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+MURMUR the gums magazine ISSUE 3 Oct 2014
+MURMURthe gums magazine
ISSUE 3Oct 2014
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The issuer of these products is BOQ Specialist Bank Limited ABN 55 071 292 594, AFSL and, Australian Credit Licence 234975 (BOQ Specialist). *All finance is subject to our credit assessment criteria. Terms and conditions, fees and charges apply. We reserve the right to cease offering these products at any time without notice. The information contained in this document is general in nature and does not take into account your personal financial or investment needs or circumstances. Before acquiring any of the products listed you should obtain a copy of the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) from boqspecialist.com.au and consider whether it is appropriate for you.
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BOQS000176 09/14
Wow is it that time of year already.
Welcome to the final edition of murmur which is coming to you via Stanthorpe (the obligatory bottle of local wine may have been waylaid in the mail). Spring is well and truly here- there are flowers growing out of the hospital helipad and apple blossoms galore. Back on the Gold Coast things are shaping up for perfect beach weather. So what does all this mean- a) time to dose up on antihistamines b) time to enjoy the sunshine c) time take a break to de-stress before things start ramping up for exams at the end of the semester d) time to rem-inisce over the past year (or at least Med Review) e) all of the above.
If you need any help with procrastibaking try our 2 minute chocolate chip brownie or some of the wellbeing exercises. We are also very excited to see the release of the GUMS Clinical Skills Guide (3rd Edition) and lanyard cards just in time for exams and are available to order via the GUMS web-site.
A big thank you to you, our readers, and those who have helped along the way sub-mitting articles and photos- it’s been very much appreciated. Good luck everyone! That’s it from us.
+ Jasmine and Nicola
President’s letter
Community Update
Coffee House
Murmur Recipe: Procastibaking
Advocacy update
Get active
Back to the Suture: Med Revue
AMEE
Academic: What’s on/OSCEs
GUMS: Futures Evening
Social: End of Year Celebra-tions
Elective Inspiration
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Contents
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Dear Members!
Congratulations on making it through 2014! As exams loom many of us cant believe we’ve actually survived another year of Medical School.
Since our last murmur we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy the fantastic produc-tion that was Med Revue. With many audience members almost having mo-ments on imminent enuresis, I can easily say it was an excellent performance! It even received rave reviews from our Dean who once again had a Cameo appearance in the show.
“Totally inspired. Kathy (my wife) and I enjoyed the whole thing enormously. I have honestly not laughed so loudly for a long time” - Simon Broadley, post Med Revue
GUMS has also successfully run it’s inaugural Blue Week, which saw many GUMS members participate in Yoga, Self Defence Classes and blue snacks, organise by our fabulous Wellbeing officer Jacqui. It was excellent to hear from GUMS Alumni Dr Claire Mcallister and Dr Dan Wysocanski who have both been successful in gaining positions on the psychiatry training program, and are both advocates for good Mental Health Practices for health care profes-sionals.
Shortly after, we were lucky enough to hear from further GUMS alumni and Griffith Hospital Consultants at the Futures and Careers Expo held at G40. Stu-dents were fortunate enough to hear from doctors from a number of back-grounds whilst receiving freebies from our sponsors and dinner with alumni after the event. A huge thank you must be given to Anne our Academic officer and her Sub Committee who dedicated many man hours to the running of such a professional event.
As the year comes to a close I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at GUMS upcoming Coffee House Music Night on the 30th of September, the Formative OSCE on October 9th, when collecting my Clinical Skills Guide or at your various End of Year Celebrations. I would like to thank all of GUMS mem-bers for another fantastic year for the Medical Society, and hope we have of-
+ from the president’s deskMikaela Seymour
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fered you a memorable experience in 2014.
Without further ado I would like to congratulate the incoming 2015 Executive. After a very hotly contested election GUMS has gained a very experienced and enthusiastic team for 2015, which promises to lead your Medical Society in bigger and greater directions. I can’t wait to ‘get amongst it’ next year, defi-nitely #keenfor2015 !
