The Deputy Director of the WA Centre for Rural Health, Maeva Hall, visited MUDRIH in March on a whirlwind tour.

Maeva Hall is an occupational therapist with a background in rural based public and private health services. She is interested in the opportunities provided by non-traditional models of clinical placement in rural settings and the use of simulation in health services education.

Her tour began with student supervised clinical at Latrobe Community Health Services, followed by a meeting of Gippsland Health Simulation which she attended as a guest, and observation of a Ramahyuck Indigenous Cultural Safety session. Later, Maeva sat with MUDRIH staff who shared information on their programs and experiences, and discussed future ideas.

Latrobe Regional Hospital hosted Maeve’s final day in Gippsland in their simulation centre where programs and simulation options were discussed.

The WA Centre for Rural Health operates with support from the University of Western Australia and works closely with numerous health organisations on a local and national level.

The School of Rural Health Latrobe Valley & West Gippsland has won an MBBS development grant $35,000 to continue development of its e-logbook.

Developed in-house by Bill Haigh, the e-logbook allows Year 4C students to record clinical learning experiences across all disciplines. Students can then review their accumulating clinical portfolio to identify and reflect on strengths and areas for improvement, and to seek feedback to direct their learning efforts. Clinical supervisors can monitor their students’ activities and can compare their recorded experiences to that of the cohort and to other datasets. The ease of reporting enables supervisors to see and address any problems early in a placement.

The current pilot makes use of ICPC-2 codes (International Classification of Primary Care) in  general practice and children’s health placements. ICPC-2 codes enable clinical encounters to be placed within an internationally standardised framework. Clinical learning in   women’s health and medicine of the mind disciplines is task-based, and does not yet link to a standardised database to allow an appreciation of how learning opportunities in the community and hospital based settings are complementary and extend the student’s knowledge and skill base

The new project will develop an equivalent logbook for the medicine of the mind discipline based on the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and mapped to the ICPC-2 codes. This will make it possible to describe  clinical learning experiences across distributed  sites and link these to other disciplines. The project will also automate the logbook’s reporting function and enhance its presentation on the small screens of hand held devices.

The project team hopes the final resource can be marketed outside Monash.

The team includes the Year 4C coordinator; clinical dean; discipline leads for general practice, children’s health and medicine of the mind; the blended learning and simulation coordinator at the Latrobe Valley and West Gippsland; the overall medicine of the mind discipline lead and Year 4C assessment committee coordinator.

East Gippsland Sim Week poster

Advanced life support mannequin, Jimmy, stars as a simulated student in a poster produced to mark this year’s Simulation Week. School of RH East Gippsland responded to an invitation from Simulation Australia to promote local simulation and the resulting poster will be featured on the Simulation Australia website.

The poster features Jimmy at orientation day being introduced to staff and shown the facilities in Bairnsdale. The photos are showcased in black and white film strips reminding the viewer  that the history of simulation dates back to the 16^th century.

In 2012 the School of Rural Health East Gippsland, was successful in securing a simulation grant from Health Workforce Australia (HWA). The grant was in support of clinical education using simulation learning modalities for health professions in the East Gippsland region.

Two senior academics who welcomed the first cohort of students into the Gippsland Medical School have recently left the School of Rural Health Churchill.

Associate Professors Elmer Villanueva and Brian Chapman have made significant contributions to the Monash medical course during their terms.

Associate Professor Elmer Villanueva

Elmer was Theme II Coordinator and with his academic team developed a high quality program in health and society, epidemiology and population health, as well as the community-based program. Elmer had a very distinctive lecturing style where he demanded high levels of engagement from students, but this was tempered by his quirky sense of humour. He also developed and taught an innovative Year 3B evidence-based clinical practice program for students in the Gippsland region. Working closely with Professor Debra Nestel , they developed impressive research opportunities for medical students in the region. Elmer was actively involved in a number of MBBS committees, and acted as our OH&S and workplace discrimination representative for a time. His input into MBBS assessment and Open Days is well recognised. From September 2012 until December 2013 Elmer served as Acting Director of the former Gippsland Regional Clinical School.

