS, The students conducted free health assessments to help raise awareness of high blood pressure and diabetes.

The happy couple … Eleanor Lazarus and Dan Harbison just after Dan proposed. Cold and wet but happy!

Romance has blossomed between two medical students who have spent quite a bit of time in Gippsland.

Eleanor Lazarus, now undertaking Year 4B studies in West Gippsland, and Year 5D student Dan Harbison became engaged last month. The pair was in East Gippsland last year undertaking their Year 3B and 4C studies respectively and have been going out as a couple for a few years now.

Fittingly Dan chose one of the icons of Gippsland, Wilsons Promontory, as the place to pop the question, albeit on a rough and wet day.

After hiking 12 kilometres out to Little Waterloo Bay at the Prom through the rain and mud, Dan found a beautiful place to ask Eleanor to marry him – and luckily she said yes!

According to Eleanor, they were “very wet and cold, but happy.”

“He didn’t quite get down on bended knee, in the mud. But we were sitting on a big rock looking out over the ocean, it was very beautiful!” she added.

Dan is undertaking his final year through Monash and is hoping to go to the Eastern hospital next year. According to Eleanor, the couple plans to marry next year.