Research Professional now has a rural health-specific group, which is available via the web.  Research Professional is an online, searchable database that provides information about national and international funding opportunities for researchers based in Australia, including grants, fellowships and prizes, plus a compendium of worldwide research news.

To join the group, click “Join this group” button on the top right hand page. 

Cathy Ward and Helen Chambers are in the process of adding information and searches to this page. 

Information on how to register with Research Professional plus a user guide was distributed by email before Easter – please contact Cathy or Helen if you need the information resent.

Here is a snapshot of some upcoming funding opportunities:

Research grants
Pierce Armstrong Foundation: These support research that may contribute to a better quality of life for all Australians.

Closing date: 15 April 2013  

Sponsorship to attend conference
Primary Health Care Research & Information Service: This is granted to a delegate residing in Australia who would not normally be able to attend the PHC research conference because of funding difficulties. Part and full sponsorship packages are available.

Closing date: 26 April 2013   

Small grants
Helen Macpherson Smith Trust: These grants are awarded to non-profit organisations in Victoria undertaking small stand-alone projects, to fund elements of larger programs or for material or equipment costs. The maximum amount awarded is AU$25,000.

Closing date: 30 April 2013   

Travel grants
Ian Potter Foundation: The grants assist early-career staff members with an appointment of at least three years to attend conferences overseas to develop their research and interact with their peers in the international scene. Travel grants made are normally worth between AU$2,000 and AU$3,000.

Closing date: 28 May 2013

Thanks to everyone from across the School who submitted 2012 publications by the deadline in February. 

The 2012 publications list is now available on the research website.

The School had more than 140 publications during 2012, with 71 being C1 Journal Articles.

We have had authors publish in journals such as Australian Journal of Rural Health, The American Journal of Surgery, The Lancet, International Journal of Health and Addiction, International Journal of Mental Health Nursing and BMC Medical Research Methodology. 

Conference presentations were published at conferences in Canada, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Thailand, and Japan and also across all parts of Australia. 

Articles in professional journals were also published and distributed to different health and education professional groups in Australia. 

A reminder for those with a publication during 2013: please forward the publication, as early as possible, with the appropriate forms and FOR codes to Janelle McGrail in the south-east or Sandra Paschkow in the north-west. This allows the research administration team to process publications throughout the year, rather than in the last few weeks prior to the deadline. 

Any questions regarding publication collection should be directed in the first instance to the Research Administration Manager, cathy.ward@monoash.edu, or alternatively to Janelle.mcgrail@monash.edu or sandra.paschkow@monash.edu.

All education, clinical and research staff and students are invited to join the School of Rural Health Journal Club, this month held on Wednesday 10 April.

Participants can join from Bendigo, Gippsland, and Mildura in person or by tele/videoconference link.

This month’s  facilitator is Rachel Tham and the topic is “the impact of socioeconomic status on accessibility to primary care services”.  Contact Rachel  for the article and further information.

Time is from 12 noon- 1pm. Those taking part can access the Club from Meeting Room 3 (Level 2), School of Rural Health, 26 Mercy St Bendigo or by videoconference (IP 130.194.213.113) or teleconference (9903 5988) from other sites.

Staff and students are being encouraged to take part in Monash University’s Diversity and Inclusion Week, with activities planned from Monday 15 to Friday 19 April.

Details about all the activities can be found on the Diversity website.

One of the events being hosted by the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences Social Inclusion committee is ASPIRE: Achieving success as a woman.

Dr Sally Cockburn, otherwise known as Dr Feelgood, is the MC on Thursday 18 April, commencing with refreshments at 4.30pm at the Clayton campus.

Further details and booking form can be accessed on My Monash.

Anyone who wants to take part should make their inquiry soon.

Highly regarded Gippsland paediatrician Dr Austen Erasmus, who is also Senior Lecturer with the East Gippsland Regional Clinical School Year 4C program, gets a real kick out of teaching junior doctors and students.

Following are his thoughts on the benefits gained by using the simulation facility at the Sale campus.

As part of the Junior Medical Resident Officer (JMRO) Paediatric rural rotation, Loy Perryman and myself have organised a simulation evening during the resident rotation to Sale.  

We specifically present a scenario where the young doctor has to prepare for, then put into action and practically demonstrate how they would go about managing an ill baby or toddler.  

This not only tests the young doctor’s theoretical knowledge but more importantly helps us, in a friendly and non-threatening environment, to constructively give them pointers to improve on their skills. It also helps them to consider very important resuscitative principles that they may not know, possibly may have forgotten or even simply not practiced in a long time.

The Monash Sale Simulation Centre and the equipment available are fantastic and state of the art.  It’s a spacious, well set out lab and conducive to excellence and learning.  

I applaud the staff who work tirelessly behind the scene and give up their own personal time, and accommodate all personnel and students.

The best ‘kick’ I get from this program is that, by teaching junior doctors and imparting knowledge that can be life-saving, they are taught good habits that will stay with them and help them to be safe, capable physicians who are more confident in their abilities.  

If inspired they have the opportunity to come back and practise more intubations, look through equipment, even practise drawing up drugs or “play” with the defibrillator – all under supervision of course!

