COOEE! April 2010

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I n t h i s i s s u e :• 2010 - What’s Happening?

• NURHC ‘10• NRLDS Rundown• Members Story• Rural Placement Report• NRHSN Alumni Interview• Por olio Summaries• Rural Health Club Reports• Quiz

2010 Execu ve ReportHi folks and welcome to the fi rst Cooee for 2010.

The NRHSN team are working harder than a three legged dog with fl eas, and hope that this will give you an insight into what we have been up to this year. The three year strategic plan is in place and the execu ve is well into our 2010 calendar, planning and implemen ng new projects for the forth coming year. There has been great support from our stakeholders, their assistance and exper se is always welcome.

This included our fi rst face to face for the year, held in Melbourne. Our commi ee brought together a great blend of youth, experience and enthusiasm. The workshops and the socializing really brought the team together towards our common goal of rural health equity. We were fortunate enough to have two invited guests speakers a end, Tony Wells, the new Communica ons Manager from Rural Health Workforce Australia. He gave us a workshop on how to deal with media. Don Pergult from Rural Health Educa on Founda on gave us a brief presenta on on his organisa on and how we can link up in the future when it comes to our Rural High School Visit Program.

By now you have probably no ced that we have defi nitely li ed our profi le with our presence in the media being stronger than ever.

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2010 Exec Report

Welcometo Cooee!...Con nued from page 1

NRHSN & Rural Health Workforce Australia

Dr Kim Webber, CEO

The extra clinical placements are great for allied health students who are going to become such an important part of the rural health workforce of the future. We hope these new scholarships will turn a few more heads towards the opportuni es and lifestyle that rural health off ers.

The big message we get from rural GPs is that they need a mul -disciplinary team around them and this package should encourage that.

Allied health plays a vital role in the preven on of costly hospital admissions. An expansion of allied health in the bush means more country people can receive treatment in their local communi es and not have to take me-consuming trips to urban centres.

As you know, our organisa on supports the NRHSN which represents more than 9,000 medical, nursing and allied health students. We’re proud of the passion expressed by NRHSN representa ves who have been advoca ng a be er deal for allied health, including more opportuni es for the many allied health students who want to experience rural prac ce.

Your message is being heard and together we look forward to further announcements that will create a stronger primary health care

network in rural Australia.

On that note, we’re par cularly pleased to see an expansion of the Prevoca onal General Prac ce Placements Program. This will give hundreds more junior doctors the opportunity to discover how rewarding and enriching general prac ce can be.

Because many of these training placements are in rural areas, we hope it will inspire more young doctors to pursue a career in rural medicine.

Of course, like everyone, we’d like to see more detail on how these programs will be implemented. It is vital that rural and remote prac ces receive addi onal support so they can host junior doctors on training placements and GP registrars undertaking voca onal training.

We want these placements to be a posi ve experience for everyone involved. Many rural GPs are fl ying solo and this needs to be factored into planning for the expansion of these programs so they are a success.Finally, I’d like to wish you all well with your studies and look forward to catching up in Alice Springs with those of you going to NURHC. We have some inspira onal presenters lined up so it should be a great conference.

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By genera ng media awareness, we are hoping to become the major en ty in the future of rural health, with innova ve ideas and a fresh perspec ve.

As we are wri ng this, the inaugural Na onal Rural Leadership Development Seminar is being held for over 110 delegates who we believe to be our future leaders and innovators in rural health. For more informa on about this fantas c event please visit our website www.nrhsn.org.au.

NURHC is fast out of the blocks and looks like it will be bigger, be er and stronger than ever. This year in Alice Springs we hope to get back to our grass roots, by connec ng with the community that we are inhabi ng for those few days.

We have already lined up the much acclaimed Ernie Dingo as our Master of Ceremonies and to say that we are excited is an understatement. NURHC will see the launch of our new “Introductory Guide to Working in Indigenous Communi es”. This guide will be as widely regarded as our Mental Health Guide and will provide an excellent resource in an area that is becoming more relevant for students.

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On a local level, we have been a ending a number of events held by our rural health clubs and due to the hard work of these clubs we are encouraged to see our membership numbers increase to well above 9,500. If there is anything that we can assist you with please do not hesitate to contact us.

We are commi ed to sending even more students to the Na onal Indigenous Fes val (Wakkikiri, Deadly Days and Vibe Alive) in the forth coming year, to try and recruit the future health workforce of Rural Australia. Along with our Rural High School visits, it is a great opportunity for the NRHSN to be advoca ng health futures to all school students, not only within their daily lives but as a future career.