Thank you for a fantastic year, and all the best for end of year exams,
Best Wishes
+ Mikaela Seymour
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+ from the president’s deskMikaela Seymour
Hi Murmur Readers,
Last time I wrote a piece for Murmur it was about Project: Love and Care (this year’s charity) and the events to come this year. Now we have Blue Party behind us and Coffeehouse fast approaching on the 30th of September.
Blue Party, which was held on the 25th of July, turned out to be a great night for everybody – except for a certain someone who hit the dancefloor (totally sober) and busted her knee.
The costumes ranged from Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy to a full-blown cardboard Tardis (hats off to James Davies for that one) and I think everybody enjoyed the complimentary keg. Most importantly though, we raised money for Project: Love and Care. A big thank-you to Melba’s for getting behind us, as well as to all the students who bought tickets.
The next event that will be raising money for Project: Love and Care is Coffeehouse. This year it will be held on the 30th of September at The Loft. It should be a great night of live entertainment and I can’t wait to see who has come out of the woodwork to perform!
Wishing everybody all the best for their exam preparation,
+ Kendall Mead-Denyer
Mikaela [email protected]
+ gums in the communityBLUE WEEK
Kendall [email protected]
Kendall [email protected]
Kendall [email protected]
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Kendall [email protected]
Mikaela [email protected]
+ gums in the communityKendall Mead-Denyer
[email protected] Mead-Denyer
Thanks to Kendall Mead-Denyer for her
photos
HOLD THE PRESS!
Coffee house was last week and a huge success.
A massive thank you to all those who shared their talents and those who came to watch and
support their peers.
+ procrasti-baking 2 min choc chip dessert
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A recent review in the BMJ has suggested that consuming chocolate could help lower the risk of developing heart disease by one third.
“Based on observational evidence, levels of chocolate consumption seem to be associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of cardiometabolic disorders. Further experimental studies are re-quired to confirm a potentially beneficial effect of chocolate consumption.”
Check it out: Chocolate consumption and cardiometabolic disorders: systematic review and meta-anal-ysis” Adriana Buitrago-Lopez, Jean Sanderson, Laura Johnson, Samantha Warnakula, Angela Wood, Emanuele Di Angelantonio, Oscar H Franco BMJ doi: 10.1136/bmj.d4488. Aug 29, 2011.
Ingredients (serves 1)1 Tbs of butter1 Tbs brown sugar (packed firmly)1 Tbs white sugar½ tsp vanilla1 egg yolk3 Tbs plain flour1-2 Tbs chocolate chips
MethodMicrowave butter in a mug till melted (approx 30s). With a spoon mix sugars, vanilla and egg yolk well. Mix in the flour and then fold in the chocolate chips. Microwave on high for 40s.
Serve warm and enjoy
+ advocacy update
Mikaela [email protected]
+ advocacy updateJenna Weetman
Advocacy has had a rather busy year with numerous committee meetings and the ever-so-daunting AMC accreditation visit. While most our work is behind the scenes, there are a number of things that we’ve been proud of in 2014.
Firstly, 2nd years for the first time ever, had a School run suturing workshop, re-sulting from feedback in late 2013/ early 2014 from 3rd year students who were having to turn down opportunities to suture. Previously students were taught to suture in workshops that, for some, weren’t scheduled till the end of the year.
Secondly, PBLs have been evaluated with a fine-toothed comb thanks to the PBL advisory committee which worked alongside SoM staff and PBL facilitators to improve the overall PBL process.
GUMS Advocacy are currently working with the SoM to re-evaluate and re-invent the PPDP process based on student feedback during the AMC accreditation pro-cess. That being said, this will likely be a lengthy process as we want this done right, therefore there are no definitive answers that can be given on the PPDP front at this point in time. On a day to day level, a number of extra feedback and revision sessions have been organised in liaison with staff members, most nota-bly the 2nd year anatomy sessions with Dissa.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the amazing year level represen-tatives (Lauren Head, Patrick Owens and Mathew Wong) for going above and beyond for your cohorts.
