Welcome to Going Rural Health News! Going Rural Health News is the publication of new and relevant information about all things related to rural clinical placements, education and rural health, from the Going Rural Health team. Team members are located in Ballarat, Shepparton and Wangaratta.

It's been a challenging time for rural people in particular over the last few weeks, with more challenging times ahead. Our thoughts go out to all rural people affected by the floods in Victoria and New South Wales.

The Going Rural Health team continues to support students on placements that have been impacted by cancellations and closures caused by the floods. Please encourage students to contact us if they need our support.

Stay safe & well

 The Going Rural Health team

Going Rural Health student support

Student Health & Wellbeing Support

Going Rural Health People & Promotions

Going Rural Health Student Events

Rural Job Vacancies

Going Rural Health Education

University of Melbourne Events & Webinars

External Education & Resources

Going Rural Health and University Department of Rural Health (UDRH) Research

Going Rural Health Website

Going Rural Health supports students to complete rural clinical placements. Support includes financial assistance, subsidised accommodation in selected areas, education, mentoring support, student activities, & cultural training.  For financial assistance, eligible students may only receive EITHER subsidised accommodation at University of Melbourne owned housing (where available, subject to availability) OR a financial payment for their placement (not both). Financial payment is calculated per day of attendance at placement.

Please note that there have been some slight changes to eligibility criteria recently. More information on the Going Rural Health Student Support Scheme, including how to apply & eligibility criteria, is available HERE.

As always, we are trying to ensure that students get the best placement experience possible. Please help us to do this by directing students to complete our Student Placement Survey. It is a short online survey that should only take students 10-15 minutes to complete.

There are a number of wellbeing supports available to students while they are on placement. Details are available on the Going Rural Health website on our 'Online Resources for Students page, and also outlined below:

1. CRANA Plus Bush Support Services: Toll free 24hr free phone counselling service for those in rural areas, including students while they are on placement. Phone 1800 805 391 anytime.
2. CRANA Plus free course: Adapting Self-Care Practices During Clinical Placement
3. National Rural Health Student Network Mental Health guide: When the Cowpat Hits the Windmill

4. The Going Rural Health Wellbeing & Resilience course:

   To access the course, follow this link HERE.

   You will need to register for the website (if you haven’t already), log-in to the website, and enrol to complete the course.

   If you have any issues with access please contact the team at going-ruralhealth@unimelb.edu.au

5. Health & Wellbeing Service – telehealth appointments:

   The Rural Clinical School offers telehealth counselling services while students are on placement. Please see the link HERE for more details and to book an appointment.

Submit your short video 

Are you a nursing or allied health student currently completing, or have completed, a regional or rural placement?

We're on the look-out for new stories from our student and alumni community to bring our video projects to life. Scan the QR code or follow the below link to get started:

go.unimelb.edu.au/5oxe

Our student engagement events have finished for the year.

Our last two events - student yoga and 'Fright Night!' were very well received. Watch this space for events in 2023!

The team are now providing another platform for rural and regional organisations to advertise their employment opportunities to our network. Please feel free to send the details of any vacancies for advertising in this newsletter to Trish Thorpe at trish.thorpe@unimelb.edu.au

We can also advertise on our website and social media platforms!

Online Going Rural Health Education

Have you seen the Going Rural Health Online Learning Centre on our website? We have a number of free courses for both students and health professionals. To access the Learning Centre visit the webpage HERE. 

Participants will need to register for the website, log-in and enrol in courses. Certificates of completion will be automatically generated upon successful completion of courses. If you have any problems with this process please contact the team at going-ruralhealth@unimelb.edu.au

Courses will be added as they are released, but the site currently has 10 free courses & 2 paid courses live:

