COOEE! April 2007

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Welcome to the NRHN – get involved!

We are so excited to welcome YOU as a 2007 member

of the NRHN. You join another 5500 multidisciplinary

health students from rural health clubs all around

Australia, in a network that is passionate and committed

to promoting rural and remote health. As a member of

your university’s rural health club, you become a member

of the NRHN. Through the work of the rural health clubs

and the dedication of NRHN members, the network is

steam-rolling ahead and we want you to get involved in

2007.

The year has already kicked off with a flurry of activity

and enthusiasm. In early February, the 2006 & 2007

NRHN exec team spent some long hours in Melbourne

at the official exec handover. Many strategies were

concocted although there was still plenty of time for

sampling Melbourne’s culinary delights! We would like

to thank the 2006 Co-Chairs, Angela Titmuss (RAHMS)

and Craig Smith (FURHS), as well as Litsa Kane (NRHN

• Co-Chairs Report

• Executive Support Officer Update

• Rural Health Club Reports

• 2007 Forum Summary

• ARRWAG CEO Update

• Portfolio Reports

• Mental Health Guide Launch

Co-Chairs Report

Photo: Courtesy of SHARP Rural Health

Club, at the NRHN Forum

C o o e e ! A p r i l 2 0 0 7

Co-Chair’s Report

Welcometo Cooee!

Executive Support Officer), and Linda Nink

(NRHN Project Support Officer), for their

leadership and dedication to the network as

well as their amazing productivity!

The 2007 NRHN exec team is truly

multidisciplinary. Having previously been the

NRHN Secretary, 2007 Co-Chair Nick Moore

(RAHMS), is studying 5th Year Medicine at

UNSW and spending the year at the rural

clinical school at Albury. Claire Seiffert (ARMS),

2007 Co-Chair, is a qualified Physiotherapist

and is now studying 3rd year medicine at the

ANU. Our 2007 Secretary is Felix Ho (RUSTICA)

who is in his 2nd year of Paramedical Science

at the University of Tasmania. Finally, we are

fortunate enough to have Litsa Kane from

ARRWAG on board again as our ESO for 2007.

March saw the inaugural and successful 2

day NRHN forum in Albury which over 300

student delegates attended. The passion,

ideas and experiences that were shared was

overwhelming and we hope that every club

will benefit from their members’ attendance.

The enthusiasm carried over into the National

Rural Health Conference held later in the week

at which there were over 1200 delegates. We

thank the Department of Health and Ageing

for funding our forum and attending the NRHC.

A major aim of 2007 will be to determine a

successful future conference model and to

determine the potential for future conference

funding.

Prior to the forum, NRHN representatives from

each rural health club met with the exec in

Albury for our 2007 NRHN Council Face to Face

meeting. It is always nice to put a face to a

name which is difficult when our vast spread

means we rely on teleconferences! It was a

fantastic meeting with many solid directions

for 2007 NRHN activities developed. We were

impressed by each representative’s input

and genuine commitment to the NRHN and

their clubs. Plenty of passionate ideas flowed

throughout the day which bodes well for the

next 12 months. We look forward with much

anticipation to working with this year’s brilliant

NRHN council!

Finally, we encourage you to get involved

in the NRHN and your rural health club’s

activities. Go on a rural high school visit, take

part in Croc Fest, attend speaker evenings or

join your club’s committee. You will make so

many new networks and undoubtedly broaden

your understanding of rural and remote health

issues. You’ll also have some fun and find a

friend or two - perhaps even more!!!

We work for you and want you to thrive in

your rural health endeavours. If there is

anything we can help you out with or if you

have any fantastic ideas please feel free to

contact anyone on the exec or your club’s

NRHN Council member. We love to chat (and

drink coffee!) and look forward to meeting you

throughout 2007!

Nick Moore and Claire Seiffert

The National Rural Health Network

is supported by financial assistance

from the Australian Government.

Although we both love being called students

and would love this to continue we thought we

should put an end to the lie and let you know

what we really do...

We’re employed by ARRWAG (Australian Rural

and Remote Workforce Agencies Group), Litsa

as the Executive Support Officer (ESO) and Linda

as the Project Support Officer (PSO). ARRWAG

is the organisation that holds the contract from

DoHA (Department of Health and Ageing) to

run the NRHN and fund 7 of our 19 rural health

clubs (soon to become 12 of 24 clubs!). We’re

based in ARRWAG’s Melbourne office, and we

work full time to ensure the NRHN meets its

objectives. We provide a high level of support

to you all. We work closely with ARRWAG

and DoHA to make sure that our contractual

obligations are met while also providing

support to the NRHN exec and council.

It’s often forgotten that all of our members are

full time students and part time (or for some

full time!) volunteers that share an amazing

passion for health in the bush. Our role is to

help you harness this passion and support

you however we can to make sure you have

wonderful rural health experiences whilst

studying. So… if your club needs some help

planning an activity, or you just don’t know

where to begin and need some guidance, or

you want to get your message out to fellow

NRHN-ers… we’re here to help you! So

give us a buzz (03 8825 4500) or drop us an

email linda@nrhn.org.au or litsa@nrhn.org.au

– we’re both always up for a chat (in particular

we welcome those that come with lots of

compliments …)

Plus, we’d love to meet you in person. So if

you have a club activity or need another pair

of hands for a CrocFest or RHSV let us know as

we’d love to be there… yet another opportunity

for us to be young and dynamic students (well

sort of!).

Supporting you to study, live and work

in rural practice

A while ago, Tony Abbott, the Minister for

Health and Ageing, mentioned that he was

bewildered by the myriad of programs available

to support rural doctors - he called it ‘the

jigsaw’. We thought if he didn’t know about all

the supports available, then it was unlikely that

doctors did!

So we were determined to put the jigsaw

together. We have developed an easy

reference guide that outlines the supports

available to high school students, university

students, registrars and interns. For example,

we’ve covered scholarships, post-graduate

training opportunities, mental health and

wellbeing initiatives, accommodation support

and financial incentives. We provide an

overview of schemes for rural GPs, urban

GPs interested in rural practice, and Overseas

Trained Doctors in rural and remote areas of

Australia. Check out the Supports Guide on our

website www.arrwag.com.au. Once you know

what help is available, you can actually access

the support that you need!

Make your voice heard

Some days, do you feel like a little cog in a

big wheel that is rolling in a state of perpetual

motion? We can all feel overwhelmed

sometimes by the size and complexity of the

health sector - particularly in environments

like big city hospitals. Yet as students and

the future rural health workforce, you have a

unique opportunity to influence the direction

of the health system. As the baby boomer

health workforce nears retirement age, they are

starting to see the health system reform that

needs to happen.

They know they must offer more appealing

work environments to attract and retain

young professionals to rural areas - or they

won’t be able to retire. They know temporary

sweeteners won’t work to keep you living and

working in the bush - so we know a major

cultural shift is coming with your generation.

