This year is shaping up to be a prolific one for HOPE4HEALTH. Significantly, the first six months have seen unprecedented involvement of our Dentistry members and as a result the Dental portfolio is growing at a rapid pace. We primarily have the enthusiastic Laura, Lizzie, Heidi and Kylie to thank for this but don’t forget, Dent Students, that there’s always room for you to contribute! There are a number of workshops and trips open to dental students coming up and if you have any other suggestions or queries don’t hesitate to contact us or come to our monthly meetings.

Autumn has been fruitful for both the Rural and Local portfolios, but don’t expect the pace to slow down just because it’s getting colder. In the coming weeks the Local portfolio is holding two new events – Op Shop Friday and the H4H Clinical Touch touch football competition. Both are benefiting novel causes not previously targeted by H4H. Winter will be just as industrious in the Rural realm. It’s almost time for second and third year students to decide whether they will apply for the QRME LongLook rural placement program and the upcoming Rural Awareness Dinner is an event not to be missed by anyone considering going rural. First years should also consider attending – I know I found it useful as a first year student and it certainly ignited my interest in rural health.

The Indigenous and International portfolios will come into their own in second semester, so anyone with an interest in these areas should keep their ears

to the ground and their eyes on their inbox for updates. Applications for the H4H Developing Community Grants close on 8th June, so fourth year medical students considering an overseas elective in a developing country should apply to Marrillo (marrillo@hope4health.org.au) ASAP! We are also in the process of arranging two $500 scholarships for dentistry students to put towards an international elective over the Christmas break. An information session will provide more information for those interested early in the second semester. Watch your emails for dates and times.

We’re all eagerly anticipating the annual Jazz Dinner Dance and Golf Day, which will raise money for the Ubuntu project this year. The JDD is HOPE4HEALTH’s premier corporate event and if precedent is anything to go by it will be an entertaining yet refined evening sure to provide a grand social experience. If you can’t support the Ubuntu project through attending the JDD be sure to show your support at H4H Clinical Touch or visit their website.

Remember, anyone wishing to become more involved is welcome to attend our monthly meetings, email any of the H4H executives, visit our Facebook page or say hi at uni. We’re always keen to meet new HOPE4HEALTHers and hear your ideas. I can be reached via jessica@hope4health.org.au.

Until next time,Jessica Madsen

The 2011 HOPE4HEALTH Jazz Dinner Dance is being held on September 3rd at Royal Pines Resort, and will again be preceded on the same date by the HOPE4HEALTH Charity Golf Day. This will be a fantastic day full of fun and festivities, as HOPE4HEALTH raises funds to support the fantastic work that is being done both locally and abroad by Ubuntu Through Health.

The Charity Golf Day is being played on Royal Pines Championship golf course, with prizes for the winning team as well as “longest drive” and “nearest to the pin” competitions. This is sure to be a great day of golf on one of Australia’s finest golf courses.

The Jazz Dinner Dance is set to be a brilliant evening for all attendees. It includes a 3 course meal, 5.5 hour drinks package, and entertainment

from a prominent jazz band. This event is certainly one not to be missed. Funds raised will support a new HOPE4HEALTH initiative, Ubuntu Through Health. Ubuntu Through Health was established in 2010 by a group of Griffith University medical students. It is a non-profit initiative that endeavors to promote positive health outcomes for the people of Khayelitsha, South Africa. For more information, please visit http://ubuntuthroughhealth.org/.

For further information about the HOPE4HEALTH Golf Day and Jazz Dinner Dance, please visit the HOPE4HEALTH website, or contact any HOPE4HEALTH Executive member.

Jon Quinn & Claire MorrowCorporate Events

Welcome from the Editor

A world without health inequalities.

www.hope4health.org.au

Winter Edition June 2011

Indigenous

latest events

international

Myboatingshop.com, after many months of hard

work and considerable Industry support, is nearing

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If you have any questions please do not hesitate to

contact myself via email or on mobile

H4HGoldcoast

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AUSTRALIA

local

latest events

latest events

latest events

The Jazz Dinner Dance

SUPPORTING

UBUNTU THROUGHHEALTH

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TICKETS$150 PER PERSON (INCLUDING 3 COURSE MEAL,5.5 HOUR DRINKS PACKAGE, LIVE JAZZ BAND)

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The Dental portfolio has kicked off to an amazing start with heaps of new events, and with so many new members spaces have been competitive, but thankfully there is enough going on for everyone to get involved. Cherbourg trips have been particularly popular with the first trip of the year being such a success.