• NEW! (Renamed) Supervision Principles for the Novice Supervisor (available SOON): This course, aimed towards novice supervisors, takes participants through the basics of student supervision, in order to get the best out of students. A small fee applies. To express interest in this course an for more details contact going-ruralhealth@unimelb.edu.au
• New Interdisciplinary Graduate Education and Learning (NIGEL) Series: One of our newest courses, this course is targeted towards mostly non-clinical learning for new graduates, especially those working in regional and rural areas. Covering 9 topics, this will help health professionals new to practice with the transferable skills they need in their day-to-day work.
• Human Rights in Healthcare: This course looks at how human rights apply to healthcare, particularly from a regional/rural lens.
• Project Supervision for Student Placements: This course provides some tips on selecting and designing placement projects that fit timeframes, student learning requirements, and desired outcomes for all.
• Online Introduction to Rural Practice: this is our updated course introducing students and new staff to practicing in a rural community. Great for those new to rural health.
• Wellbeing and Resilience: an updated version of our Resilience module, the course has been moved to the Learning Centre for easier access. Health professionals - including health students - as a group don't tend to look after themselves well; this course gives insight and tips as to how to look after ourselves better.
• Giving and Receiving Effective Feedback: This is a combination of our original two separate courses (Giving Feedback, and Receiving Feedback), as much of the content was similar. Provides tips to better receive feedback, especially if it is negative, and ways to provide more effective feedback to staff and students.
• Communication: Tools to optimise your communication skills and ensure the perceived message is the intended message.
• Social Media Posting for Health Professionals. A package, particularly for young health students or experienced health professionals new to social media, that discusses the pitfalls and risks associated with social media posting on various platforms.
• Responding Effectively to Upset and Complaining Patients or Family. This course discusses methods to work with these individuals for best outcomes.
• Critical Thinking & Clinical Reasoning. This topic discusses what critical thinking is and how to implement into your everyday practice as a health practitioner.

Online Cultural Training - for Students ONLY

Going Rural Health, in collaboration with a Yorta Yorta traditional custodian from the Shepparton region, have developed an online cultural training course for students. The course can be accessed via our website HERE.

Education - November/December 2022

STAFF & STUDENTS:

Communication Workshop

Where: Online via Zoom

To register for this event please click: HERE. 

Students please contact Kylie Browne at kylie.browne@unimelb.edu.au for free booking link.

STUDENTS:

Student Tutorials 2022

Aimed at students but also suitable for new graduates.

Career Readiness Skills: November 9th 8-9am, via Zoom

Ownership of Learning: November 16th 8-9am, via Zoom

For more information, and to book, visit the StarRez online events page HERE.

Cultural Competency in Aboriginal Health Training

The Department of Rural Health invites allied health, pharmacy, nursing and medical students from all Universities to participate in a free Cultural Competency in Aboriginal Health training workshop. Robynne Nelson delivers a highly informative and valuable session on Cultural Competency in Aboriginal Health, helping you to increase your skills and knowledge for working with Indigenous people and communities in a more culturally appropriate and effective way.

Shepparton:

When: RESCHEDULED - November 17th, 9.30am-3.30pm

Where: University of Melbourne Shepparton Campus, 49 Graham Street Shepparton

Wangaratta:

When:   RESCHEDULED - November 4th, 9.30am-3.30pm

Where: University of Melbourne Rural Campus, 'The Chalet' Docker St, Wangaratta

Shepparton and Wangaratta workshops are for STUDENTS ONLY. COVID-19 requirements apply.

Bookings essential. For more information, and to book, visit http://go.unimelb.edu.au/9u7i

Ballarat region details:

The Going Rural Health team at the University of Melbourne Department of Rural Health invites all nursing and allied health students to participate in Aboriginal Cultural Insight Experience Virtual Workshops. Nursing and allied health university and health service staff are also welcome to attend. Traditional Owner Bonnie Chew will conduct virtual cultural awareness workshops introducing students and staff to past and present Aboriginal Australia. These sessions will give students and staff an insight into the Aboriginal history in Australia and an opportunity to discuss meeting the health and well-being needs of today’s community in a meaningful and culturally appropriate manner.

When: Wednesday 30th November, 9.30am-4.30pm          

Where: NEW LOCATION - Maryborough District Health Service, 75/87 Clarendon St, Maryborough VIC 3465, in the Centre of Inspired Learning (COIL).

Cost: Staff $30. Students: FREE. 

COVID-19 requirements apply.

Bookings essential. To book, visit our Eventbrite page HERE.

NOTE: Students - please contact Trish Thorpe trish.thorpe@unimelb.edu.au for FREE student booking links.

Please contact the education team via the Going Rural Health email address: going-ruralhealth@unimelb.edu.au  for details of all education, if any issues with bookings, or to book a virtual session from the education list at Education topics.

The Department of Rural Health held its 7th Ngar-wu Wanyarra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Conference on October 12th. Over 300 people registered for the hybrid conference, with a combination of in-person and online attendees. Thank you to staff who contributed on the day to help bring the event to life. Despite the wet weather, it was a fantastic day with attendees enjoying being able to reconnect again. Feedback has been positive about the keynote addresses from Adam Goodes and Sue-Anne Hunter (Yoorrook Justice Commission) as well as from other brilliant speakers talking about their community health programs, research and First Nation knowledges. Photos from the day will be shared soon across our social media and website.