You can effectively voice your opinion and

the Australian Rural and Remote Workforce

Agencies Group (ARRWAG)can help ensure your

voice is heard by the key decision makers and

influencers. You have the ability to negotiate

for a better healthcare system that can address

the needs of coming generations of the rural

health workforce. So keep in touch through the

National Rural Health Network and let us know

what you think.

ARRWAG: Australian Rural and Remote

Workforce Agencies Group

Dr Kim Webber, CEO

NRHN Office - What do our ESO & PSO really get up to?

Litsa Kane, ESO & Linda Nink, PSO

C o o e e ! A p r i l 2 0 0 7

ARMS:AustralianNational University, ACT

AURHA:AdelaideUniversity, SA

ARMS Show Visits Program - The

Yass Show and Rodeo.

Having recently returned from

Albury (NRHN Forum and NRHA

Conference) with a renewed sense

of commitment to rural health,

members of ARMS immediately

put into practice their enthusiasm.

On 17 March a committed team

from the ANU Rural Medical

Society visited the Yass Show and

Rodeo. Yass is an historic town

and centre of fine wool growing

in Australia. Located 60km north

of Canberra, it has a population

of around 5000. Despite its close

proximity to the Capital, Yass

maintains a colourful country

atmosphere, and like many other

country towns shares in challenges

to healthcare delivery.

The purpose of the visit was two-

fold, to run a free community

blood pressure assessment and

to provide students with further

experiences of rural Australia.

Under the supervision of local

doctors we were able to screen

some 150 patrons, many of whom

had not visited a GP in over two

years! Throughout the course of

the day we were able to visit the

local hospital, meet members of

the local community and local

political candidates.

Not only a great learning

experience, but an opportunity

to relax and enjoy the festivities.

From giant pumpkins to

woodchopping to bare back bronc

riding, the show offered a variety

of experiences which are an iconic

part of country towns and country

living. The visit achieved several

things - it allowed students to

contribute towards increased

public awareness of hypertension,

provided an opportunity to learn

about the country lifestyle and

finally, marked the first time ARMS

members had visited Yass.

The start of 2007 has been

eventful for AURHA. We began the

year with a successful membership

drive - our annual Welcome

BBQ where the freshers met our

committee.

Events held include the Royal

Flying Doctors Service BBQ

at Adelaide Airport, RHSV

Recruitment Night, attending the

NRHN Student Forum and NRHA

Conference, and lastly the

inaugural AURHA Dinner Under

The Stars.

This event saw a group of AURHA

students and guests from the uni,

sponsors and UniSA students travel

to the lovely Howard Vineyard in

the Adelaide Hills for a night of

fantastic food and wine, and great

company. This event sold out and

everyone who attended very much

enjoyed the speech from Kris

Bascomb, a rural GP trainee. She

spoke about the pathway she has

taken during and since medical

school as a rurally focused doctor.

Other events coming up for our

club include Getaways Night,

Quorn Clinical Skills Trip for the

fourth year med students, a Clinical

Skills trip in Victor Harbor for the

first years and a couple of RHSVs

– everyone attending Kangaroo

Island on 1 May is very excited

about the trip away!

Thanks must also go to the

NRHN for the amazing job they

did at organising the forum and

student attendance at the NRHA

conference, which has helped

increase enthusiasm amongst our

members!

A very keen planning committee

has already started work towards

sending AURHA members to

CrocFest in Port Augusta and Alice

Springs later in the year along with

ROUSTAH and FURHS. Watch this

space for more news on this great

event!

BREAATHHE:University ofNewcastle, NSW

CARAH: Charles Darwin University, NT in assoc. with Flinders Uni, SA

BREAATHHE has been having an

exciting few months. In many

ways we are refinding our feet

and getting our club going again.

With an almost entirely new

executive, we have a fresh outlook

on the direction of the club and

our future. The NRHN and NRHA

conferences in Albury linked us

with other students and infused

us all with ideas and passions

concerning rural health. In

particular, how we as students can

influence change and encourage

rural health issues in our uni and

later in our careers.

Hence, since coming back from

Albury, we have had meetings

almost fortnightly to discuss

and process everything we have

learnt. We opted for regular short

meetings to make sure our plans

and passions are kept on the

ball and in the forefront of our

minds. They have been exciting:

getting to know each other we

have decided is an important

part of working as a team. We

held an appreciative enquiry

- brainstorming on no budget,

time, or difficulty limitations

about anything and everything

concerning our club. The exciting

thing - everything is doable -

maybe not now but it is something

that we can work towards. We

want everyone on campus to hear

about BREAATHHE - we want to

get our face out there. We want

our club members to know what is

happening and our communication

has improved. We want to have

fun, and we want to get educated

NOW. We have planned 2 skills

nights, a first aid course, a mental

first aid course and information

evenings. We want to have a road

trip to Tamworth where many

people have placements. We

want to touch base with them

and let them know they are still

supported by us even when (or

perhaps especially when) they

are on placement. We have

socials planned: a bush dance,

a dinner cruise, a relaxation

session during STUVAC. We are

getting club members involved

in club decisions. Until now our

planning has been from executive

involvement to help get some

general directions and passions

down on paper. We will call for

all members to help us plan,

organise, and be passionate

about BREAATHHE, but also most

importantly rural health. It’s

exciting stuff. At the moment it

is hard to see everything that is

happening, but it is there. Our

passion for rural health after the

conference is still growing as we

realise the potential we, as a club,

have to make an impact. It will be

a long process but we are excited

about it.

LARHC:La TrobeUniversity, VIC

CARAH members attended the

NRHN Forum and NRHA

Conference in Albury in March.

This was a great opportunity for

CARAH members to get together

and also meet members from

across Australia.

This has injected some new

enthusiasm into CARAH and we

are very excited about the

possibilities in 2007.

LARHC started 2007 with an

increase in members and

enthusiasm through our first year

students at La Trobe. Our first

event in 2007 was participation in

the annual Relay for Life, which

was well attended by our mem-

bers and definitely enjoyed!

Planning is underway for some

of our upcoming events which

include an African cultural night

amongst other social activities.

Several club meetings have been

held so far, and we look forward

to some new executive members

taking on more senior roles. We

also look to continue to increase

our membership and further

strengthen LARHC!

C o o e e ! A p r i l 2 0 0 7

FURHS:FlindersUniversity, SA

MARHS:Charles SturtUnivers-ity, Albury, NSW

FURHS is now up and running for 2007! Orientation days were again a

successful venture this year – gaining 123 new members.

The RFDS (Royal Flying Doctors Service) orientation BBQ was held

earlier this year, with approximately 60 FURHS members attending,

mainly med students. This BBQ included bacon and egg breakfast, some

information about the importance of rural health and the opportunity for

the attendees to sit in the plane and look at the equipment. This was

a worthwhile event for students to attend as they will now have the

opportunity to fly with the RFDS some time throughout the year.

