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 (GRH) team. Team members are located in Ballarat, Shepparton and Wangaratta.

We at Going Rural Health are moving in to our busiest period of the year, with placements in the second half of the year increasing significantly. We have our 'Soup in a Jar' student engagement event happening, and there is a recap of our Halls Gap student cultural day in our news.

The newsletter this month is filled with education opportunities, both from our team and our external partners. Most of these are accessible from anywhere, so are a great way to achieve CPD without having to travel too much.

Finally, it's really gotten icy - so stay warm, drive safe, and find a way to stay active!

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 Mental Health Placements Available

Rural Job Vacancies

Going Rural Health Education

8th Ngar-Wu Wanyarra Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Conference 2023

Save the Date! - Hume Region Allied Health Conference 2023

University of Melbourne Events & Webinars

External Events, Education & Resources

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

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.

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 in our region. 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

Going Rural Health News Page

We have 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 Winter Event - Soup in a Jar

This winter, we are again running a student giveaway - Soup in a Jar (see details above). Most of these will be given out at our University of Melbourne campuses, but we may also be able to drop some off to our rural health service partners (by arrangement only). Contact your local Going Rural Health representative for more details or to see if a drop off is possible.

Jar numbers are limited.

Student Psychology Placements in Wangaratta

A new psychology clinic has been established at Gateway Health in Wangaratta to provide culturally safe and appropriate mental health services, drawing on the skills of postgraduate psychology students.

The Gateway Health Psychology Clinic offers a nurturing and professionally stimulating vocational placement experience for their placement psychologists. Supervisors are an experienced team of psychologists and clinical psychologists. Placement psychologists are an integral part of the Gateway team.

Who can apply?

If you are a Masters or Doctoral candidate studying relevant counselling, clinical, professional, neuropsychology or educational psychology courses you can apply to do a vocational placement with Gateway Health.

Placements are still available for 2023. Contact the team now to apply! 

Wellbeing Placements in rural communities

Through this program, also available are interprofessional service-learning placements in more remote communities working with local primary schools, sporting clubs, mother’s groups, and other groups to deliver holistic mental health support programs. These placements provide a unique and beneficial learning experience that can have a huge impact on rural and remote communities.

By creating new placement programs in communities that need the services most, we are delivering a two-pronged approach; providing an enriching learning experience to students and offering rural communities a service they may not have received otherwise.

Who can apply?

Nursing and allied health students in the disciplines of social work, occupational therapy, dietetics, nutrition, physiotherapy, exercise physiology or other allied health disciplines who require as part of their curriculum an undertaking of practical learning through a placement program can apply.

For more information about these placements, visit the website HERE or contact the Going Rural Health team at going-ruralhealth@unimelb.edu.au

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 to complete them. 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 12 free courses  live:

1. NEW Interprofessional Education for Rural Student Placements: Are you looking to embed interprofessional education into your student placements? This course will provide you with some tools to provide an interprofessional placement learning experience for your students.
2. 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.
3. New Interdisciplinary Graduate Education and Learning (NIGEL) Series: 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.
4. Human Rights in Healthcare: This course looks at how human rights apply to healthcare, particularly from a regional/rural lens.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Communication: Tools to optimise your communication skills and ensure the perceived message is the intended message.
10. 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.
11. Responding Effectively to Upset and Complaining Patients or Family. This course discusses methods to work with these individuals for best outcomes.
12. 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 1 course in development:

• Supervision for Service Learning Placements

Keep an eye on the newsletter and our social media platforms - we will advertise the new course via these when 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

Innovative approaches to supervision in rural practice

When: Fri, 28th July 2023, 9am-12pm

Where: Online via Zoom

This workshop is interactive in nature and designed to equip inexperienced supervisors with an understanding of innovative approaches to supervision in rural practice, as well as provide the necessary knowledge and practical skills to effectively supervise students within their health service.

What we will cover in the workshop:

• Innovative approaches to supervision: why, what, how
• Student needs
• Supervisor role
• Preparing for placement
• Setting expectations and goals
• Feedback and reflection

Register now HERE.

For more information, please contact going-ruralhealth@unimelb.edu.au

Aboriginal Cultural Learning Workshops 2023

Ballarat region with Bonnie Chew: For students AND staff

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

NOTE: The Charlton workshop in July has been cancelled due to low numbers.

To book visit the link  HERE.

Hume Region with Robynne Nelson: For students ONLY

SHEPPARTON:

17th August, 9am-3.30pm, University of Melbourne Shepparton Campus

3rd October, 9am-3.30pm, University of Melbourne Shepparton Campus

WANGARATTA:

9th September, 9am-3.30pm, 'The Chalet' University of Melbourne Wangaratta Campus

To book for any of the Shepparton and Wangaratta workshops, visit the link HERE.

The 2023 Ngar-wu Wanyarra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Conference will be held on Yorta Yorta Country in Shepparton, Victoria on Wednesday 11th October 2023. The conference is delivered by Department of Rural Health, University of Melbourne and is in its 8th consecutive year.

Meaning to ‘listen and act’ in Yorta Yorta language – the Ngar-Wu Wanyarra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander conference recognises First Nation knowledges and voices and aims to facilitate the exchange of information of key topics in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health and wellbeing.

The conference provides a forum for the presentation of cutting-edge program initiatives and research findings in Aboriginal health and wellbeing by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community leaders, health practitioners and their colleagues.