Associate Professor Brian Chapman

Brian was Theme III Coordinator and Year A Problem Based Learning Coordinator. He was the primary lecturer in physiology in Year A teaching across a range of topics. Passionate and outspoken about his areas of responsibility, Brian developed a number of innovative computer-based learning packages to support student learning. His contributions to the unit’s assessment processes were well appreciated by his colleagues, and he became our guide to the correct use of language in written Year A examinations. Brian was our representative on a number of diverse MBBS and Gippsland campus committees.

We thank Brian and Elmer for their contributions to the Gippsland Medical School and the School of Rural Health and we wish them the best for the future.

Time out: Dr Chu watches a footy match in the Northern Territory with some of the young locals.

Vichai Chu completed Year 4C in Sale in 2011 and is now working in the Northern Territory. Here he takes time out to reflect on his experiences studying with Monash and since graduating.

As I write this on my birthday, I reminisce about the time I was a medical student in Sale exactly three years ago. I remember that day very well because I observed and assisted with the birth of a baby boy. Unfortunately, I was unable to convince his mother to name him “Vichai” for my (and his) birthday. Surely this didn’t have anything to do with the fact that the family was Caucasian?

My time in Sale has prepared me well for what was to come. After graduation, I was matched to the hospital of my choice—Goulburn Valley Hospital—for my internship. There, I rotated in general practice and anaesthetics in addition to the core terms. I chose this hospital because of the hands-on experience. (I estimate that I intubated around 40 patients and scrubbed in for multiple PICC insertions and lumbar punctures.)

I am currently participating in the Northern Territory Prevocational General Practice Placements Program, where I fly three days per week to remote islands such as Melville Island and Goulburn Island to see Aboriginal patients. There, I face a different set of challenges such as late presentations, a lack of understanding about diseases, and non-compliance with treatments. Still, it is a very worthwhile undertaking as Aboriginal people are very welcoming and have a rich culture. It is inspiring to know that we as public health advocates are slowly making a difference in ‘Closing the Gap’. When I return to Victoria, I will continue my role as a resident in the anaesthetic, intensive care, and emergency departments.

I think practising outside metropolitan areas is an invaluable experience and I encourage all to embrace this unique and rewarding opportunity. Sale’s integrated program has positively shaped my bedside manner, consultation skills, and procedural skills. This could not have happened without the mentorship of the clinicians and administrative staff at East Gippsland Regional Clinical School.

Vichai Chu
Graduate Year 4C Sale 2011

Bernie Ward

Bendigo-based Bernadette Ward has been awarded a Monash Advancing Women’s Research Success Grant.

The grants are targeted at female academic staff at Level B and Level C with primary caring responsibilities (child/dependent/elder) and aim to support women to enhance or maintain their research productivity at a critical time in their careers.

Each grant is valued at $12,500 and can be used flexibly to reduce the impact of career breaks and/or intense caring responsibilities on an academic career. Recipients will also participate in career development coaching.

Congratulations Bernie.

Ros Pearce talks to Laurea Atkinson

Laurea is the Simulation Learning Environment Project Officer at the School of Rural Health – East Gippsland in Bairnsdale. Ros Pearce talks to her about her work.

Marita shows off her hard-won trophy

After many attempts, Bendigo-based PhD student, Marita Chisholm won the 8km Cohuna Bridge to Bridge swim in March. She came in 31 minutes ahead of the next female swimmer.

“I was interviewed for the Northern Times newspaper in which they refer to me at Mrs Chisholm just to make me feel old (which I feel today), ” she said the day after winning the swim.

Her son Thomas won the around the fountain swim as well. The Chisholm family is in great form.

Stephen and Michelle have announced their engagement.

Traralgon-based Michelle Ryan has announced her engagement to long-time love, Stephen, whom she has known since she was 12 and he 15. Her new fiancé took her to Tasmania on a holiday and proposed at the summit of Mt Wellington. Unaccustomed to wearing a ring on that hand, Michelle has been forgetting the engagement diamond and has been unable to show it off everywhere. Michelle and Stephen plan to marry within the next 18 months.