14 FURHS members were lucky enough to attend the NRHN forum and

NRHA conference. Everyone was greatly inspired from this trip and have

all come back energetic and full of fresh ideas.

Our first official event for the year was the “Shindig”! It was held on the

16th of March. There were approximately 150 students that attended

the event; however there wasn’t as much diversity among disciplines as

would’ve been liked. The features of this event included a rural photo

competition, a hay-bale stacking game & yummy yiros, snags & veggie

patties to feed the hungry mouths! The opportunity was also taken to

elect new reps for our committee, with majority of positions being filled.

NRHN/NRHA Conference – A

Wonderful Week In Albury

Ten lucky students from MARHS

had the good fortune to be able

to attend the NRHN and NRHA

conferences in our hometown

of Albury. There was a lot of

excitement and expectation

leading up to the conferences and

they did not disappoint. The whole

week had a great atmosphere

about it which was conducive to

the sharing of knowledge and new

ideas and also conducive to having

a lot of fun.

One of the most beneficial things

to come out of the conferences

was the chance to network. At

the NRHN conference MARHS

members were able to meet

Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry and

Allied Health students from as

far away as Broome and Hobart.

It was interesting to hear about

some of their differing experiences

and views of rural placements and

current rural health practices. And,

at the NRHA conference we were

able to meet health professionals

who are presently “out there and

doing it”. It was an invaluable

learning experience to be able

to listen to and speak with these

people and some lucky MARHS

members were even fortunate

enough to receive job offers whilst

attending the conference.

Another highlight was the

keynote speakers that attended

during the week. The calibre of

these speakers was outstanding,

each one inspirational in

different ways. Working with

the underlying themes of health

in rural and remote Australia

and mental health issues, these

speakers conveyed a mountain of

knowledge that was pertinent to

all the students who were present.

However, it’s arguable the event

that stole the show for the whole

week was the unveiling of the

fantastic NRHN produced mental

health guide, ‘When The Cowpat

Hits The Windmill’. The release of

this guide was made additionally

impressive by an entertaining

and informative speech by the

chairman of Beyond Blue, the Hon.

Jeff Kennett.

For such a jam packed week to

have run so smoothly a lot of

organisation and planning must

have, and did, go in. With regard

to this, the MARHS club would

like to thank all those people

who worked tirelessly to make

the conferences as good as they

were for us. It was agreed by all

that the week was a fantastic

experience on both a personal and

a professional level. Thanks.

MIRAGE:University of Sydney, NSW

It’s another great start to another

great year for MIRAGE. As usual

the year starts in mid January

with the 3rd year medical students

going back, including around 30

students who started at our rural

clinical schools in Orange, Dubbo

and Broken Hill campuses. For

the first time since the inception

of the RCS there was an over

subscription of students. The

RCS has done an excellent job in

developing and promoting the

program and we at MIRAGE can

take pride in our small role in

this result, originating from our

promotion of rural health and the

rural lifestyle.

The official MIRAGE year starts off

at Orientation week on the front

lawns of the university in front

of the historic Main Quadrangle.

We had another successful week

despite protesters speaking out

about our Army reserve members.

The next week saw a number

of our members head down to

Albury for the NRHN and NRHA

conferences - this included the

10 sponsored places by the NRHN

and a number of MRB scholars

making their way down through

the conference program. It

is a gruelling week with two

conferences back to back, but

those lucky enough to go came

back with a new invigoration

and commitment to rural health.

People were inspired by speakers

and presenters and encouraged by

the number of passionate people

from all around the country.

The year then moved on to our

annual Welcome dinner, a chance

to relax and enjoy the few

moments where there are no

exams on the horizon. This year

we had it at the Marlborough

Hotel (the Marly) in Newtown,

just down the road from the

main campus. This is a chance for

people who didn’t sign up during

O-week to join and a chance

for all our members to come

together, and a chance for people

to share their experiences from

Albury.

The following week we had our

annual scholarship information

day where the plethora of rural

scholarships are explained to

students and time is given to

ask questions. This is part of our

promotion of the opportunities

available to students who wish to

“go bush”

MIRAGE enters April with many

great events on the Horizon. We

are looking forward to our first

Rural High School Visit and our

great annual tradition - when the

bush hits the harbour - something

uniquely Sydney, a Harbour Cruise.

Looking forward to a great year

ahead.

OUTLOOK:University ofMelbourne, VIC

We welcome our newly elected

committee and farewell with

gratitude the 2006/07 committee.

Being seen and heard! We are the

font of all knowledge or at least

willing to provide lunch while we

answer all member’s questions!

Getting pretty It can’t be all hard

work so we sat down to a civilised

meal and enjoyed the Apollo jazz

band. For those with more pretty

things than they could possibly

wear we held “Rags for Snags” to

raise $$$ and collect clothes for St

Vincent De Paul.

Learning Lots Dr Margaret Garde

from Portland had many things to

share about her work in Aboriginal

health and to feed the body as

well as the brain we had a bush

tucker inspired BBQ which was

for many their first experience of

kangaroo and emu!

Getting Going Trek 4 Timor:

Inspired some months ago, at

a presentation given by Desley

Beechy, about the appalling health

situation in East Timor, a team of

med students entered the 50km

“Trek for Timor” event. Although

sore and tired, it was great to

have stepped up to the challenge,

and raised $25,000 towards East

Timor’s Health Services!

Hitting the Bush

We continued to REEP (Rural Early

Elective Placements) the benefits

of time hanging out and learning

in the bush with experience

ranging from surgery to

immunisations, home assessments

to the town nightlife! Rural

Clinical School Open Days continue

to be a great opportunity for

students to not only check out the

Clinical Schools but also to have a

great time.

Outlook and Moovin’ Health got to

get nice and dirty at Croc Fest with

painted injuries, glitter bug hand

wash, fantastic questions and

thankfully no serious injuries with

a tendon hammer (little respect

for the notion of gentle!).

Getting friendly

We are looking forward in the

coming year to getting friendlier

with our allied health students, as

well as RWAV, Moovin Health and

the NRHN. Check out our beautiful

newsletters at

www.outlook.asn.au to hear many

more tales!

C o o e e ! A p r i l 2 0 0 7

RAHMS:University of NSW, NSW

End of phase, clinical, science

practical and end of phase exams

are nothing compared to the

rollercoaster that has become the

Rural Allied Health and Medical

Society of UNSW. To start 2007 off

we have had a massive reshuffle

of our executive; an action packed

week of rural health in Albury; and

a night of festivities at our local

– the Royal.

The energy that has come into the

club this year has been amazing.

Our aim to promote RAHMS to

the new contingent of 1st year

medical students saw the largest

enrolment of medical students

into RAHMS in many years.

Many new faces including 1st

years have joined the executive.