In April H4H held its first ever combined Medical and Dental Rural Skills Weekend in Goondiwindi! The weekend gave students the opportunity to see what each other’s careers entail, and were exposed to what life is like as a rural health professional. After a day full of skills workshops the students put on their finest threads and attended the Goondiwindi Races. It was a fantastic weekend differing

from formal learning at uni. The Joint rural health Clubs weekend held in Atherton was also attended by four lucky dental students with much fun had at both skills and social activities that they shared with students in allied health from universities all over QLD.

Students in their final years have had the opportunity to attend whitening workshops run by Discus Dental, getting hands on experience in performing in-chair zoom on one lucky attendee. Arash left with whiter teeth, while everyone else left with their own little take home whitening kit. We’re hoping to continue fortnightly workshops with other dental products that we don’t otherwise get to use in clinic.

Students in second year have had the opportunity to get involved in Teddy Bear Hospital and along with the medical students. They did a great job of teaching teddy and his five-year-old owner to brush his teeth and get excited about his next dental visit.

So to keep the momentum going we can look forward to another Goodiwindi rural skills weekend, wet lab anatomy and LA workshops, further skills workshops with dental products of interest and of course several more Cherbourg trips to come.

Laura CurranDental Team

Dental

Cherbourg Dental TripsIn April a group of fourth and fifth year dental students visited the rural Queensland town of Cherbourg to provide emergency dental relief to the community. This was the first of five Cherbourg dental trips planned for this year to address the extensive waiting list of community members requiring emergency dental treatment.

The community of Cherbourg have not had a dentist available to them for two years and the closest Queensland Health dental clinic is an hour away and has a two year waiting list. This lack of access to dental treatment and education has seen an increase in extensive decay, broken down teeth and chronic problems. As a result many individuals suffer from chronic pain, difficulty eating due to fewer teeth and self-consciousness due to aesthetic problems.

Within three days the seven dental students completed over one hundred procedures, the majority being extractions and restorations. Where possible, scale and cleans were provided and all patients attending the clinic received a Colgate toothbrush and toothpaste to promote prevention of further dental decay and maintenance of good oral hygiene.

Griffith university Dental students have shown an overwhelming interest in being involved in the project and doing what they can to provide assistance to the community. Furthermore the project has had a very positive response from the community following the April visit and they are eagerly awaiting our return in June. Kylie Arnot & David Baker

The local portfolio got off to a flying start this year with Learn2Surf day. Sixteen lucky attendees enjoyed a morning of sand & surf and over $500 was raised for Surf Lifesaving Australia.

Also earlier this year myself and three other brave H4H members “Shaved for a Cure”. Together we raised $3479.11 for the Leukemia Foundation. Thanks to Brenda, Dan and Marrillo for taking the plunge with me.

This year Teddy Bear Hospital visited five primary schools and for the first time the Dentistry students were involved at every school. We were also joined at one school by final year Social Work students who trialed a new station addressing emotional wellbeing. We look forward to working with the Social Workers again in the future. As usual, TBH was very well received by the children and teachers alike and everyone, including the volunteers, had a ball.

On Friday 15th July we are proud to hold a new H4H event, Op Shop Friday. This event will indirectly raise money for local op sops by encouraging students to wear clothing purchased from a local op shop to uni. There will be a party at the Courthouse Hotel in the afternoon with the hope to raise more money for local charities.

The end of July will see the inaugural HOPE4HEALTH Clinical Touch competition played. Medicine, Dentistry and Allied health touch football teams will compete and there will be a barbeque to raise money for the Ubuntu project and to fund further local health activities. Everyone is welcome, so put together a team and help make it a great day.