Furthermore, I would like to thank our clinical representatives (Lizzie Garrad, Ben Dobson, Robbie Honore, Vanessa Malouf and Pascalino Romeo). This job would be impossible without this amazing team of student representatives. I would also like to thank every student who ever gave the Advocacy team some feedback (those million times we pestered you for it), without your view/ opin-ions/ thoughts we would never have been able to represent the student per-spective. Thanks everyone!
Jenna Weetman
GUMS Advocacy Officer
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Jacqui [email protected]
+ gums wellbeing
Hello all!
This is my last post as GUMS Wellbeing Executive Officer for 2014. It has been a great year filled with many events, relaxing and raising awareness of men-tal health. I hope that I have filled this role well for you all. As my parting gift, I would like to provide the perfect set of exercises and stretches for study
Students often make the mistake of not moving around properly during times of intense study. This can result in serious back and neck problems, along with headaches.
So to keep your muscles on, try the following!
Jacqui [email protected]
+ gums wellbeing
Chair squatThat’s right. The squat. The best exercise known to achieve the perfect bum. However when done properly, also stretches out the hamstrings and activate the core. Stand upright in front of your study chair. Keep your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, flat on the floor. Keeping your back straight, squat down as though you were sitting in your chair. Hover above
the chair for 5-10 seconds, then straighten up. Repeat at least 10 times.
Kegal exercises Mainly for women, but men can do it too. Simply contract your pelvic floor
muscles. Hold the contraction for 5-10 seconds. Repeat 10 times
Ab contractionsEasy as anything. Simply contract your abdominal muscles for at least 20 seconds, 10-20 times. To make it a bit more difficult, turn to face the sides
during the contraction.
Calf rises Whilst sitting at your desk, keep your back straight. Slowly raise your heels, keeping your toes on the ground. Ensure you take at least 5 seconds for
each. Repeat 10 times.
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Jacqui [email protected]
+ gums wellbeingJacqui Fraidley
Upper back stretchClasp your hands together in front of you, fingers intertwined. Roll your shoulders forward and stretch the hands out from you. You should feel the stretch across your shoulder blades. You can also stretch vertically upward to stretch the shoulder area
Shoulder shrug Lift your shoulders toward your ears. Hold for at least 10 seconds. Follow-
ing this, roll the shoulders backward.
Please note all stretches should be held for at least 10 seconds. Remember to take breaks regularly while you study. We live in a beautiful place, and I’m a big believer in walks along the beach.
Thanks again for all being so interested in wellbeing this year, and I know that your new Executive Emily Rayers is going to do an amaz-ing job.
GOOD LUCK
+ Jacqui Fraidley
Neck stretches Lean your head forward. If you want to increase the stretch, use your hands to push your head further. Ensure you keep your back straight. Re-
peat to each side as well
Wrist stretch Push your left hand down toward anterior wrist using your right hand.
Repeat to posterior, and on the other hand.
Hamstring stretchSeat yourself upon the edge of the chair. Straighten one leg out. Stretch out towards your foot. To stretch your calves as well, push your toes back
toward yourself. Repeat on the other leg
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Though only in its third year of production, the annual Griffith University Med Revue has staked its claim as one of the most anticipated events of the year. Since 2012 students, staff and friends of the medical school have scrambled to secure tickets to a night of lyrics, laughter and light-hearted theatre which is self-proclaimed to be “exceptionally amateur entertain-ment”. This year was no exception, with 300 punters filling the modest Griffith University drama theatre over 3 nights for this year’s production: Back to the Suture.
The show began timidly with a brief introductory video announcement from Professor Simon Broadley (introduc-ing himself as “not Hugh Jackman”), before a small troupe began the first opening number – an adaptation of Neil Patrick Harris’ ‘Bigger’ from the 2012 Tony Awards cere-mony. It wasn’t long before the act lived up to its name-sake, surging over the next 6 minutes with a crescendo of impressive musical arrangement, vocal ability and incred-ible choreography.