Our revitalised executive have

flourished in their new roles,

taking what our predecessors have

done in the past, looking to build

and improve the standing of our

club.

Credit for this reinvigorated

excitement of rural health must

also go to the NRHN/NRHA

conferences held earlier in the

year. Every RAHMS member that

attended came back to UNSW

enthused about rural health and

felt that they had learnt a lot.

This conference was an incredibly

valuable experience for us as a

club as it gave our members the

opportunity to network with many

health students and professionals

across the country.

The week after the return from the

conference and our 3rd week of the

year, the party atmosphere was

still kicking on as RAHMS held our

first social event of 2007. Many

RAHMmers hit the Royal – a short

stroll from our beloved Prince of

Wales hospital, for drinks, nibblies

and best of all some good old

chit-chat. It was impressive again

to see our newest members join

the RAHMS veterans during the

course of the night. RAHMS has

also run a John Flynn Scholarship

information session to highlight

the experiences of some of our JFS

scholars and application process.

In closing, RAHMS want all

you NRHN addicts out there,

especially those in NSW, to keep

an eye out for us in the future

– we’re planning something BIG!!!

Something filled with fun and of

course a lot of ruralness! Oh…

and in this process we plan on

including our neighbours in the

NRHN as well!

Sign-on BBQ

RHINO is off to a brilliant start

in 2007 with the sign on BBQ

bringing in over 90 new members

– most of whom joined for life-

long membership to receive their

well used RHINO stubby cooler.

Snags quickly disappeared into

impoverished students hands

after an excruciatingly competitive

electoral meeting of the RHINO

executive committee following the

distressing loss of our first ever

allied health president. With a

now jam-packed and enthusiastic

exec there are many upcoming

events in the works and our

first ever co-chair presidents are

inundated!

NRHN conference

In March RHINO students ventured

out of Far North Queensland to

attend the NRHN conference in

Albury, NSW. Inspirational guest

speakers and an exceptional

academic program kept our

minds busy during the day before

being entertained by grown men

running around with stockings on

their heads by night. Education

didn’t cease at nightfall with the

Queensland boys teaching us how

to really do the “Eagle Rock”!

Many a student left the conference

motivated to one day practice in

rural health and enthused to make

the “Chicky-Chicky” a national

dance.

Upcoming Events

The upcoming joint RHINO and

TROPHIQ weekend in Rockhampton

will be even bigger and better

this year with the smooth

amalgamation of GUMS into the

annual event.

The Rural High School Visit

program is also up and running

with Richard Brown and Francine

Riley from Health Workforce

Queensland offering strong

support and advice for the

continuation of this valuable

event. Also, planning for CrocFest

on Thursday Island is well

underway with our enthusiastic

ATSI rep, Jane Theodore, taking

on this massive task. Further, in

the works is the implementation

of our new skills-nights being

coordinated by Andrew Scott, our

Junior NRHN rep. Combined with

St John’s Ambulance these events

are aimed at training students to

work together and acknowledge

the individual skills each discipline

provides to effective health care.

The usual infamous events will

still take place including Trivia

Night, the Cocktail Party and the

Semester II Trip. But with fresh

minds come fresh ideas and

the RHINO exec is committed to

breaking all the records in 2007!

We’re off to a good start!

RHINO:James CookUniversity, QLD

ROUSTAH:University of South Australia

It’s been all hands on deck around ROUSTAH

of late. Some of our Nursing students (plus a

Physio student BBQ chef) took part in the RFDS’

barbecue breakfast and information session at the

RFDS hangar (Adelaide Airport) - some flipping

eggs and bacon, some lucky enough to score a

plane ride with patients around the skies over

Port Lincoln and Mildura. A few ROUSTAH jocks

and cheer leaders were invited to make fools of

themselves whilst having an absolute ball and

sharing knowledge with like minded people at the

recent NRHN forum & NRHA conference in Albury-

Wodonga.

Planning nights for 2007’s RHSVs, as well as initial

planning meetings for Croc Fest Port Augusta

(and Campfire to follow Croc Fest) and Croc Fest

Alice Springs are well in progress, generating

much excitement and enthusiasm. ROUSTAH

members are also looking forward with much

anticipation to sharing an evening of dinner, wine

and entertainment at the Howard Winery in the

Adelaide Hills with AURHA members. The club will

wholeheartedly be supporting members as they

embark on rural, and for some, very remote field

placements throughout the year and we anticipate

hearing about their experiences. Coming soon,

we expect a welcome night for members will

invigorate all with the prospect of some exciting

opportunities to ‘Getaway’ from the city and get

involved in Rural Health through ROUSTAH. There

has also been much thinking and jotting of ideas

for publicity of ROUSTAH aimed at new Allied

Health Students. We’re all looking forward to the

‘doing’ part of this with much anticipation.

RUSTICA:University ofTasmania,

We’ve been busy little beavers down under

down under. Here’s the highlights:

23 February – Med 1 Orientation Day: With

UTAS having its largest ever MBBS intake this

year, we saw O’Day as a great opportunity

to swell our membership lists – which we

did during an absurdly over catered BBQ that

yours-truly (Matt VZ) cooked on a beautiful

Hobart day.

28 February – Societies Day: Well VSU

certainly didn’t seem to dampen the

massiveness of Societies Day this year. In

a chaotic 3 hours we managed to sign up

another 200 plus members and serve many

drinks resulting in lots of fun.

6-10 March – NRHN Forum/NRHC: I’m sure

somewhere in this newsletter there’ll be

ample reporting on the academic aspects

of the week, so I’ll stick to what I liked

best, the social events. The evenings were

fantastically organised – kudos to the social

committee, I only hope the next NRHN forum

can be as good. So what did I learn in my

week on the big Island? Many things:

• The Chicky-Chicky dance rocks – check it

out on you tube, relive the memories.

• Kiwi’s suck at poker.

• Albury’s 1:30 lockout policy sucks.

• Health professionals/students need to

be more inter-disciplinary – it can be

beneficial for everyone.

15 March – Scholarships Night: A great info

session for Med and Pharmacy students to

get the low down on all the money people

are willing to give us as an incentive to

undertake rural placements.

23 March – Rustica Welcome: This year’s

welcome was one of our biggest ever, with

over 65 people attending a subsidised $5

dinner at our local pub. Don’t tell anyone

but we gave a free drink to everyone too,

not sure how Andrew (treasurer) wrote that

one off. A large number of first year students

attended, which is very promising for the

future of the club, especially with most of

the executive undergoing a Diaspora from

Hobart in the next 3-9 months.

28 March – Rustica/IMPACT Medical Electives

Night: Another very well attended event

– especially by first years, who seem very

keen to find out all their options early,

still 3 and a half years away from their

elective period. While a lot of the evening

was related to overseas, there were some

interesting presentations on rural/remote

Australian placements, such as the NTGPE

program run by RUSC.