Ben WakefieldLocal Representative

Local

In a joint initiative, HOPE4HEALTH and GUMS ran our first ever Practice OSCE sessions on the 16th and 19th of May. The program was designed to help first year students become more comfortable with the OSCE process and practice their clinical skills. With much appreciated help from second and third year students we were able to provide feedback and tips to the first years and hopefully help them on their way towards doing very well

this semester. The night was a huge success, ran very smoothly and received shining feedback from those involved.

A practice OSCE session was also held for 4th year students on the 23rd of May. This session was run with the help of interns, JHOs, SHOs and also some SoM Staff. Thank you to our sponsors and to everybody who helped to plan and run

the evenings. I would especially like to thank Jen McAuliffe, Academic Rep for GUMS, who put a lot of time into getting this project off the ground. I hope this program will be continued in the future, as it is a valuable learning tool for all students.

Ashleigh Heron2nd Year Representative

Greetings from Stanthorpe, where it’s only Autumn and the temperature has already plummeted into the negatives. Fortunately the hospital is heated and there is plenty of red wine to go around. Are you from a rural/remote area, or have you been to a rural town on placement? If so, there is an opportunity for you to submit your ponderings about health careers or a profile about a town for the new NRHSN Rural Medical Careers Guide. For more information email myself at clairewalter@hope4health.org.au or medical@nrhsn.org.au. It’s great for your CV!

The NRHSN HOPE4HEALTH members database is up and running. Now it’s time to post your profile and check out other NRHSN members profiles from across Australia. Get online and register at https://hope4health.nrhsn.org.au/. It only takes a couple of minutes and you’ll have access to thousands of your fellow health students from around Australia!

SCHOLARSHIPS/BURSARIES/MONEY FOR YOU!!! Have I got your attention? Each year NRHSN gives out grants for students with an interest in rural health (this includes you, H4H members) to attend conferences and workshops as well as scholarships. Have a browse of the NRHSN Conference calendar – you might find one you are interested in. Remember, it doesn’t matter whether you are studying nursing, allied health, social work or medicine, you’re all eligible! http://www.nrhsn.org.au

That’s all from me this newsletter, don’t forget to get your applications in for the many rural health events that are on offer!!

Claire WalterSenior NRHSN Representative3rd year med student on placement in Stanthorpe for the year

In early March four lucky H4H members headed to Perth to attend the National Rural Health Alliance biannual conference. Myself, Walter Hipgrave, Stephanie Huxley and Claire Walter are all medical students and active members of HOPE4HEALTH and we were lucky enough to get funding, either through NRHSN CoNS funding or as part of the ACRRM conference funding stream, which enabled us to experience this great conference.

For most of us it was our first time in Perth (except for Walter, who made his prodigal return after years of east coast living) so we were keen to see what Perth had to offer and excited for the opportunity to participate in such a large conference. The National Rural Health Alliance brings together various organisations that share a

common goal – reducing rural health inequalities. This is a goal shared by HOPE4HEALTH, who as part of the NRHSN are an active element of the alliance. This conference not only allowed us to mix and mingle with the current leaders in rural health (over 1200 of them) it also provided us with the unique opportunity to listen, learn, and be a part of how the alliance plans to shape rural health over the next two years.

Besides this, the social aspect of the NRHC was a massive feature for us. We were able to meet like-minded students from all over Australia as well as create networks with current leaders in the rural field. As part of the student program we dabbled in some tasty beverages at Little Creatures Brewery and were treated to a sensational scenic breakfast

at the Old Brewery on the Swan river. Highlights for me were hearing Nicola Roxon’s address to the conference, learning about the complexities of indigenous health promotions and all importantly being immersed in a dining hall full of rural professionals all dressed as super heroes at the Conference Dinner.

Overall we all had a blast in Perth. The conference provided us with endless chances to learn about and become involved in how our country plans to tackle rural health inequalities. We look forward to 2013 when we can do it all again in Adelaide!