The first song climaxed on a monumental high that car-ried throughout the first act, keeping the audience glued to their seats with equal-parts humour, intrigue and won-der as the story unfolded. The rest of the first half proved to maintain this standard, keeping the audience glued to their seats with equal-parts humour, intrigue and wonder as the story unfolded. The scene was set in a dystopi-an future, with a tyrannical Campbell Newman (and his plush-toy advisor) leading the now-autocratic medical profession into disrepute. In true melodramatic form, the future of medicine was dependent on a Griffith Medical Student who, with the help of an eccen-tric medical consultant with a time-trav-elling hospital gurney, was tasked with travelling into the past to save the future of medicine by changing the events that drove a young Newman to hate doctors.
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+ MedReview Back to the Suture
+ MedReview Back to the Suture
Each plot seg-ment was inter-twined with a se-ries of impressive musical routines, both fundamental to the story and independent to it, and were or-namented by a series of videos, including the ev-er-popular medicine pun video skits.
After an hour, the first act concluded on an energet-ic variation of the Rocky Horror Picture Show’s ‘Time Warp’ with a medico-legal twist.
As the audience shuffled back to their positions, the Med Revue band let loose, welcoming us back to our seats with a skilful rendition of a Led Zeppelin classic followed by a TV show theme song that would have been better suited to the 2013 Med Revue, ‘Game of Crohns’.
As the musical interlude drew to a close, the lights fad-ed and the second act began, easing us back into the mood with a rendition of a song from Disney’s ‘Frozen’ entitled ‘Do We Have to sit an OSCE?’.
Just when it seemed the energy of the first act had been exhausted, the story introduced an outrageous dynamic between a younger, less-bald Newman and his arch-rival medical student. The awkward posturing, and cyclical uncomfortable silences followed by brazen overacting painted a scene that made was as much embarrassing for the audience as it was absorbing.
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Jacqui [email protected]
+ MedReview Back to the Suture
This embarrassment was continued with a skit involving a small, timid young man giv-ing birth to an iPhone lodged in his rectum, and was slowly curtailed with the uproari-ously discomfiting Newman-Med Student dynamic erupting into a winner-takes-all rap battle.
After the inclusion of a time-honoured part of Med Revue (involving a video of Hitler barking obscenities at the state of parking at Griffith University), the story came to a brusque conclusion, and the night ended on a relatively tranquil note, borrowing from ‘Seasons of Love’ from the Broadway production ‘Rent’.In all, ‘Back to the Suture’ was an impeccable display of talent across the board.
The scriptwriting combined current real-world issues with entertaining theatrical hyperbole, the songs were entertaining, well-orchestrated and well-executed, the choreography was employed at a professional level, and the actors brought their energy and passion for fun to the fore. It’s incredible to think that this was done in the spare time of 60 students of the University’s most labour-intensive faculties, but it’s no surprise that these are some of the most gifted young individuals we have had the pleasure of watching. Unless you’ve got a time machine that runs on empathy statements, you will not want to miss what has been reinforced as one of the most entertaining, hotly-anticipated and all-round fun events of the medical school year when Med Revue returns in 2015!
For full cast listing, song list and all video content from ‘Back to the Suture’ please visit http://backtothesuture.com/Matthew Brownlow (Year 2)
Jacqui [email protected]
+ MedReview + AMEE: 2013 Practice OSCEs
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Jacqui [email protected]
+ AMEE: 2013 Practice OSCEs
In 2013, the Griffith University Medical Society, students and staff collaborat-ed to organize a Formative OSCE. As well as being a great event for students, the organization of the OSCE was also a research opportunity. The results that were obtained were submitted as a poster to the 2014 conference of the Asso-ciation for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE).
AMEE promotes international excellence in education in the healthcare pro-fessions across the continuum of undergraduate, postgraduate and continu-ing education. It is a peak body for the discussion of medical education. The following discussion will consider the details of the poster that was submitted and will focus on the method, results and conclusions.
To discuss the method first, there were three major groups integral to the exer-cise. In increasing size, these were: the group of year 2 students who wrote the OSCE Stations, the group of year 2 students who sat the formative OSCE and the cohort of year 2 students who sat the summative OSCE. To ensure quality control, the staff checked the student written OSCE stations to ensure that they were of an appropriate standard and equivalent to a summative OSCE exam-ination.