C o o e e ! A p r i l 2 0 0 7

SHARP:University of Wollongong

SHARP started 2007 with a lot of

momentum after a bit of planning

over the holidays so we were well

prepared to project SHARP within

our university this year…and,

ready to welcome students at the

new graduate school of medicine.

Visit to Shoalhaven Medical

Campus: There’s nothing that a bit

of chocolate and cake (complete

with plastic cows and coconut

grass) can’t fix! This proved to

be the case, to some degree,

on Valentine’s Day when SHARP

presented itself and the NRHN to

the med students at the Nowra

Campus. Shannon from RAHMS

came down to lend a hand and we

managed to sign up every student

as new members. Everyone had

a chance to chat and we even

had a live video link to the main

Wollongong campus.

Orientation Week Membership

Drive: SHARP had a busy O-week,

with a presentation to all first year

students studying a health degree.

This was followed by a faculty BBQ

run by SHARP members. Clubs

and Societies Day was also a big

success for SHARP with over 100

members recruited.

Albury - NRHN and NRHA:

Firstly…it was great to finally put

a face to the name for everyone

on the NRHN council/executive

and was equally great to meet so

many students with a common

motivation. SHARP delegates

had an awesome time. We were

energised by all the keynotes

speeches, presentations and skills

sessions. Thanks to the NRHN for

organising a brilliant forum!

The experiences, info and ideas

shared taught members of

SHARP about how important a

preventative and holistic model of

health care is in the area of Rural

and Remote Health.

SHARP BBQ- Meet and Greet:

The SHARP Albury Mob put its new

knowledge to good practice at the

SHARP BBQ and membership drive

with information and anecdotes

from Albury being shared with

all members. We had about 150

people turn up to the BBQ and it

marked SHARP’s first gathering of

all its members in 2007.

We have a busy calendar set for

07 with UOW hosting the Tertiary

Indigenous Games. First up

however: our own bush dance at

the Yallah Roadhouse...

SPINRPHEX:University of WA

SPINRPHEX has had a fantastic

start to the year with 28 members

attending the NRHN Forum and

NRHA Conference in Albury,

NSW, and coming home with the

coveted crystal windmill trophy

for their Superhero performance

to Mariah Carey’s ‘Hero’.

The Monday after the NRHN

Forum and NRHA Conference

was SPINRPHEX’s first meeting

of the year which was held in

co-operation with WAALHIIBE at

the Perth Dinghy Club. SPINRPHEX

has signed up more than 300

members for this year and they

listened to presentations about

the NRHN and mentoring program

True Blue Dreaming while

enjoying their dinner and then

chilled out to the beats of African

Drumming Band, Shangara Jive. A

fundraising raffle was held during

the evening for a free ticket to

our annual conference, which will

be held from Friday the 4th until

Sunday the 6th of May at Nanga

Bush Camp, Dwellingup.

Our second meeting was held

on Monday 16 April at FJ Clark

Theatre at the University of WA.

More than 170 students attended

to learn about Aboriginal Health

and Culture and also to take the

red hot opportunity to get their

hands on a ticket to our annual

camp which is our most awaited

event of the year.

A Multi-Disciplinary Night is

being held on Monday 23 April

as a combined event between

SPINRPHEX and WAAHLIIBE and

will be held at Curtin University.

The night has the theme of

‘Wobbly Boots in an Outback Town

– A Rural Community in Need’

and focuses on lifestyle disorders

such as diabetes and other

social problems such as financial

hardship.

Our Mental Health Night is also

coming up on Monday 14 May at

Notre Dame University, so there

is lots on the horizon for both the

SPINRPHEX Executive and their

enthusiastic members!

TROHPIQ:University of Queensland, QLD

It’s been a very busy couple of months to begin 2007 for TROHPIQ. New

executive members have begun in the tradition of trohpiq, filling the void

left by the other executives who have gone to rural clinical school nodes

and then can’t manage most of their executive tasks remotely. A new

management committee embraced their jobs organising the events that

fill the 2007 calendar.

So far in 2007, there was the great time for all the 20 or so students

from SE Qld in Albury, thanks to all those who had an organising role. The

annual Fraser and Coral Coast trip to Bundaberg and Hervey Bay was held

the weekend after the Albury conference, a record turnout of 40 students

enjoyed central Queensland hospitality, hospitals and beaches. Skills

sessions, the cell block bbq and pool, and the RFDS were highlights. A

combined UQ/Griffith trip to Roma for the Roma Race meeting occurred

the same weekend substituting horses to extend the alliteration above.

Then the next weekend a skills day and bbq in Brisbane was very well

attended and students practiced suturing, plastering and more airway

management skills.

In the next month, there will be another trip to Toowoomba and Oakey.

Planning for the annual Rural Health Student Conference in Rockhampton

and Great Keppel Island is well underway, expanding this year to include

health students from many universities in Queensland.

WAALHIIBE:Curtin Uni & Edith Cowan, WA

There we were, in the middle of nowhere. We needed

to reach the other side of the river. We had some

rope, some plastic drums, some planks of wood and

some oars. No one was coming to help us. We would

have to work as a team!

We were at Lake leschenaultia, just outside of

Chidlow, on the annual WAALHIIBE and SPINRPHEX

team building weekend. It was an amazing weekend,

filled with a variety of problem solving tasks, group

discussions of the year to come and formidable

massages. Most importantly it was a weekend when

friendships were forged. With the fun had, and the

friendships forged we set about to planning the year.

With more and newer events than ever before, this

year promises to be full of great experiences and

opportunities for all members.

Many thanks extended to Mike, our camp leader, Phip,

for busing us all up there, and Sue for all her help

in organising the weekend and getting all that food

ready!

C o o e e ! A p r i l 2 0 0 7

WARRIAHS:Charles SturtUniversity, NSW

What a terrific start to 2007! Right from the

word go an almost fully new exec team have

come up with some great plans and initiatives

for our best ever year. Our first success came

in week 1 of the semester, when we almost

doubled our membership at clubs sign up day.

Our second achievement was our WARRIAHS

commencement dinner, with heaps of people,

a great feed, new friends and great games

we had a ball! Another event which requires

a mention is the recent NRHN conference

in Albury, which seven WARRIAHS members

attended. Four dietetic students presented

in the “Nutrition-feast for some, famine for

others” section of student presentations. It was

a fabulous experience which we have managed

to share with the rest of our club through

stories and the odd hilarious photo. A significant

benefit from the conference was learning about

the need for an increased multi-disciplinary

approach to health care, which particularly

affected WARRIAHS as we have purely allied

health members, and are almost lost in a sea

of medical students. The social events were an

excellent way to meet people from different

clubs and many friendships were formed.

Next on the agenda is the health expo in May.

We are anticipating a big turn out, with high

school students from all over the Wagga area

coming to the uni to find out about CSU health

courses, while we promote rural health. We

will also be running one of the popular cadaver

trips to CSU in Albury. This offers students

an educationally unique experience and a

great opportunity to meet and socialise with

WARRIAHS sister club MARHS.