This edi on of Cooee!! will promise to deliver exci ng insights into our programs and what our clubs have planned for the coming year. So, please sit back, and enjoy!

Yours in rural healthMa , Shannon and Jasmine

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The Federal Government’s health reforms contain some good news for students and will help create a be er balanced health system.

The increase in funding for extra GP training places should be posi ve for rural and remote communi es which are crying out for more people with primary health care skills.

We also welcome the government’s ini a ves on allied health – specifi cally the establishment of a rural locum program for allied health prac oners and a doubling in the number of scholarships for allied health students to undertake clinical placements in rural areas.

Get Connected! Editorial

2010 - What’s Happening?

NURHC ‘10 - July 15-17, Alice Springs NTOver 400 NRHSN members will hit the red centre in July for an amazing few days of all things rural health. From an outstanding program with an inspira onal Ernie Dingo as the MC to the incredible social ac vi es including the unforge able Golden Windmills performances put on by the Rural Health Clubs, NURHC provides something for everyone. See page 15 of the newsle er or www.nrhsn.org.au for more informa on.

Rural High School Visits (RHSVs)As always each of our Rural Health Clubs have got big plans for RHSVs this year, to get out to as many schools as possible and inspire hundreds or even thousands of new high school students to think about becoming the next genera on of rural and remote health professionals. You’ll fi nd plenty of informa on including where we’ve been in the past and some of the upcoming visits at www.nrhsn-rhsv.org.au.

Face to FaceWith our fi rst Face to Face mee ng held in March, our next Council mee ng will be held in September. These twice annual mee ngs provide Council opportuni es to meet in person, generate new ideas and consolidate on what has been happening.

Indigenous Fes valsOnce again the NRHSN is ge ng involved with several Indigenous Fes vals in 2010, providing an opportunity for members to get out into rural communi es and interact with local kids and help inspire the kids to stay in school, get healthy and maybe even consider health careers.

Vibe Alive19-20 May, Moree NSW

26-27 May, Townsville QLD18-19 August, Port Augusta

25-26 August, Kalgoorlie WA15-16 September, Bendigo VIC

Wakakirri4 June, Wilcannia NSW

5 June, Ceduna SA13 August, Barunga NT

Deadly Days1 September, Casino NSW

2 September, Kempsey NSW3 September, Great Lakes, NSW

More informa on at www.nrhsn.org.au/fes vals.

Cultural Awareness KitWe’ve been busy gathering all of the content for this kit and are pulling it all together as we speak. We will launch at NURHC and have it available for all members keen to head out to Indigenous communi es or learn more about cultural awareness.

Conferences of Na onal Signifi cance (CoNS)The NRHSN will be funding plenty of members to head out to the best Conferences of Na onal Signifi cance this year. A list of the available conferences is available at www.nrhsn.org.au/cons, along with all the informa on that you need to apply for funding. So if you’ve been thinking about going to a conference in 2010 but weren’t sure how you could aff ord it, make sure you apply asap!

Rural Health Club Ac vi esEach of the 29 RHCs run a number of events throughout the year, both as individual clubs and quite a few large joint RHC ac vi es. Some of these include Campfi re in SA, Rural Apprecia on Weekend (RAW) in NSW, and the inaugural RAW Vigour in VIC, skills nights, social ac vi es, bush dances, camps, seminars, rural tours and so much more. All of our RHC reports in Cooee! highlight some of what they planned.

...And there is so much more, so keep up to date with the NRHSN at www.nrhsn.org.au.

It is never a dull moment here in the offi ce. With the new year bringing a new group of eager and enthusias c students, our fi rst face to face and the inaugural Na onal Rural Leadership Development Seminar (NRLDS) it is needless to say that anyone bringing in a box of chocolate frogs for fundraising always leaves with an empty box.

Linda Nink has certainly been a welcome return to the team from maternity leave. She is busily working away on our upcoming NURHC. Louise’s leaky pipe theory from high school to rural health professional has been a great inspira on as she has been inves ga ng our health educa onal process. Kristen has certainly been “hands on” with the new commi ee, evalua ng our structure and planning our future. Kerryn has been working with our clubs to make sure all the students have every opportunity to be

Our Rural High School Visits, Indigenous Fes vals and Conferences of Na onal Signifi cance programs con nue to deliver posi ve experiences, assis ng the students when making their future career choices. A few of our intrepid members have wri en about their fascina ng rural and remote placement experiences.