Having these three groups of students, meant that we could compare the re-sultant summative performance between the groups. In doing so, it became clear that there was a statistically significant difference in performance. The group of students who wrote the OSCE stations performed better than their colleagues who simply sat the summative examination.
So what conclusions can we draw from this? Well, the theory is that student involvement necessitated the need to decipher just how to assess a clinical skill. This led to a greater understanding of that skill and allowed for stu-dents to better ably demonstrate competent performance. This collaboration also resulted in an improvement in the professional rela-tionship between the students and the staff.For the full poster see the gums website + Tommy Brennan
+ clinical skills updateAnne Gonzalves
Acute onset tachycardia, hyperhidrosis, dyspnoea & retrograde amnesia…sound like you in OSCEs? Luckily, GUMS has a few events lined up to help you prepare and reduce your symptoms to a sub clinical level.
Clinical skills practice sessions:There is only one more of these fortnightly sessions left for the year! The remaining topics that will be covered are:
• Vital signs & spirometry – 1st years• Musculoskeletal examinations – 2nd years
When: 7th October, 3-5pm (drop in session)Where: G40, level 6 clinical skills rooms
1st Year Formative OSCE:GUMS will be running a formative OSCE for 1st years. This is an important event to get used to the format of OSCEs while also practicing some history taking and examinations.When: October 9thWhere: G40, level 6 clinical skills rooms
2nd Year OSCE preparation evening:This event for 2nd years will feature a series of stations to be rotated through in small groups, followed by open practice with equipment for catheterisation, cannu-lation and more! Come along and perfect your skills before the OSCEs.When: October 15thWhere: G40, level 6 clinical skills rooms
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions,Jessica LewkowiczClinical Skills Convener
+ clinical skills updateAnne Gonzalves
Top tips for OSCES
1. Practice- practice-practice and practice right (Talley and O’Connor are your friends)2. Read the station and specifically focus on what they are asking you to do
3. Leave the last station behind 4. Don’t drink too much before the OSCE, a full bladder is an unwanted distraction
5. On that note make sure you aren’t hungry, hypoglycaemia is not conducive to epic OSCE performance
6. Purchase a copy of the GUMS Clinical Skills guide (and the lanyard cards)7. Invigilators cannot be bribed with chocolate
By now you should have alread seen copies of the GUMS Clinical Skills Guide ed 3. float-ing around the campus.
With over 70 pages of content it covers communication techniques, histories, exam-inations and procedures as well as handy clinical scoring systems and basic suturing principles!
At $15 per book, or $20 plus handy essential lanyard cards, this is the cheapest investment you’ll make to passing End of Year OSCEs
Lanyard Cards will also be on sale for $1.50 each, or $8 for a box of 8 and include the following:
• Systems review + gcs• Cranial nerves and tests + snellen chart• UL dermatomes and myotomes + LL• Obstetric testing timepoints + times when fetal movements are felt etc.• Baby check + developmental mile-stones• Fluids + common empirical ABx• ECG interpretation• MMSE + MSE
To view a sample of the guide or purchase a copy please go to the GUMS website
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Jacqui [email protected]
+ smaccGOLD
GUMS Futures and Careers Night 2014
Futures this year was run a little differently as we decided to involve registrars currently training to be qualified in various of specialty programs on top of including specialists from different colleges. The result was this was amazing! We had a wide array of speakers coming from various back-grounds to speak to us. Lots of Griffith Graduates (who are now registrars) were keen to be coming back to help us out!