Brodie QuinnPresident HOPE4HEALTHNRHC Attendee 2011

National Rural Health Conference, Perth 2011

National Rural Health Student Network

GUMS & H4H Practice OSCEs

The first event to ‘fall’ from the rural portfolio this Autumn was The Midnight Muster on 19th March. “The Muster”, in its fourth year, delivered what was undoubtedly one of the best events on the med school calendar. Three hundred and fifty health students from Griffith, UQ and Bond came together to support the Royal Flying Doctor Service and over $3500 was raised for the great cause. All had a memorable night and the theme “A sunburnt country…” was a hit with many Aussie Icons making appearance. Best dressed was won by the Hills-Hoist.

The first Goondiwindi Rural Skills Weekend of the year occurred from the 15th-17th April and saw fifteen medical and dental students head out to Gundy for a weekend of hands-on skills sessions and rural experiences. In addition to an immersion in rural culture, gained through enjoying the atmosphere of a country pub late into the night and the Goondiwindi races, the medical students took part in skills sessions addressing suturing, birthing in the bush and cannulation. We were pleased to offer sessions tailored specifically to dental students this year, and as explained by the dental representatives, these were a great success. On our return we called into Stanthorpe where we were greeted by LongLook Program students and Doctors for a tour of the hospital and lunch.

This year’s Joint Rural Health Club weekend took place in Atherton from 29th April-2nd May. Eighteen H4H students were privileged to be among the sixty medicine and allied health students from UQ, JCU and Bond who joined for a weekend of networking education. The weekend, in its seventh year, was an absolute success and praise must be placed on those who organized it. Everyone who attended had a great time, met new friends from other health clubs and learnt a lot from the interactive skills sessions.

The first week of May also saw five second year medical students head to Central Queensland to visit rural high schools. En route the students called into Kingaroy and met the local doctors and LongLook students. This provided an invaluable insight into the town for the students considering applying for the LongLook program in 2012. We then volunteered at the Burrandowan races for the RFDS before finally reaching Tannum Sands, our base for the high school visits. We managed to visit six schools in the region, promoting Health Careers in the Bush and acting as health

student mentors for those considering a career in health. Winter on the rural portfolio is going to be just as productive as Autumn. Another Goondiwindi Rural skills weekend is planned and a number of students will be attending the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland (RDAQ) conference over the Queen’s birthday weekend, which will allow an opportunity for students interested in rural medicine to meet, socialize with and learn from practicing rural doctors. A number of H4H members will also volunteer at the RFDS Pit stop @ the Brisbane markets on July 8th. Pit Stop is a preventative health campaign targeting men.

For second and third years, be sure to check you email for information about the Rural Awareness Dinner (RAD) and Workshops. Held from the 1st-2nd of July, this event aims to assist those considering a rural placement on the QRME LongLook Program during clinical years to decide whether the program is for them. The RAD offers interested students the opportunity to meet and talk to preceptors and students from UQ and Bond. The workshops will cover topics such as how to use a dermoscope, airway management and x-rays. We will be leaving the Gold Coast at 3pm Friday and arriving back around the same time on Saturday.

If you would like any more information on rural activities or have any ideas, please send me an email (dan@hope4health.org.au) or talk to me around uni. Good luck to the first and third years in their exams.

Dan FauxRural Representative

Rural

www.hope4health.org.au

On July 13th HOPE4HEALTH invites you to a screening of the acclaimed documentary film Our Generation, which explores the many social issues afflicting Indigenous communities and how these may have resulted from the Stolen Generations. We believe that an awareness of such issues is imperative in Indigenous health, so join us in recognition of Sorry Day and learn about what you can do to help future patients who are the victims of many social disadvantages.

In September HOPE4HEALTH will take a group

of students to the Deadly Days Festival in Coff’s Harbour. Deadly Days aims to help young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders grasp opportunities in education, employment and training and also encourage healthy living. The students will volunteer with NRHSN then have an opportunity to experience the festival for themselves.

Later in the year we will offer Cherbourg specialist trips to second year students. These visits enable a first hand experience of Indigenous healthcare

and simultaneous medical education. Watch your inbox for updates.

Also coming in second semester is the Cherbourg Teddy Bear Hospital. This year it will be bigger and better than ever. We are in the process of confirming manyu additions and improvements to the old program and we’re sure the children will love them!

Jessica MadsenIndigenous Team

Indigenous