Now to exciting future plans for this year - a

new logo design, a new banner to replace

the last one that mysteriously disappeared,

RHSV road trips, Crocfest (which everyone is

very keen about) and of course a number of

excellent social events such as a trivia night,

mid-year formal dinner and a cocktail AGM.

WILDFIRE:MonashUniversity, VIC

The 2007 exec for WILDFIRE are very excited

to report the successful and enjoyable start to

the year that we’ve shared with all our new

and existing members. After an impressive

lead from the committee of 2006, the club is

looking forward to continuing and building on

the activities WILDFIRE takes pride in.

The new committee elected at the end of

2006, include: Co-Chairs: Annie Kilpatrick

and Meg Hardy, Secretary: Dave Humphreys,

Treasurer: Megan Farmer, ATSI Rep: Anneliese

Willems, Rural High Schools Rep: Claire Foster,

NRHN Rep: Anna Galligan, International Health

Rep: Nadine Ata, IT/Publicity Reps: Pete Taylor

and Caitlin Cheshire, Allied Health Rep: Alison

Facey, Members Without Portfolio: Dujon

Fuzzard and Adam Suttan. The committee is

also happy to announce the recent elections

for 4 first year reps. The number of first

year students who attended the AGM was

outstanding, including over 80 nominees

for the 4 positions. This number was a very

positive indication of the future for WILDFIRE,

in particular the number of students from allied

health departments showing interest. The reps

include: First Year Rep: Rachelle, ERC (extended

rural cohort) Rep: Scott, NRHN Rep: Bella, Allied

Health Rep: Samara.

So far in 2007, WILDFIRE activities include:

Beach day – 20 first year students joined the

exec for swimming, games, fish and chips and

soccer on St Kilda beach.

“Get Plastered” – A night out at the pub; first

year students enjoyed the “meet and greet’

environment while receiving plaster casts from

the committee.

Dairy Day – Many new members were signed

up over ice cream and soft drinks at the annual

WILDFIRE dairy day.

Matthew Campbell Memorial Evening – A very

enjoyable and well received night honoring the

success of previous years. The afternoon began

with a relaxed and sociable BBQ, followed

by the Memorial Evening; including 4 guest

speakers and intermission entertainment

provided by Kinja – a duo of the didgeridoo

and violin. The speakers were from the medical

field with direct experiences in Aboriginal

Health Care.

WILDFIRE are currently planning for the annual

Careers and Cocktails evening, including

guest speakers from areas of rural health. The

committee are also brainstorming for new ideas

and activities to continue to raise the profile of

WILDFIRE throughout the university.

Going west…. and

questioning what you know. I was lucky enough to undertake two elective

placements in remote communities in late 2006

– and had a small glimpse into the diversity of

Aboriginal communities and the challenges and

richness of health care in such a setting.

I undertook the first half of my elective at

Nganmarriyanga Health Centre, a remote

Aboriginal community 500km south west of

Darwin. The clinic was the only health facility

in the community and was staffed by two

remote area nurses and one Aboriginal health

worker. A doctor visited weekly and during

my time in the community we also had visits

from an obstetrician, women’s health nurse,

paediatrician, psychiatrist, mental health nurse,

child welfare workers, dietician, audiologist,

and dentist. So the clinic was obviously

quite busy and had a very large range of

presentations – from a 5 year old with a broken

arm (whose cast I had to frequently replace

when she got it wet whilst swimming!), to

a woman in early labour, to chronic disease

checks, skin infections, rheumatic fever, a

spider bite and pneumonia.

As in many communities, poor living conditions,

few education and employment opportunities,

relationship issues and substance use are very

evident and have a direct impact on people’s

health. The placement helped me see health

in a wider context than our usual hospital

placements and to see the links to land, history,

disenfranchisement, present marginalisation,

and generational losses. However, I have

come away questioning whether there is a

misconception of a problem that needs to be

‘solved’ - is it instead a journey that needs

to be shared, voices to be strengthened and

listened to?

I undertook the second half of my elective

at One Arm Point Health Centre, a remote

Aboriginal community 260km north of Broome

on the Dampier Peninsula (West Kimberley

region). One Arm Point is surrounded on three

sides by water so differed significantly in

terms of culture, with people going on daily

fishing trips, swimming, and spending much of

their time near the beach and mud flats (also

creating some of the most amazing scenery

and snorkeling opportunities!). Another key

difference was the influence of the area’s

pearling history, with many local people having

Japanese and Indonesian cultural heritage.

The clinic had a strong focus on health

promotion, with excellent recall systems and

lots of well person’s checks. I was able to

participate in community ‘bootscootin’ classes

run by the clinic, walking groups and undertook

several nutrition classes and workshops for

classes at the school, talking about the healthy

food pyramid and making good choices at the

local shop – as well as a very funny surgical

dress / food pyramid relay!

The staff and people at both One Arm Point and

Nganmarriyanga were extremely friendly and

welcoming and definitely made me feel part of

their communities. I learnt many new skills and

have come away feeling invigorated for remote

work! I would say, take every opportunity to

go on a rural and remote placement – you

never know what you might discover – from

wild horses on your verandah to a crocodile

on the boat ramp during your morning run,

hidden bootscootin’ talents, or a donkey getting

loose and causing havoc in the Christmas

nativity play! Whatever you find, it will be an

experience you will not forget!

A remote placement experienceAngela Titmuss, 2006 NRHN Co-Chair

C o o e e ! A p r i l 2 0 0 7

Cowpats May Hit the Windmill but We’ve Got Cover!

The 2007 NRHN Forum offered the perfect opportunity to launch the NRHN’s mental health guide

– When the Cowpat Hits the Windmill: A guide for staying mentally fit written by students for students.

We were very privileged to have The Hon. Jeff Kennett come to our Forum to both launch the guide

and give some of his insights into depression particularly among the health professions.

It has been almost 3 years since the idea of a mental health guide was coined at the last National

Undergraduate Rural Health Conference in Tanunda, SA in 2004. Since then many hours have been

spent planning, writing, editing and collating the guide, to produce the most helpful (and fantastic

looking!!) resource that we could muster.

Massive thanks must go to the team of students that helped put it all together. An extra special thanks

to Amy Camplin who was the chair of the Mental Health Steering Committee. The amount and quality

of work that you all have done is simply amazing and potentially life-saving. Guides are available

from the NRHN and an electronic version is available through the NRHN website www.nrhn.org.au.

Hardcopies will be distributed to clubs in the coming weeks – look out for your copy.

Mental Health Guide

Have you heard the latest goss?The grapevine has it that there is money around to send students to health conferences.

Now we’re always told never to believe gossip, but this time the sources are solid! In fact word has it

that there are only 4 easy steps to apply to attend a conference that has been ear-marked as having

national significance to student members of the NRHN. If you are a member of your university’s rural

health club - that’s you!!!