If you weren’t at Futures, here’s basically a snapshot of what you missed out on:
1. Candy bags – it was an evening event so our way of keeping everyone awake was copious amount of candy. Musk sticks were pretty much spilling out of the bags!2. “Lady Gaga is living in my testicles!” – hands down the best one liner we received from our psy-chiatric registrar as she explained one of her more humorous experiences on the wards as a plug to do psych once we graduate. Not sure we’re convinced yet! 3. Importance of protecting yourself – GUMS sponsors are no strangers to our events and this time around they were especially effective in explaining the many benefits of understanding your legal rights once you start practicing and things to look out for. Long story short, always get ad-vise from your indemnity insurer to avoid mistakes! 4. Intern Readiness Workshop on the 4th of December for 4th years – AMA Queensland is hosting this workshop for FREE for 4th years! Kindly email me if you’d like to sign up for this 5. Challenges in GP Land – we had a couple of GPs highlight the differences in practice accord-ing to the demographic you cater to. Approaching Indigenous patients poses their own set of challenges in terms of cultural awareness! Think DHC and DNP skills! 6. Defence Force Medical Officers get to fly helicopters – that sums it up pretty nicely, I think. 7. ALL THE PRIZES – we gave away six textbooks to students and a $200 VISA Gift Voucher to the lucky end of night attendee! Needless to say, if you showed up, you probably would have won something (or at least be hyperglycemic for a few hours). 8. Noodle Box – still happy that you missed out?
All in all, it was an excellent night filled with loads of laughs but more importantly, students were given a more clearer understanding as to what each specialty involves and the unique challenges each of these have. I am proud to say that Futures Evening is an ongoing GUMS tradition that has and will continue to be very successful.
I wish our next Academic Officer all the best in organizing this wonderful event next year!
+ Anne GonzalvesAcademic Officer 2014
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+ social update
At this point in the year the only thing you are probably excited about is that next cup of coffee or that next can of red bull that is going to get you through the next few zombie-like hours of studying. Don’t fear though, GUMS is here! There are awesome social events planned for every year group to finish off 2014.
First Years2nd years have half way dinner, 3rd years have 3/4 way cocktails and fourth years have Grad ball. But what do first years have? Well, I am pleased to announce the First Year Feast is coming this year! This event will be like no other in that it will be held in the hallowed PBL hallways of G40 itself! Following this feast we will be heading to surfers to officially welcome in the holidays! I look forward to seeing you all there and it has been a plea-sure being your social representative this year! James Davies
Second YearsTake 2mins away from your study to buy a ticket to your ½ way dinner at Helm Bar on the 30th October, complete with your own customized cele-bratory cake (go to fb event for trybooking link)
Third YearsThis year’s ¾ cocktails are shaping up to be the best yet! I’m speaking with many venues to make sure we receive the most delicious food and drinks deals that are on offer on the Gold Coast! Third years – remember that this is your night, so please email me or contact me on facebook if you have any suggestions on how you would like it to be run. In the mean time, keep an eye out for ticket sales in the coming weeks. Study hard, it will all be worth it. I promise. Anna
Forth Years4th year - CONGRATULATIONS! You are officially Dr’s! To party away your last year of inappropri-ateness you have your graduation ball to look forward to of course! Details TBA
+ Angelica Triant
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+ social updateJacqui Fradley
+ electives inspiration
1821
Gibraltar Hospital- Gilbraltar
When I tell people I went to Gibraltar for my elective people usually they ask 2 questions. 1) Where is on earth is Gibraltar and 2) Why on earth Gibraltar? Gibraltar is a little British blip at the bottom of Spain and is a slither of ocean away from Morocco.
Why Gib, that’s a tricky question. While scroll-ing through the massive list of elective poten-tials the thing that caught my eye was a re-view from a previous student saying that she had a blast and went up through Spain and Morocco on the weekends and ate a huge amount of delicious foods. That sounded pretty awesome to me. Plus, Gib is an English speaking country which really helps if you’re dreadful at miming like I am.
I gave it a good old google to see what it was all about. Basically there’s a big rock, there’s monkeys, there’s Spanish food. The monkeys and Spanish food pretty much won me over. So I escaped the harsh Gold Coast winter to go to a delightful Mediterranean summer.