It’s heartening to read the reports of the clubs to see some excellent ideas for ac vi es and events. The subsequent healthy growth in membership in many clubs has meant that our student membership has surpassed the 9000 mark. Keep spreading the message and we hope to catch up with many of you in person at NURHC in Alice Springs!

Louise, Kristen, Kerryn, Jane, Kate and Linda

involved in the many intra and mul club events. Kate is our database queen and helps us best establish our student needs. Jane has had some valuable input to our marke ng and been working closely with our expanding nursing ranks.

Our NURHC conference is “all systems go” for Alice Springs from the 15th to the 17th of July 2010. If you haven’t already, check out the program and registra on informa on on our website.

The big news is that “Ernie Dingo is coming!!” That’s right Ernie Dingo is already a huge ambassador for improved health of Indigenous Australians and he has agreed to be the master of ceremonies for our event.

This edi on of the COOEE! newsle er promises to entertain you with insights into the ac vi es of the network. The individual por olio reports explain current goals and aspira ons.

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Rural Health Club AdministratorPoonam PannuWAALHIIBE

Our MembersMa Irwin, RAHMS NRHSN Senior Rep

Our Alumni Kate Gray, WAALHIIBE Physio

What are you studying?Ha! A er many indecisions got me a taste of every faculty, I’ve now se led in Medicine.When did you fi rst join RAHMS? Day 1, O-Week, First Year!Why did you join RAHMS?Haha! I’m not going to lie - at fi rst it was because I was hungry and RAHMS was having a free BBQ for their members! However, when my hunger was cured I used it to fi nd other country bumpkins also toughing it out in the big smoke. Now, I have the most fun in RAHMS out of all my other socie es!What do you love about RAHMS?RAHMS is home to some ridiculously good looking people! Na, kidding! Despite my love for Clinical Skills Nights, RHSVs, Lifeskills Programs & the infamous RAW – it’s everyone’s ‘make-a-diff erence’ a tude that keeps me coming back again and again and again!

What is your best RAHMS experience?That would have to be my Rural High School Visit through the Hunter Valley. On the surface it was one hell of an entertaining road trip through the country! On a deeper level, it was probably the most rewarding ac vity I have ever done. Not only was the reward seeing student’s eyes light up at all the possibili es in rural health, but seeing my group equally inspired to prac ce in the country! What is your best NRHSN experience?NURHC 2009! Not only did RAHMS send an outrageous number of fun-loving people to it, but we got to meet so many other fantas c people from all around the na on! On top of that, we experienced some fantas c talks and prac cal workshops. What are your interests outside of rural health?Sports, drama c arts and marke ng. Whether it’s playing touch footy, or being in a university produc on, I can’t get enough of either! I also love marke ng - a passion that has been commissioned (/exploited!) for promo ng RAHMS events!Your words of wisdom for students thinking about a rural career? Not only does a rural career present you with more of an opportunity to engage with the people around you, but you experience an equalled level of community support. To see if rural is for you, jump onboard a tour to a Rural Clinical School, or organise an elec ve in a rural hospital. I can guarantee you won’t want to come back to the city!

Ge ng to drive the combine harvester on the family farm is one of the side benefi ts of Kate Gray’s life as a rural health worker.Kate is a physiotherapist at Northam Regional Hospital, about 100 kilometres north-east of Perth in the West Australian wheatbelt.A er hours she helps husband Michael on the farm at nearby Toodyay and also volunteers for the local ambulance service. It’s all part of who she is and how she puts back for the benefi t of rural communi es.The country is second nature for Kate, who grew up in a town of 700 people. She always knew she would return to the bush a er comple ng her studies in 2008 at Cur n University in Perth.

The university’s rural health club, Waalhiibe, was a way of connec ng with like-minded people and during her fi nal year she became club president.“We reac vated rural high school visits and organised many events,” she recalls. “I was lucky that my li le sister Pip was a med student at the University of WA, so we combined to run lots of joint ac vi es with their health club, Spinrphex.”Looking back on her uni days, Kate feels that there was not as much rural focus on allied health as there was for medical students – and it’s something she’d like to change.“Medicine has the John Flynn scholarships, bonded rural scholarships and HECS incen ves to go rural,” she says. “We defi nitely need more things like that targeted at allied health students so they consider a career in rural health.”While it was sport that originally drew Kate to physio, she has since become more interested in neuro-rehabilita on and children’s physiotherapy. This includes pa ents with head injuries, stroke, mul ple sclerosis, developmental delays, cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy.