For more information, and to submit an abstract, visit the webpage  HERE.

SAVE THE DATE! 

Join us at the Hume Region Allied Health Conference on the 26th of October 2023.

Alongside the North East and Goulburn Valley Allied Health Education Group, we're working to deliver this fantastic conference at the University of Melbourne Shepparton campus. More details to come.

Learn more  HERE.

2023 University of Melbourne Webinars

Public Webinar Series 2023

There are currently no webinars planned for July 2023.

Past Webinars

Past recordings of webinars are available via the DRH website (link below), including the 'Understanding ADHD' webinar from May.

Department of Rural Health Facebook: DRH Facebook

Department of Rural Health Website: DRH Website

Boosting the Local Care Workforce (BLCW) National Webinar

BLCW have a national webinar running this week titledThe Power of Engagement: Enhancing Onboarding and Retention Efforts. The guest Speaker is Maria Smith, Founder and CEO of Bounce Global. Maria is a communications and behaviour change expert with over 15 years’ experience in workforce engagement and activation. She is the creative force behind the Bounce Program, a transformational soft-skills program credited with impacting the lives of thousands of people across the globe.

For more information see the flyer attached HERE.

Register for this fantastic webinar HERE.

Inclusive and Best Practice in Healthcare for People with an Intellectual Disability

The Commonwealth Government Primary Care Enhancement Program (PCEP) & Western Victoria Primary Health Network (WVPHN) presents a FREE 2 hour workshop: Inclusive and Best Practice in Healthcare for People with an Intellectual Disability.  

Australian statistics show that people with an intellectual disability die 27 years earlier than the general population, as well as experience twice the rate of emergency department and hospital admissions, higher rates of physical and mental health conditions and lower rates of preventive health care.   We can change this.

The workshop is a combination of how all staff can make reasonable adjustments when working with individuals with an intellectual disability in the practice of delivering health care.  Additionally the workshop considers how services, organisations and practices can make adjustments at the organisational level in order to align with the National Roadmap, meet many of the national quality health and safety standards and disability standards.   While this training specifically references individuals with an Intellectual disability, the learnings are also able to be applied to many different community members who access both public and private healthcare.  

The training content aligns with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, particularly Article 9 – Accessibility and Article 25 – Health, and the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards, particularly Clinical Governance, Partnering with Consumers, Comprehensive Care and Communicating for Safety.  

When: Friday 14th July 2023, 11.30am - 1.30pm

Where: East Grampians Health Service (EGHS), Pyrenees House, Mt William room, 5 Girdlestone St, Ararat

Morning Tea and Lunch Provided.

See attached flyer HERE for more details.

This training is relevant to all disciplines in health care – see link to 5 minute introductory video HERE.

Registration is essential. Register via the link HERE.

Foundations of Cerebral Palsy Management - Ballarat & Grampians Region

The Royal Children’s Hospital Education Hub Outreach Program along with Grampians Health would like to invite you to attend the course: Foundations of Cerebral Palsy Management.

This face to face study day provides the opportunity to enhance and broaden your knowledge of Cerebral Palsy from multiple healthcare professions including medical, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and dietetics.

Date and time: Monday 17^th July 2023, 8:45am – 4:15pm.

Location: Ballarat Base Hospital (Grampians Health), Ballarat.

Cost: $99 incl. GST

Intended audience:  Allied health clinicians, nursing, medical and teachers in the Grampians region who would like to enhance their knowledge of Cerebral Palsy

Please share this course information within your networks (Public and private health clinicians welcome).

For more information, see the flyer attached HERE. If you have any questions, please contact The RCH Education Hub at education.hub@rch.org.au

Course registration is located on the RCH Online Learning Platform. 

*Please note: There is a minimum number of participants required to run this course. If this number is not reached, the course will be cancelled. Therefore please register ASAP.

To register, visit the link HERE (you will be prompted to sign in or create an account).

Nursing & Allied Health Colorectal Symposium

The Royal Children’s Hospital’s Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction Service invite you to attend The Nursing and Allied Health Colorectal Symposium. This event will take place as part of the 2^nd Melbourne Colorectal Course. The symposium will take place onsite at RCH and streamed via Zoom on Friday 18^th of August commencing at 1:30 pm. 

This symposium is designed for nursing and allied health professionals that have an interest in the management of children with colorectal conditions.

Attendees will hear from advanced practice providers from the Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction Service (CPRS) at The Royal Children's Hospital, as well as members of the invited international faculty.

Topics discussed will include Anorectal Malformations, Hirschsprung disease and Chronic Constipation. The principles of diagnosis and management, as well as inpatient and outpatient care, will be covered. There will be an additional focus on the mental health and psychosocial challenges faced by patients and their families. Sessions will be moderated by members of the CPRS Well-being team, including psychology, social work and child life therapy.

Procedures such as anal dilatations and rectal washouts will be considered, and the care of colostomies, ileostomies and appendicostomies will be discussed. On completion of the symposium, attendees will be able to describe the typical constipation pathways, common oral and rectal treatments, and potential surgical interventions. Attendees will also have a clear understanding of how allied health professionals may complement the work of the nursing and medical professionals in supporting children and their families.

For further information, please see the flyer attached HERE or contact cprs.coordinator@rch.org.au

To book visit the link HERE.

Paediatric Nursing Webinars 2023

Allied Health Paediatric Webinars 2023

SARRAH Leadership Program 2023 Dates

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.

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 .