The actual medicine side of the elective was a bit lacking. I went during summer which meant “summer hours” so nothing really started until 10am, everyone gets a 2 hour lunch break and then you finish at 3 in the arvo. I’m not sure how anything got done in the hospital. I did half ED and half general medicine. My consultants were pretty surprised when I kept turning up each day. They’d tell me it was such a beautiful day so I should go to the beach and get a tan. I did get to see a few really interesting cases however. It was a pretty small hospi-tal and when the doctors heard there was a medical student they’d come grab me whenever there was any-thing weird and wonderful. And that’s how I managed to see my first penis amputation.
Jacqui [email protected]
+ electives inspiration
The majority of my elective seemed to be spent lounging by the beach and drinking sangria, which was perfect having just come out of my final med school exams. I made friends with a couple of other med students in Gib and each weekend we’d grab a train/bus/ferry and head up through Spain or cross the water over to Mo-rocco. It was such a blast! Turns out in Spain, and a couple of places in Gib, if you buy a beer they start bringing you FREE tapas. And if you keep drinking beer the free tapas keeps coming. It was heaven.
Overall I had a really fun and relaxing holiday…cough cough I mean elective. The Gibraltari-ans are all super chilled out and really nice. The hospital staff were so nice to students and if you showed a bit of enthusiasm they were happy to get you involved in the team. As it was a rather small hospital there isn’t a lot of super crazy full-on medicine as these cases get sent up to England, so if that’s what you’re after Gibraltar isn’t for you. But if you’re after a stress-free elective, Gibraltar is pretty good. + Dan Kluver
Kiunga District HospitalWestern Province, Papua New Guinea
If you’re looking for an overseas elective where you can spend your days sunning on a beach, sipping cocktails and generally relaxing, with a bit of tropical medi-cine on the side, then Kiunga is NOT for you.
The port town of Kiunga is located on the Fly River, and is officially the provincial capital of the Western Province, but is overshadowed by the larger mining town-ship of Tabubil. While a winding gravel road connects Kiunga to Tabubil 3 hours away, it is otherwise accessible only by plane. Kiunga Hospital serves the North Fly river district of approximately 70,000 people and sees a large patient-load, and with many having travelled days by foot or canoe to reach the hospital, they do their best to manage them (and avoid the nightmare logistics of transfer). Aside
22 * Subject to the terms and conditions and eligibility requirements of the Student Indemnity Policy
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* Subject to the terms and conditions and eligibility requirements of the Student Indemnity Policy
The MDA National Group is made up of MDA National Limited ABN 67 055 801 771 and MDA National Insurance Pty Ltd (MDA National Insurance) ABN 56 058 271 417 Licence No. 238073. Insurance products are underwritten by MDA National Insurance. before making a decision to buy or hold any products issued by MDA National Insurance, please consider your personal circumstances and read the Product Disclosure Statement and Policy wording available at www.mdanational.com.au. STU221
Apply online and get instant confirmation or call 1800 011 255 today!
Supportfrom day one
Choosing a Medical Defence Organisation that best fits you is important to ensure support and expert medico-legal advice during clinical placements, electives and career transitions.
✔ Free student Membership & medical indemnity policy*
✔ Free Student eNews subscription
✔ Free subscription for The Electives Network
✔ Free networking opportunities & events
✔ Doctors for doctors since 1925
www.mdanational.com.au
+ electives inspiration
from the two doctors, the hospital is also staffed by 2-3 health extension officers (intended to fill a role partway between nurse and doctor), 5 or so nurses, and 10 community health workers.
We spent our time at the hospital between the General Ward, Outpatients/Emer-gency, Surgery, Obs/Gyne Ward, and Maternal Child Health Clinic, as well as a week taking part in a health patrol to remote villages. Our time at Kiunga provid-ed an insight into the presentation, diagnosis and management of a number of tropical diseases and other presentations with which we previously had very little previous experience. Patients were incredibly welcoming and grateful for our as-sistance (or mere presence at times), showering us with thanks, gifts, and even naming their children after us (no joke).
Overall, I would recommend the Kiunga District Hospital elective to other students. I feel it gave us a good opportunity to take on responsibility in the management of patients – something that is generally not available to medical students when prac-ticing in Australia. + Laura Regner
All the views contained herein are representative of individuals and not the organisation, all information contained is correct at the time of printing. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
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