Favourite WAALHIIBE memory? Watching the WAALHIIBE crew bust a move at the Golden Windmills NURHC 09 to the song ‘Jai Ho’. Classic.

What does your job involve? Taking care of all the behind the scenes work such as budgets, reports and events support to make sure that the WAALHIIBE RHC runs smoothly!

How long have you been involved with WAALHIIBE? 2 years

Best rural experience?Ge ng involved with the community at the Children’s Fes val in Moora last year.

Why are WAALHIIBE the best? Because I think we cover the MOST uni’s out of all the RHCs - 5 uni’s, 1 city.

What keeps you occupied in your spare me?Finishing off a Masters in Public Health.

What’s the one thing you want the world to know about you? Angel - the greatest vampire epic ever!! Twilight this is your cue to step aside.

The thing you don’t want the world know? Peanut bu er and ice cream do not go together.

Words of wisdom for others thinking about a rural career or wan ng to get involved in their RHC? The opportuni es really are endless. A day as an allied health worker in a rural or remote town will never to compare to a day in the city - for a unique experience look rural.

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Placement StoryRachael Nugent, CRANCDie cs Student

Na onal Rural Leadership Development Seminar

barriers faced due to distance/accessibility, aff ordability and acceptability of the food supply available.I was also lucky enough to spend

a day with one of the remote die ans who is based in Darwin and travels out to remote communi es. We spent the day in the Warruwi Community on Goulburn Island which is part of the West Arnhem Shire. It was fantas c to see how services are provided to these remote communi es and gave me a much be er understanding of the living condi ons and availability to services within these communi es. The poten al to work with the people in these communi es is huge and the enthusiasm of the community members to work with health professionals to achieve be er health outcomes for themselves and their community was very encouraging.I was also able to spend me exploring the amazing Na onal Parks and scenery around Darwin and ge ng to know the wonderful locals who are full of Territorian hospitality.I would strongly recommend anyone to consider a rural/remote placement, they provide such unique, challenging and rewarding experiences and provide you

with learning opportuni es you just can’t get in urban areas. If I had not had the amazing opportunity to travel to the NT I would not have my new found apprecia on for the ease with which I can get my thirty minutes of exercise a day without being chased by a camp dog, wild boar or buff alo, the knowledge that Magpie goose is a tasty and nutri ous food or the many ways in which such wonderful, dedicated and innova ve healthcare professionals are working relessly to improve the health of our rural and remote ci zens.

My fi nal diete cs clinical placement in Jan/Feb 2010 saw me headed to our most Northern Capital City, Darwin. What I thought was going to be six weeks of humidity, rain and crocodiles turned out to be an unforge able learning experience, a whole lot of fun...... and humidity, rain and crocodiles! My placement was based at the Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) but despite being based in Darwin I was s ll able to gain fabulous insight and experience in providing clinical services to individuals and groups living in rural and remote areas, par cularly Indigenous communi es. Every day you are challenged as a clinician working at RDH and even though you may not be directly involved in working in the remote communi es, so many of your pa ents will be returning to these communi es and so your treatment plans need to take this into considera on. For me this was a constant yet welcome challenge nego a ng with pa ents realis c goals and meal plans accoun ng for the many

To read the placement stories of other NRHSN members go to www.nrhsn.org.au/placements.

Speakers included Robert Wells, Co Director of the Menzies Centre, Nina Funnell, Finalist of Young Australian of the Year, Sue Page, Director of North Coast Medical Educa on Collabora on and many many more. Please go to our website for more informa on on this fantas c event www.nrhsn.org.au.

The inaugural Na onal Rural Leadership Development Seminar was held from the 8th to 10th of April at the University of Wollongong.

Proudly supported by the Graduate School of Medicine the seminar brought together over 110 enthusias c students to hear from inspiring speakers about what it takes to become an inspiring leader.

With all of the rural health clubs and medical schools being represented in the delegate selec on, students were provided with invaluable skills for their future careers.