The image of the cowpat and the windmill is to remind you that you too can be resilient, even

when everything seems to be hitting the fan… Before you get to the stage where you feel like

throwing cowpats, or anything else at a windmill, remember this book!!

Conferences of National Significance Funding

Why not also consider presenting at the conference?! You will be

representing the NRHN whilst you are there and the NRHN has a

standard presentation that can be modified to suit. The NRHN executive

will also be happy to help you out! (TIP: a willingness to try presenting

will look good on your application!)

So why not put in an application? It can’t hurt!

If you have any questions, check out the NRHN website or chat to your

club’s NRHN council member. The CoNS calendar (over page), Guidelines

and Application Proforma’s are all available at www.nrhn.org.au (and

we’ve inserted a copy in this newsletter too!)

How to apply for Conferences of National Significance (CoNS) funding

from the NRHN:

Step 1: Check out the CoNS calendar for 2007 and choose your

destination.

Step 2: Read the CoNS guidelines document.

Step 3: Using the CoNS guidelines, fill out the CoNS Proforma.

Step 4: Email your completed CoNS proforma to your club executive

or NRHN rep who will then submit your application to the NRHN CoNS

committee.

Conferences of National Significance Calendar

Dates Discipline Conference Where Website / ContactMay 2007 Nursing Australian Conference for Maternal and Child Health

Nurses

Sydney www.corporatecommunique.com.

au/partners

1-2 May 2007 All National Youth Conference- Are we there yet? Melbourne www.yacvic.org.au

1-4 May 2007 All Health Promotion National Conference - “Grass roots to

global action”

Adelaide www.healthpromotion.org.au

8-12 May 2007 Podiatry Australasian Podiatry Conference Hobart www.apodc.com.au

20-22 May 2007 Social Work,

Psychology

Australian College for Child and Family Protection

Practitioners Association Conference: Borders & Bridges

Melbourne www.relatehumanservices.com.au

23-25 May 2007 Medicine and

Nursing

GP & Primary Health Care Research Conference Sydney www.phcris.org.au

24-26 May 2007 Dietitians Dietitians Association of Australia Conference Hobart www.tourhots.com.au

27-31 May 2007 Speech

Pathology

National Conference Sydney www.speechpathologyaustralia.

org.au

11-14 July 2007 Nursing Royal College of Nurses Australia (RCNA) National

Conference

Sydney www.rcna.org.au

12-13 July 2007 All 8th National Rural and Remote Social Work /

Community Health Conference

Echuca www.aasw.asn.au

18-20 July 2007 Allied Health 7th National Allied Health Conference Hobart

23-25 July 2007 All Children and Young People are Key Stakeholders Perth www.caypaks.com

6-8 August 2007 All 5th Australasian Conference on Safety and Quality in

Health Care

Brisbane www.aaqhc.org.au

17-18 August 2007 Mental

Health

8th International Mental Health Conference Gold Coast www.gcimh.com.au

24-25 August 2007 Nursing,

Paramedics,

Medicine

Rural Critical Care Conference Ballina, NSW 08 8080 1497

24-26 August 2007 Pharmacy Pharmacy Australia Congress Melbourne www.psa.org.au

31 August All ARRWAG National Policy Forum on Indigenous Health

Workforce Issues

Fremantle, WA www.arrwag.com.au

4-7 September Psychology The Mental Health Services Annual Conference Melbourne www.themhs.org

13-16 September Nursing CRANA Conference Broken Hill, NSW www.crana.org.au

19-21 September Nursing 9th National Conference of the Congress of Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander Nurses Conference

Alice Springs www.indiginet.com.au

19-21 September All Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child

Care conference “For our Children”

Adelaide www.snaicc.asn.au

Below is a copy of the CoNS calendar up until September 2007. Be sure to check www.nrhn.org.au

for the complete calendar. Also, don’t forget to still apply for a conference that isn’t on our list if you

think it will enhance your future in rural and remote health. Please just include a brief outline of the

rural/remote component of the conference.

Application forms can be downloaded from the NRHN website or by emailing info@nrhn.org.au.

C o o e e ! A p r i l 2 0 0 7

Staying Strong – Well and truly thriving in the

Bush!Unless you have been living under a rock somewhere you have probably

heard about the 2007 NRHN Forum in March featuring over 300 health

students from around Australia!

The theme of the forum was “Staying Strong: Thriving in the Bush” and it

focused on building up all our skills in self care and resilience so we can

truly thrive in the rural and remote workforce when we graduate.

We can hardly believe that after the many months of planning,

excitement, nervous worry, hundreds of emails and phone calls it is

finally over! There are so many people to thank for making the forum a

reality – the Department of Health and Ageing for funding the forum, the

hard working forum committee (Felix, Dave, Claire, Brent, Craig, Lana,

Luke and Kyra), our amazingly committed NRHN staff Litsa and Linda, all

of the keynote speakers and workshop presenters, ARRWAG, the NRHN’s

auspicing body, and the staff from the Commercial Club and Mirambeena

Hall who were happy to do all they could for us.

The forum itself seemed to fly past but here are some of our highlights….

We heard from some fantastic keynote speakers – brought into touch

with the history and past achievements of the NRHN by James Fitzpatrick,

along with a challenge for the future (and being a past Cleo Bachelor of

the year finalist certainly helped

his cause amongst the female

delegates!). Sarah Chunys invited

us to share our stories and consider

the mental health needs of rural

patients. Sabina Knight shared her

experiences and insight into the

skills and strategies needed to

make a real difference and to be

sustainable in remote communities.

Janie Dade Smith discussed the

workforce issues that will face us

when we graduate and inspired

us to practice a more holistic

type of health care. And finally,

John Hogg spoke about how the

medical school at the University

of Wollongong became a reality

and the challenges of preparing a

medical school for the 21st century.

The skills sessions seemed to be

taken up with gusto, with great

attendance even late into Tuesday

afternoon. While some got to know their fellow delegates a little (or a

lot) better with the ‘clowning’ workshop and learnt the value of a good

hug, others chose to learn new ideas and strategies to run their rural

health club. We were much amused by the intensity of the massage

session (and having been the recipients of some massages later on we

can vouch for its effectiveness!) and are now completely sure of the new

CPR guidelines thanks to the first aid session. We learnt how to defuse

a crisis situation with a mentally ill patient; deal with the ‘startle’, or

the daily stresses and grief that can eventually cause burn out; watched

a whole group of extroverted students meditate and become still; and

learnt how to write effective media releases.

One of the most memorable sessions at the Forum was the panel session

facilitated by Julie McCrossin. We were extremely lucky to have Julie at

the Forum and are still in shock at how quickly she could move around

the auditorium or get to the heart of an issue! This was a real opportunity

for NRHN members to raise issues, hear from the panel’s experiences

and create new directions for the NRHN. The main objectives were the

need for interdisciplinary learning as undergraduates, continuing a strong

multidisciplinary focus to the NRHN, creating an NRHN Alumni group, and

increasing the focus on Indigenous health issues.

