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.

The team recently participated in a great partnership event between the university and local placement providers, at the Department of Rural Health in Wangaratta. See the 'University of Melbourne Webinars & Events section for more details, and a link to an article written about the event in the Wangaratta Chronicle. Events such as these reinforce just how much we appreciate our placement partners.

The year is gearing up to be another big one, with placements numbers increasing and our staff busier than ever - and a new staff member starting in April. We've also got our first student engagement event coming up around Easter, so check it out in our student events section.

Lastly, try to stay cool in this hot spell, and have a great month!

 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 Events, Education & Resources

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

Going Rural Health Website

Going Rural Health (GRH) 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.

2023 Changes: There have been a number of changes to the eligibility criteria in 2023. Some of the changes are that students are no longer eligible for funding if they apply after their placements have concluded, or if they decline accommodation offered. 

More information about the Going Rural Health Student Support Scheme, including how to apply & eligibility criteria, is available HERE.

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 enroll (click 'start now') 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.

GRH Team News

We are happy to welcome Maureen Cuskelly, Associate Lecturer in Rural Mental Health Education - who is working with the Department of Rural Health's Mental Health project - to the GRH team. We adopted Maureen as an unofficial team member when she first started in her role, but now it is official!  

We will also welcome a new GRH team member in our Shepparton office in April - Peter Sleeth. Peter has a nursing background, and has extensive experience in the teaching and learning space.

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

NEW Going Rural Health News Page

We have recently added a news page to the Going Rural Health website, available via the top menu under 'News" or via the link HERE.

In this we have links to all our news items, including our news posts, which are also accessible below.

Going Rural Health are giving away FREE chocolate this Easter to health students in regional/rural areas. 

Enter our photo competition to win a Nib & Noble Hot Chocolate Pack HERE.

NOTE: Terms and conditions apply. View information at the link above for details.

Register to pick up a Hot Chocolate Goodie Pack (pictured above) HERE.

NOTE: Registrations open 27th February. Pick ups from selected sites only. Pick ups at other sites can't be guaranteed. See the registration link for more details.

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!

Careers Online is the University of Melbourne's official online careers resource where you can advertise your organisation’s employment and work experience opportunities. More than 10,000 University of Melbourne students, recent graduates and alumni access Careers Online every month.

You can self-post your job ad at this site free of charge, at any time, via the link HERE.  All instructions on how to post are on this page.

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 11 free courses & 1 paid course live:

• NEW! Supervision Principles for the Novice Supervisor: This course, aimed towards novice supervisors, takes participants through the basics of student supervision, in order to get the best out of students. An adjunct workshop is also offered for a small fee; sessions for 2023 will be scheduled early in the new year.
• 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.

We currently have 2 courses in development:

• Supervision for Service Learning Placements
• Interprofessional Education for Rural Student Placements

Keep an eye on the newsletter and our social media platforms - we will advertise the new courses via these when they are released.

Online Cultural Learning - for Students ONLY

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

Education

Aboriginal Cultural Learning Workshops 2023

Ballarat region with Bonnie Chew: For students AND staff

BALLARAT: Wednesday 15th March 9.30am - 4.30pm, University of Melbourne Campus

CHARLTON: Thursday 13th July 10am - 4pm, East Wimmera Health Service

MARYBOROUGH: Tuesday 3rd October 9.30am - 4.30pm, Maryborough District Health Service

To book into any of these sessions visit the link  HERE.

Hume Region with Robynne Nelson: For students ONLY

Dates in Shepparton and Wangaratta will be advertised as soon as they are available. Watch this newsletter for details.

Please contact the education team via the Going Rural Health email address: going-ruralhealth@unimelb.edu.au  for details of all education, or if any issues with bookings.

Partnering for Impact: Rural Allied Health & Nursing Collaboration

Prof Bruce Thompson & Prof Lisa Bourke

On Tuesday 14th February the University of Melbourne Department of Rural Health, together with the Melbourne School of Health Sciences held an inaugural 'Partnering for Impact' event in Wangaratta.

The event was a celebration and acknowledgement of the high-quality health care and welfare sector placements provided in the Hume region and a chance to put forward thoughts on what the University of Melbourne School of Health Sciences could do to help address rural health/welfare workforce needs.

Attendees heard from Professor Bruce Thompson (Head of Melbourne School of Health Sciences) and Professor Marie Gerdtz (Head of Department of Nursing), from the University of Melbourne and were able to put questions to a panel of health industry experts.

The Wangaratta Chronicle ran a feature article on the event, which can be found HERE.

This event received very positive feedback, and we are hoping to run similar events in our regions in the future.

Future Fair Shepparton

A bean bag toss, competitive painting and even a table tennis tournament were all on the cards at the Future Fair event, hosted by the GV Regional Training Hub and GV Health on Thursday 16th February.

Designed to help welcome new medical arrivals to the region, the event was held on the beautiful green lawn at the Department of Rural Health in Shepparton and was attended by medical students, junior doctors, clinicians, educators, and workforce support.

The Melbourne School of Population and Global Health are looking for participants aged 18 – 29 years old and living in rural/regional Victoria to provide feedback on what they’d want in an online sexual health service. All participants will be reimbursed.

Please share this with your networks including friends and family who fit the above criteria. Otherwise, if you fit the criteria please consider participating.