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ARMS:AustralianNa onal University, ACT

Amie Riesberg

ARMS - the ANU Rural Medical Society has kicked off 2010 with some boot scoo n fun at the annual Yarralumla woolshed bushdance. Much fun was had by all, stripping the willow amongst bails of hay and dancing the heel and toe. Prizes were awarded for the best country costumes. Coming up over the next few months for ARMS 144 members are rural shows in

Cooma, Bombala, Goulburn and Yass as well as a Men’s Healthy Lifestyle evening in Binalong and a Rural High School Mentoring Trip in Cooma. A skills day with the GPs and Rural Fire Service in Bungendore, a rural photo exhibi on, camping trip, trail horse ride, snow and surf trips are also in the pipeline. We look forward to an exci ng year of events with our surrounding rural communi es, CRANC our sister club in Canberra and the rest of the rural health network.

BREAATHHE:University ofNewcastle, NSW

Greer Stevens

AWAIRH:La Trobe Uni, Wondonga VIC

Cameron Staunton-La mer

AURHA- that boun fully studious bunch of Adelaide based par ers and rural health extremists have started off the year once again with something of a bang. A notable tri-club organising and leadership development day was hosted to great success by the lovely

ladies at RDWA!O-week went well this year with quite a number of new signups and some good fi rst year medical and den stry representa on within the club. Our welcome BBQ this year was co-hosted by INSIGHT- Adelaide University’s global and indigenous health awareness group. The rest of the year looks primed to go, with our fl agship event “Dinner Under the Stars” being held earlier this year. Plans for RHSVs, Indigenous Fes vals, a Barndance and of course Golden Windmills choreography are all underway.

AWAIRH is rising to the challenge in 2010 to increase membership and teamed up with La Trobe Wodonga chaplaincy to put on a large recruitment day a er Easter, which aimed to bolster both membership numbers and even further bolster enthusiasm. We a ended Face to Face in March and came back full of mo va on to get the club moving ahead. Several club members have expressed interest in a ending NURHC in July with Ernie Dingo providing a big drawcard! This year La Trobe Health Sciences faculty has introduced a Common First Year for all Health Science students - this ini a ve teaches new students to integrate fundamental mutlidisciplinary prac ces.

2010 has already been an incredible year for the University of Newcastle’s Rural Health Club, BREAATHHE. We hit the ground running in o-week recrui ng over 100 enthusias c new members, represen ng a huge variety of disciplines.To kick start our ac on packed year we hosted a welcome event. Over 200 students dressed up in their fi nest kilts, kimonos, sombreros and of course their dancing shoes in our around the world themed party.

Next up on the our hit list is our annual skills night. A hugely popular event with sta ons for cannula on, venepuncture, plastering, massage therapy, Red Cross demonstra ons and ac vi es from podiatry and many other disciplines. Students from all degrees are looking forward to learning new skills or brushing up on old ones, sharing a bite to eat and ge ng to know each other.2010 is set to be a very exci ng year, with plans for local winery tours, race days and of course our never ending quest to bring rural educa on and awareness to hunter health educa on!

Alexander Gordon

AURHA:Adelaide University, SA

BUSHFIRE: Bond University, QLD

Emma Hogan

CARAH: Charles Darwin Uni, NT in assoc with Flinders Uni, SA

Amanda Francis

CRANC: University of Canberra, ACT

Lyndal Hayes

Monique Kanters

FURHS:FlindersUniversity, SA

BUSHFIRE held our annual ALS clinical skills night a rac ng new members and providing a great opportunity to update skills and mingle. Members got down and dirty with ac vi es including triaging 100 casual es, vic ms of horrifi c head on collision between a ca le truck and passenger bus on the Gore highway. Other events so far in 2010 have included

an execu ve weekend at the beau ful Byron Bay, the annual Midnight Muster organised by H4H was again a huge success in raising awareness and funds for The Royal Flying Doctors as well as an awesome night for young wannabe farmers to fi nd themselves a wife. When we return to uni a er Easter we have the Joint Rural Health Weekend bringing together the QLD RHC’s up in Rocky, our fi rst solo RHSV to Mt Tamborine, and of course we’re all excited and wai ng with fi ngers cross to see if who gets to go to NURHC in the Red Centre!! Check out our brand new website at www.gobushfi re.org

Well here we are at the start of another year and CRANC is gearing up for a year full of ac vi es and rural experiences. We kicked off with a meet and greet BBQ.We have had members a end the fabulous Cross Cultural Awareness Weekend in Alice Springs and a mental health conference in Canberra. Our fellow Canberra club ARMS and Greater Southern Area Health organised a fi rst aid course for mental health that was enthusias cally a ended by CRANC.