– Dr Austen Erasmus, Paediatrician, Central Gippsland Health Service, Senior Lecturer, EGRCS Year 4C Program, Sale campus

Dr Austen Erasmus is pictured with an intern during a training session in the simulation lab at Sale.

During March the Gippsland Clinical Placement Network (CPN) provided fully funded workshops in three sites across Gippsland open to any health practitioners who wanted to develop skills as interprofessional facilitators.

The coordinator, Glenda McPherson from the CPN, said she was pleased to offer the workshops at Bairnsdale and Leongatha as well as Morwell, as it provided easier access for rural practitioners who frequently find themselves travelling long distances for any professional development activities.

The workshops were delivered in two sections on each day, starting with a basic interprofessional facilitation segment. Experienced educators were invited to stay for a second ‘train the trainer’ segment.

The workshops are the brainchild of Mollie Burley, senior lecturer at MUDRIH, whose passion is to develop practitioners’ skills to enhance the interprofessional supervision of students and to champion the benefits of collaborative practice for staff to improve patient care.

The workshops were delivered collaboratively by Jane Taylor working with other MUDRIH staff, Michelle Butler, Jenny Moloney and Fiona McCook.

Jane said, “We always walk the walk as well as talk the talk, by having two different disciplines co-presenting. It adds to the richness of the examples as well as modelling collaboration at the same time.

“As a result there are now a number of trained interprofessional facilitators across Gippsland ready and able to deliver this workshop package to more of their own staff to encourage different professions to work more collaboratively.”

For more information contact Jane Taylor: jane.taylor@monash.edu

The website for the School of Rural Health Educational Technology Inservice series has been revamped.

Resources from each of the sessions are uploaded to the school’s website .    

In March, Helen Cronin spoke about refining Google searches, plus creating your own search engines.

The next inservice is scheduled for Wednesday 17 April at 1.00pm via tele- or video-conference. The topic and presenter are to be confirmed.

For further details, or to suggest or offer to present a session, please contact Dr Julie Willems at Julie.Willems@monash.edu.

Local Elder, Uncle Willy, shows how his bowl has many uses, including as part of his musical repertoire.

A number of bush-tucker based items provided suitable fare for a morning tea hosted by Mildura Regional Clinical School in support of the Oxfam Australia ‘Close the Gap’ campaign, which raises awareness of Aboriginal Health issues.

Attendees came from the Aboriginal community, local health organisations and other community groups, together with medical students and Mildura staff to learn about the Close the Gap campaign and the appalling statistics involved in aboriginal health.  The Mildura Regional Clinical School collected 32 signatures for the pledge as part of the event.

It proved an entertaining as well as educational event.

Following the Welcome To Country the audience was enthralled by the guest speaker, a local elder known as Uncle Willy.  Uncle Willy is a storyteller of the highest order who kept everyone well and truly entertained and fascinated by the tension between traditional and westernised upbringing for Aboriginal children. 

He outlined the multiple uses of such various implements. For example, the boomerang is as much a map as it is a weapon!

Then there is what Uncle Willy dubbed the Aboriginal version of a Swiss Army Knife – his wooden bowl. It can be used as a bowl, a baby carrier, a shelter from the rain, a paddle, and to aid the sound production in his didgeridoo playing. 

Uncle Willy is an accomplished didgeridoo player and makes his own instruments; sadly there was only a brief opportunity for his music.  To conclude the presentations, an Aboriginal children’s dance troupe from a local primary school performed a traditional welcome dance.

Another highlight was provided by local Aboriginal health workers, who contributed bush tucker-based items for the morning tea table. The menu included lemon myrtle cheesecake with quandong jam, wattle seed madeleines, kangaroo pizza and crocodile with wild herbs and rice – although the last items were snapped up so quickly (pun intended) that not everyone had a chance to taste them!

Local dancers and officials gathered with a strong overarching message

Pictured at the prize presentation are, from left, top student for Traralgon campus Ali Nguyen, overall highest achiever Bree Morris, Professor Daryl Pedler and the top student for Warragul Rachel Elliott.

Former Director of the Gippsland Regional Clinical School, Professor Daryl Pedler, returned to his old stomping ground in February to take part in a welcome for 2013 students and present prizes for Gippsland clinical school’s top 2012 Year 3B  students.

The welcome event for the 2013 cohort was held in one of Traralgon’s reception centres and, as well as a dinner to welcome the students to the Gippsland Regional Clinical School, allowed new students to mingle with staff and tutors before getting into the year proper.

Daryl clearly enjoyed the chance to catch up with everyone and also take part in the prize presentation for 2012.

The overall highest achiever was Bree Morris. Rachel Elliott and Ali Nguyen were runners-up.

If you want to comment on Monash University’s Reconciliation Action Plan (pdf, 156kb) do it quickly. Consultations end Wednesday 6 March at 5.00 pm.

Once adopted, the plan will formalise the University’s commitment to reconciliation and outlines key activities and actions to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Advancing Indigenous education and career outcomes is an institutional priority for Monash and the plan will contribute to this, and work toward to a more diverse learning and working environment.

The plan is a document to be ‘owned’ by all colleagues. Strategies and actions within the document are not solely the responsibility of one central unit, but of all staff at Monash.

Email us your questions, comments and suggestions to Monash.Futures@monash.edu.au by 5 pm Wednesday 6 March.