Further information is below:

• Interested participants will be asked to complete an online survey and attend two half-day workshops in person to provide feedback
• Participants will be reimbursed for their time, including travel time
• For all enquiries, contact: e-sti@unimelb.edu.au 

To express your interest, please visit the link and fill in the form HERE.

2023 University of Melbourne Webinars

FREE Public Lecture

Topic: Engaging Rural Knowledges in Education - Spatial Justice, Rural Schooling & the Sustainability of Rural Communities

When: Tuesday 14th March 2023, 5.30-6.30pm

Where: Face to face at the Department of Rural Health Shepparton, 49 Graham Street Shepparton OR online via Zoom

Bookings: Book for either mode HERE.

Speaker: Dr Phillip Roberts, Associate Professor in Curriculum Inquiry & Rural Education, The University of Canberra

Philip is the research leader of the Rural Education, Curriculum and Communities Research Group in the Centre for Sustainable Communities at the University of Canberra and an ARC DECRA Fellow (2020-23). His research focuses on the role of knowledge in curriculum, rural knowledges and the sustainability of rural communities. Prior to moving to the university sector 14 years ago, Philip was a teacher and school executive in rural and remote schools for 12 years. He has held various positions on state curriculum boards, departmental boards, teacher registration boards and the teachers union. He teaches pre-service teachers, and post graduate classes on curriculum development, the use of data in educational decision making, and the preparation of professionals for rural communities. Philip has spent his career advocating for and supporting initiatives aimed at enhancing equity for rural, regional and remote communities.

This public lecture is for parents and school teachers to discuss how school based knowledge can conflict with the knowledges of rural communities, and how to develop approaches to bridge this divide. The lecture aims to assist rural, regional and remote community members and teachers develop a shared language for talking about social justice from the perspective of their place. Through highlighting the spatial dimensions of social justice and the implications for recognising different knowledges and careers, this lecture outlines a road map to achieving more inclusive educational practices and valuing the specialist knowledge of teachers in these communities.

Enquiries: Di Doyle - Events Coordinator E:ddoyle@unimelb.edu.au or P: (03) 5823 4512. 

Past Webinars

Past recordings of webinars are available via the DRH website (link below).

Department of Rural Health Facebook: DRH Facebook

Department of Rural Health Website: DRH Website

Complex Case Series - FREE online webinar

Learn from a panel of experienced Allied Health clinicians as they discuss Chris, a patient with a complex stroke presentation requiring multi-disciplinary input.

When: Thursday 2nd March 2023, 1-2.30pm. Online via Zoom

Register: via the link HERE.

More information: see the event flyer HERE.

Echuca Regional Health (ERH) Research & Innovation Symposium -

"Universal Access: Innovative Care and Workplace Diversity"

When: 29th and 30th March 2023

Where: ERH Education Centre, 226 Service Street, Echuca

For further information, and for abstract guidelines please contact the ERH Office for Research at research@erh.org.au OR Dr Nadine Glanville (Research Coordinator) at nglanville@erh.org.au

This is a strictly ticketed COVID Safe Event. Book tickets HERE.

See the flyer below for information about the event and Key Note Speakers.

ERH Research Symposium Flyer + Key Note Speakers

“Multidisciplinary Paediatric Pain Management Virtual Study Day”

When: Thursday 23^rd of March from 0900-1530.

Cost: $50

Registrations: To access this day, please register HERE.

(Upcoming events>Multidisciplinary Paediatric Acute Pain Management Study Day). You must register for the site first in order to receive access to the course registration.

You will hear from

• The Acute Pain Management Service
• Chronic Pain Management Team
• Comfort Kids
• Child Life Therapy
• RCH Clown Doctors

Topics include

• Pain Assessment
• Analgesic Ladder
• Procedural Pain Management
• Communication tools
• Playful Practice

Queries: education.hub@rch.org.au

Centre for Culture, Ethnicity & Health - Free training webinar

When: Thursday 23rd March 12-12.30pm 

Register: via the QR code above or via the link HERE.

Allied Health Clinical Supervision Framework

Accessible online FREE via the Department of Health website HERE.

Paediatric Nursing Webinars 2023

Allied Health Paediatric Webinars 2023

SARRAH Leadership Program 2023 Dates Announced!

Program 2: 28/08/2023 - 06/10/2023

Gain the skills and knowledge to lead and manage your organisation and enhance your career opportunities through leading, mentoring, and coaching.

This course is ideal not only for allied health professionals but any individuals aiming to become a successful leader and agent for change in the rural and remote health landscape of Australia. SARRAH offers flexible and affordable study options including online learning and discounted rates for SARRAH members.  

The course has been built around four key topics:

• Leadership Vs Management
• "Being" leadership
• "Doing" leadership
• "Maintaining" leadership 

For more information, and to enroll, visit the link HERE.

LGBTIQA+ Group Supervision

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

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

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. 

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.

Department of Rural Health (DRH) Survey

Please take time to participate in this 20-minute survey to help better understand how mental health, physical health, wellbeing and access to health services can be challenged during widespread disruptions and how people can be supported during these times. ­­­­­­­

The survey can be accessed here: HERE.

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 .

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If you would like to contribute to Going Rural Health news please email your contribution to trish.thorpe@unimelb.edu.au

Email: going-ruralhealth@unimelb.edu.au

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