Some members of CRANC met with the Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health and Regional Service Delivery, Mr Warren Snowdon at Parliament House last December. The forum allowed our members Stephanie Jeremy and Jess Lew to ask for a more equitable distribu on of funds between nursing and medical students who wish to undertake rural or remote placements. A Remote Emergency Care (REC) course is currently being organised by members for 3rd year nursing students and is due to be held in July.

The second half of 2009 kept us on the move with Campfi re ‘09, a masquerade ball, a dinner series with select speakers, Wakakirri at Ceduna, and towards the end of the year, the elec on of the 2010 execu ve and we had our hand-over dinner (sponsored by MDA). Our 2010 co-chairs

are Janet Davie who has the dis nc on of being one of SA’s fi rst nurse prac oners,is a 2nd year med student, and Amy Stephenson. Our secretary, Clare Sutcliff e is a co-senior in the NRHSN’s Community and Advocacy Por olio and Amy was recently elected co-junior.Ice-cream was the order of the day as we canvassed students in O-week 2010. We’ve had one of best sign ups ever, and our AGM was standing room only. With most all of our execu ve posi ons fi lled, and an obviously passionate cohort of new members, 2010 looks to be a fantas c year for FURHS.

New members have been recruited and there are several events that look mighty invi ng for Remote students here in Alice. Postgraduate students have been invited to join our club, including students from paramedical science, social work, podiatry and physiotherapy. Developing networks with allied health students con nues thanks to previous CARAH member’s interest to see us thrive. 2010 most importantly brings NURHC to Central Australia, and members look forward to showing other clubs just what Alice Springs is made of.

We’re planning to a end the Wakakirri fes val in Barunga, Arnhem Land east of Katherine. We hope to con nue running CCAW and invi ng educators and health professionals to speak at club events throughout the year. Rural High School Visits are on the agenda and our contacts for these are already developing. Members have shown interest in being part of smaller and larger community fes vals and this is something we are looking to pursue. There is also the possibility of a mentoring program development to assist students coming to Alice Springs for placement. Plenty up our Sleeves!

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KRASH:Notre DameUniversity, WA

Jules Galliers

MARHS:Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW

Sian Draffi n

LARHC:La TrobeUniversity, VIC

Dave Tarrant

HOPE4HEALTH:Griffi thUniversity, WA

Jordan Whicker

HOPE4HEALTH is based at Griffi th University on the Gold Coast and were established in 2006 and has over 650 members. In March H4H ran the Third Annual Midnight Muster at Beaudesert Racing Club, with over 250 people a ending the B&S like gathering. This year, ownership of the event expanded to include the other two South East Queensland RHC’s, BUSHFIRE and TROHPIQ. The Royal Flying Doctor Service is the benefi ciary of the Midnight Muster and over $2,000 was raised. H4H also runs bimonthly

specialist clinics out at Cherbourg where medical students can a end specialist clinic at the Barambah Medical Centre. Cherbourg is an Aboriginal community 250 kilometres North-West of Brisbane with which H4H has formed a strong rela onship with over the years. H4H also runs Teddy Bear Hospital at the primary school and a Careers Day at the secondary school. In 2010 HOPE4HEALTH is also ins tu ng the Indigenous Dental Clinic at Cherbourg. H4H also provides Interna onal Elec ve Grants and Rural GP Scholarships to members.

KRASH, based in Broome is unlike a lot of other clubs in that we’ve always been notoriously small. BUT this year a larger infl ux of fi rst year nursing students means an increased membership. 2010 started with a BBQ for all the nursing students. We have a number of health students throughout the Kimberly, from high school to full me on campus at university. With some great skills on the barbie, lots of salads and the usual Northwest heat we all shared stories and discussed the courses ahead. This year our main aim is to begin a long term and strong

rela onship with a remote community in the Kimberly. By this we are hoping to not only promote health care and a healthy lifestyle amongst the children but also encourage further educa on, specifi cally in the health and medical fi eld. Many of our new members, most of whom hail from the city, are very keen to head further up north toward Cape Leveque, Beagle Bay and Lombidina to not only promote some healthy lifestyle choices (regarding tobacco, alcohol, food and exercise) but to see some of the amazing country that is in the Kimberly. One of the major ideas that has been tossed up by some of the par cularly excited fi rst year nursing girls is a road trip to Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing to visit the schools and communi es, and hopefully an opportunity to visit the hospital at Halls Creek.

