Gippsland Medical School

October 2009 Update from Professor Chris Browne, Head

Gippsland Medical School staff and students are almost at the end of the second semester programs. The Year A students have been considering the placements options for Year B and similarly the Year B students are well advanced in the organisation of the placements for Year C. Many of our staff have been working hard to prepare the Year C program which will be running for the first time in 2010. We have now recruited all of the General practices that we will be placing students with next year and are embarking on the process of professional development of those GPs.  

One of our Year A students, Ms. Felicia Koh, recently spent the mid year semester break as a volunteer in Eastern Thailand.  She accompanied a medical team of eight volunteers and was supervised conducting medical consultations, dispensing medications and translating when required.  Felicia has gained invaluable experience during this trip and it has strengthened her resolve to pursue her dream of giving back to disadvantaged global communities by serving them through medicine.

Gippsland Medical School Back to Base

The Gippsland Medical School's inaugural cohort of medical students now in the second year of their four-year degree attended learning sessions in the campus Auditorium over two days. The event is a unique feature of the Gippsland Medical School curriculum. Formally, graduate-entry medical students undertake most of their studies on campus in their first year, and then proceed to be based in immersive environments in hospitals, GP clinics, etc in their subsequent three years. During "Back-To-Base" sessions, students are given the opportunity to participate in integrative activities.  The first Back-To-Base program, held on 31 March and 01 April, consisted of case presentations on the relevant clinical elements of a patient presenting with jaundice, workshops on medical law and ethics, as well as a presentation from the Victorian Doctors' Health Program. Two more Back-To-Base sessions are scheduled over the next few months.

Staff Matters

We have farewelled Dr Julie Grant who left the GMS at the end of June to pursue private business interests, Judy Lawless, our finance officer who has moved back to a position in the Gippsland Regional Clinical School and Mrs. Amélie Ivkovic, who has taken up a position as project officer with the Department of Health. We are delighted to welcome Mrs. Jo Kingsley, who has started with us as our Finance Officer and Mrs. Meagan Bennetts, who has been seconded to the School for twelve months as Administrative Officer, to fill a maternity leave position.  Dr. David Iser, a general practitioner from Foster, has joined the Gippsland Medical School on a part time basis as a Senior Lecturer.  David will be responsible for coordinating placements for our Year C MBBS students in South Gippsland.

A/Professor Brian Chapman, in collaboration with A/Professors Elmer Villanueva and George Somers, has developed a new software product on Heart Sounds.  It was recently used with the Year A clinical skills session on the cardiovascular system and received very positive reviews.  Brian has conducted a seminar demonstrating to staff the software package and how it could be further developed.

Accreditation of Gippsland Medical School

During the week of 17th August the Australian Medical Council conducted an accreditation review of the Gippsland Medical School.  During their visit they met with Professor Steve Wesselingh, Dean of Medicine Monash University, staff of Gippsland Medical School, tutors, clinical skills educators and the management groups responsible for delivery of the four years of the MBBS course.  They also visited the clinical schools in Sale, Bairnsdale and Frankston and met with staff, clinicians and students.  The AMC team also visited Maryvale Private Hospital to meet with hospital management, doctors and teachers and to view the hospital. The preliminary feedback from the AMC team has been very positive.

Gippsland Health Promotion Conference 2009

The Medical School co-hosted the Gippsland Health Promotion Conference 2009 in October 2009 at the campus Auditorium.  The theme of the conference was “Learning and Sharing through Evaluation”.  Mr. Paul Butler, Executive Officer, Health and Aged Care, Department of Health, gave the introductory speech and the two keynote speakers were Dr. Therese Riley, VicHealth Research Leader, Melbourne School of Population Health, University of Melbourne and Ms. Melanie Nichols, Research Fellow, Program Evaluation, CO-OPS Collaboration, Deakin University; Dr. Jim Hyde, Director of Public Health, Victorian Department of Health was the guest speaker at the conference dinner.

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