2007 NRHN Forum

Angela Titmuss & Nick Moore, Forum Co-Convenors

The launch of the NRHN Mental Health Guide by Jeff Kennett was a true highlight and you can

read all about it elsewhere in the newsletter! We were also lucky to have the Health Minister,

The Hon Tony Abbott, present at the close of the Forum, discussing the place of the NRHN

within the rural health strategy. Student presentations demonstrated the huge diversity of

experiences and perspectives within the NRHN, from community health projects in rural India,

RHSVs in the NT, reestablishing a rural health club, to organising Croc Fests…. and many more.

And of course, no conference would be complete without great social events – from a trivia

night where some teams pulled out all stops to win (N.B using your PDA does count as

cheating!), to a club performance night ‘idol’ style (we still aren’t sure exactly which celebrity

judge was Dicko! - but Gordon, Peter and Kim you provided some great entertainment!).

Where we certainly got to see some hidden talents, very entertaining costumes, and the MC

talents of Craig Smith. Romeo and Juliet was brought to life, ‘Hero’ by Mariah Carey now has

a whole new meaning, Grease Lightning got everyone off their seats, and the fairy boys from

RAHMS definitely made an impact! The bush dance got everyone into the true rural spirit and

we are sure these new skills will be useful in settling into a rural town somewhere! We were

also lucky to attend the NRHA conference formal dinner – and see 87 year old Elva, a retired

rural nurse, go crowd surfing for the first time!

We were extremely lucky to also attend the NRHA conference and thank them for their

support– 300 students certainly made a noticeable presence! Being able to be a part of a

professional conference gave new perspectives to the issues we had discussed at a student

level, as well as allowing us to see the reality of the rural and remote workforce beyond our

universities. Participating in workshops, attending concurrent sessions, watching the ‘deal

or no deal’ spectacular (and learning about the realities of the budget!), and meeting with

professional organisations were all opportunities for skills development. The ‘Arts in Health’

component made this conference so much more powerful and made us see that health can be

approached in many ways – we can all think of innovative ways to meet the needs of patients.

While we all learnt new skills, and were inspired by the speakers and presenters, probably

the greatest benefit of the NRHN forum and NRHA conference was that students were

able to come together from all health disciplines, become friends and build networks with

professional organisations. The evaluations demonstrated that NRHN members

highly valued the opportunity to have a NRHN national meeting again. We

have realised that the NRHN is quite a unique organisation and that we need

to continually value and strengthen our multidisciplinary focus – as so often

students can graduate and forget these skills. If we are able to link with other

rural health clubs and challenge the perspectives of health we learn from our

particular disciplines, then maybe we can help to create a truly thriving future

rural health workforce!

Check out more photos and presentations at ww.nrhn.org.au.

C o o e e ! A p r i l 2 0 0 7

The National Heart Foundation of Australia (NHFA) and the Cardiac

Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) have released

Australia’s first national evidence-based review for the diagnosis and

management of Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) and Rheumatic Heart

Disease (RHD).

RHD remains a significant cause of cardiac disability and death

amongst Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with

incidence rates among the highest in the world. Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander peoples are up to eight times more likely than non-

Indigenous Australians to be hospitalised for ARF and RHD and are

nearly 20 times more likely to die from these conditions.

The NHFA and CSANZ have jointly developed this evidence-based

review to assist policy makers and health professionals, including

medical, nursing, allied health and Aboriginal Health Workers address

the diagnosis and management needs of ARF and RHD in Australia.

The purposes of the review were to:

• Identify the standard of care, including preventative care, that

should be available to all people

• Identify areas where current management strategies may not be in

line with available evidence, and

• In the interests of equity, ensure that high risk populations receive

the same standard of care as that available to all other Australians.

A series of quick reference guides for health professionals and the

full evidence-based review is available for downloading from the

National Heart Foundation website www.heartfoundation.com.au.

Printed copies can also be ordered through Heartline on

1300 36 27 87 (local call cost) or

emailheartline@heartfoundation.com.au.

A quick word from the

National Heart Foundation

Placements Guide: How to make the most of your rural placement

The NRHN’s Rural Placements Guide, ‘How to make the most of your rural

placement’ has just been printed and will be delivered to all rural health

clubs in the coming weeks. This guide which has been put together by our

members covers a wide range of questions that you have probably asked

yourself in relation to rural placements. The Guide is aimed at improving

your experience on a rural or remote placement by better preparing you for

your placement, along with offering some advice on how to organise it,

who to contact, what to take and even what clothes to wear!

Sections include:

Why should I consider a rural or remote placement?; How do I organise my

rural or remote placement?; Cultural awareness, Keeping safe, Managing

disclosures and an Essential placement checklist. There are also helpful

hints and contact details if you require further information.

An electronic version of the Guide is available on www.nrhn.org.au or you

can order a hardcopy version from the NRHN office.

Rural Education Foundation of Australia Felix Ho, REFA Representative

Allied Health Portfolio

Mary-Jessimine Beale, Allied Health Portfolio holder

It has been a quiet start to the year for the

allied health portfolio. We are currently

involved in the RAHUS (rural allied health

undergraduate scholarship) appeals round

selecting the final six places for what is a

highly competitive and worthwhile scholarship.

The primary goal of the scholarship is akin

with the goals of NRHN, which is to address

the shortage of allied health professionals in

rural and remote areas. The scholarship is in

its second year of allocation and received over

700 participants this year from allied health

university students across Australia.

The following weeks should see two new

members join the allied health portfolio

position, with nominations currently open.

REFA has been progressing steadily since

last year. REFA completed and submitted a

“Costings Research Report on Pre-service

country teaching placements” to the DEST

Minister. It appears that a recent increase of

30 scholarships for country placements to SA

universities by the SA government resulted

from this research and lobbying by REFA.

Another exciting development from REFA is the

proposed development of pre-service teacher

education contact group / network tentatively

named “Rural Teaching First”; based on the

NRHN model. By the time you’ve read this

article, a decision should have been made by

REFA on the direction of this project… watch

this space!

The annual REFA Roundtable has also been

tentatively set as a pre-conference to the

SPERA conference, to be held in late August in

Merredin, WA.

Congratulations goes to Lana Prout for being

elected as the 2007 REFA senior. In the

upcoming few weeks, I will be handing over to

Lana and the soon-to-be-elected REFA Junior.

For more information on REFA, visit

www.refa.edu.au.

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National Rural Health Network c/o ARRWAG PO Box 6244 South Yarra Vic 3141 Australia

www.nrhn.org.au

Telephone 03 8825 4500 Facsimile 03 9804 7370 Email info@nrhn.org.au