2010 is the fi rst year of a new decade and an exci ng year for LARHC. Since its beginnings LARHC has been a proud, passionate and vibrant club. We are a bigger Rural Health Club focussing on allied health in regional Australia. We plan to have a big impact on rural health in our Bendigo region improving connec ons

with the local community. During O-week we held a LARHC stall and gave speeches on LARHC and the NRHSN to the new fi rst year students in their introductory lectures. We’ll be heading to RAW Vigour, an exci ng opportunity for LARHC members to meet other health students from diff erent universi es within Victoria. LARHC will be pu ng in a team for the Relay for Life, raising money for cancer research for the Cancer Council of Victoria. The eagerly an cipated LARHC ball will be held in May and we’ve got rural high school visits and Vibe Alive to look forward to later in the year.

MARHS has started the year with a big bang! With new tees and mascot (the MARHS hat) we aimed to spread awareness like wild fi re throughout O-Week. We held a welcome night where guest speaker Shannon No unveiled the mysteries of the NRHSN. Students also spoke of their MARHS adventures and experiences. We introduced our 2010 exec and outlined our exci ng plans for the year. We capped the night off with a BBQ and deemed our fi rst ever welcome night a success.

The year ahead is promising with health careers expos, high school visits, annual bush bash ball and cadaver trips and ac vi es with RAHMS, WARRIAHS, AWAIRH and other clubs. We’ll hold our annual mental health fi rst aid course and a cultural awareness night. And we won’t be missing RAW or NURHC. Watch out because we can only build on last year’s Golden Windmills performance!Lots of enthusias c members, both new and old, make for an interes ng dynamic to the club and we are highly an cipa ng the year ahead.

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MIRAGE:University of Sydney, NSW

Imogen Wilock

NERCHA:University of New England, NSW

Emily Lewis

NOMAD: Deakin University, VIC

Emily Dalton

MIRAGE ended 2009 with a dinner to farewell our 2008 and 2009 Presidents Erin Stalenberg and Dale Marchant, both of whom fi nished their courses at the end of 2009. We wish Erin, Dale and all the other gradua ng MIRAGE members of 2009 all the best in the future. The farewell dinner also allowed our 2010 execu ve to get to know each other and

consolidate plans for 2010, ensuring the year started with a rush of ac vity. The MIRAGE stall at the Medicine Orienta on Week was a huge success – we signed up a large percentage of new students in this fi rst mee ng, with others a ending our Welcome Drinks. We had a great turnout of fi rst years at our fi rst mee ng, all of whom very keen to get involved in MIRAGE and NRHSN ac vi es. MIRAGE has already started planning our fi rst RHSV for the year, with hopes of visi ng Parkes, Cowra and Forbes around the fi rst weekend of May. MIRAGE is also planning on running a Golf Day, sponsored by MDA Na onal, promo ng healthy lifestyle choices in a rural se ng. We’ll make sure to keep you updated with what

else will be happening with MIRAGE in 2010!

2010 is shaping up to be a success, membership has sky-rocketed, pu ng us in great stead for the year ahead.Our AGM saw a newly-elected execu ve, who are raring to go, making themselves known and promo ng rural health careers at UNE. Allied health will have a bigger focus this year, as we welcome pharmacy and exercise physiology. Mee ngs are now

held at the local pub, with subsidised food, encouraging members to get involved, numbers have already tripled!We had a great sign-up at O’week and annual welcome BBQ. Close the Gap day featured at the end of March and will be followed up by our Indigenous health forum in August. Events planned for the year are ride4acure – melanoma awareness, the inaugural barn dance, Vibe Alive in Moree, NURHC (we’re in training to become two- me champions of Golden Windmills!), a skills day based on ‘09’s success and Rural High School Visits aimed at our local community schools and beyond. Six NERCHA members are a ending NRLDS and their inspira on will be passed on on their return.

Times are changing, typewriters are being phased out and computers are in, and now there is, wait for it, the internet (yes we are a li le slow in the country), so in May we will be offi cially launching our website, a much needed portal for keeping students up to date with all the happenings of NERCHA!