Department of Rural Health Facebook: DRH Facebook

Department of Rural Health Website: DRH Website

Ngar-wu Wanyarra, meaning to 'listen and act'.

Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program (AUSCEP)

Helping people improve their health. Most people become clinicians to make a difference in the world.

Sometimes, there are predictable barriers that need to be overcome which often require non-clinical skills that aren't taught in training, such as entrepreneurialism, design thinking and communication.

Based on the highly successful UK NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, The Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program aims to up-skill clinicians and accelerate innovation by developing the entrepreneurial and innovation mindset of Australia's healthcare professionals to create positive change for the Australian healthcare system. 

For more information visit https://www.auscep.com.au/

 

My Allied Health Space is a great resource for allied health professionals and allied health students working in the field of disability.

LGBTIQA+ Group Supervision

Want to learn more about working with LGBTIQ+ people as a health professional? Join Lachlan Slade for these group supervision sessions.

For more information, and to book (various dates available), visit https://events.humanitix.com/group-supe#

RCH Education Outreach

Allied Health Paediatric Videoconference Series

NOVEMBER: Accelerating recovery from child concussion: a multimodal, symptom-targeted approach,

When: Wednesday 23rd November, 1-2pm

Presenters: Vicki Anderson, Head of Psychology, RCH and

                     Katie Davies, Physiotherapist, Honorary position MCRI

Registration: Via Eventbrite HERE.

Registration is via the Eventbrite links and it closes 2 business days before each presentation. It is free to attend and we encourage any health professional interested to view one or all of them.

If you have any questions about this series please email education.outreach@rch.org.au

Free Student Resource From CRANA plus:

Adapting Self-Care Practices During Clinical Placement

The resource is for any student preparing for a placement in a rural or remote setting. To access the resource, visit the webpage HERE. 

Allied Health Clinical Educators Network Clinical Supervision Modules

The Allied Health Clinical Educators’ Network (AHCEN), has released some modules on training staff in clinical supervision. They include:

• Setting up a clinical supervision relationship
• Providing effective feedback
• Developing Clinical Reasoning through Supervision
• Supporting Wellbeing through Clinical Supervision

For more details see the document HERE.

Head to Help: A Free Mental Health Service For All Victorians

This is a service available through the Primary Health Network (PHN), for Victorians of any age experiencing mental ill-health - whether they have a GP mental health plan or not. The service is FREE, and no appointments are required.

Phone: 1800 595 212 8.30am - 5pm Monday to Friday (except public holidays).

For more details see the website HERE.

NOTE: This is NOT a crisis service.

For urgent support call Lifeline on 13 11 14

Out of hours and weekends call Beyond Blue on 1800 512 348.

Yarning SafeNStrong - A New Counselling Service for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples

The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service has established Yarning SafeNStrong: a free and confidential counselling service for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The service is available 24 hours, 7 days a week to people and families who need to have a yarn with someone about their wellbeing.

Phone: 1800 959 563

For more information see the website HERE.

Three Rivers UDRH

Three Rivers UDRH supports health professionals, staff and students by offering free online courses. The following two courses are especially relevant:

Three Rivers UDRH Rural Clinical Placements – How to grow your own course .

Three Rivers UDRH Telehealth - Embracing Technology in Healthcare

Student telehealth placements resource

There is a great resource available from SARRAH about student telehealth placements. It is a copy of the presentation from a recent webinar. Access it via the link below:

SARRAH webinar student TH placements Robyn Gill

PHN resources

WestVic PHN and Murray PHN also have education available in regional and rural areas. See their websites for details of what is on in your region:

WestVic PHN: https://westvicphn.com.au/events-education/upcoming-events/

Murray PHN: https://www.murrayphn.org.au/events/.

The Going Rural Health program sits within the University Department of Rural Health (UDRH) of The University of Melbourne. The UDRH undertakes a number of research projects, some of which relate to student placements - from both the student perspective, and of those who support students (supervisors and placement support staff).

Student Placement Survey

As previously mentioned, Going Rural Health are trying to ensure that students get the best placement experience possible. Please help us to do this by directing students to complete our Student Placement Survey. It is a short online survey that should only take students 10-15 minutes to complete.

Supervisor & Placement Support Staff Survey

Going Rural Health are undertaking a research project to gain a better understanding of rural clinical placements, from the perspective of those who support students (supervisors and placement support staff). Many of you will have already received an email from one of the Going Rural Health team members to invite you to participate, and to encourage you to share the invite with your colleagues. Visit the Going Rural Health webpage HERE for more details.

If you would like any further information on any of these projects, please contact the Going Rural Health team at going-ruralhealth@unimelb.edu.au .