Well, 2010 is shaping up to be a bumper year for Deakin’s NOMAD. We’ve already been busy; in February we had 12 schools from the Geelong region come to Deakin to par cipate in a RHSV. We also held a barefoot bowling session at the local green, using it as a membership drive. Amazing what some fi nely cut grass, crisp white uniforms and a few carefully placed words about remote and rural health can do!We held our AGM and elected a ripper

commi ee. General interest around the Uni has been high and as a result throughout the mee ng there were high fi ves all around. Literally.Our major event will be RAW VIGOUR; Since hearing Shannon speak at NURHC last year a group of dedicated students from the Victorian rural health clubs (LARHC, OUTLOOK, WILDFIRE and NOMAD) started organising a Victorian rural apprecia on weekend (RAW). The event was held over the last weekend in March on a farm just outside of Cavendish, in Victoria’s West. With a large array of speakers from the local health services, indigenous dancing, an op-shop ball and fantas c farming frivolity, it promises to be the biggest event of 2010!

Our Co-chairs Jacinta and Chad, have a shared passion for rural health that is infec ous, and when coupled with the rest of the commi ee’s enthusiasm and gusto - well we’re all pre y pumped for the year ahead!Please check out our website h p://dusa.org.au/nomad.

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RHINO: James Cook University, QLD

Surabhi Khosla

OUTLOOK:University ofMelbourne, VIC

Louise Boyle

RAHMS: University of NSW, NSW

Nathan Mor mer

RHUUWS:University of Western Sydney

Manik Mayadunne

Outlook kicked off 2010 with an en cing cupcake stand in O’Week. In mid March, we held rural clinical school visits to give medical students a chance to see what’s on off er in Shepparton, Wangara a, Bendigo and Ballarat before making their clinical school selec on. The days included a tour of the hospital, accommoda on, teaching facili es, lunch and a chance to see the local beauty. Outlook is excited to be a part of Victoria’s take on RAW, with RAW VIGOUR kicking off in late March outside of Hamilton. With

a B & S Ball, sheep shearing, indigenous health workshops, inspira onal speakers and a chance to take in the country air it is promising to be a great weekend. All rurally commi ed students from ERC, BMP and MRBS have been invited for a dinner in Lygon St to get the chance to get to know each other, talk about what’s coming up and get some advice from some older students who have ‘been there, done that.’With a stack of Rural High School Visits, a Close The Gap Seminar the Na onal Rural Leadership Development Seminar 2010 is looking be er than ever.

RAHMS has set off into 2010 at a cracking pace! We wasted no me ge ng the ball rolling, recrui ng like crazy during UNSW O-week, seeing ute-loads of bright new faces join the ranks. We have run a scholarships and conferences informa on session, and a welcoming event at the Royal Hotel. Never ones to miss out on a good party, a few RAHMSors a ended the MedSoc Medcamp. If that’s not exci ng enough,we held our Clinical Skills Night

with suturing, plastering, cannula on and measuring blood pressure. RAHMS will be a ending Rural High School Visits and Indigenous Fes vals throughout 2010 and we’ll see the return of our popular Life Skills program!This year also sees the 4th RAW (Rural Apprecia on Weekend), an awesome weekend packed with experiences of rural life! We have high hopes that 2010 will off er a RAHMS experience that is bigger and be er than ever! For contact details & informa on please visit www.rahms.org.au.

RHINO has had a fantas c start to 2010 with successful O week promo ons and sign-on BBQ. RHINO has integrated the health students at the Cairns JCU campus by appoin ng co-chairs of the Cairns RHINO commi ee. We’re busy organising the our Mul disciplinary Skills Night. The workshop has a racted many health students across all disciplines that will have an opportunity to advance their clinical skills and gain prac ce cannula on, strapping, ECGs and intraosseus needles. Staff at the School of Medicine and Den stry, RFDS and the local Physionorth

have very kindly donated their me to help on the evening.

Our RHSV team is geared up to hit the road covering high schools in Abergowrie and Ingham, where we will spread the word on health careers and health promo on, alongside exci ng ac vi es organised for students. There is plenty more to keep RHINO members ac ve this semester with opportuni es to a end the Joint Rural Health Club weekend and a trip to Atherton Tablelands planned, the Rural Doctors Associa on of Qld conference and NURHC.

It’s hard to believe that a rural health club acronym could sound like “roos”, the famous bounding icons of the Aussie bush, but here we are: RHUUWS. The Rural Health Union of UWS!We’ve held a BBQ to get 2010 kickstarted with fresh faces, many new members joined up and chowed down a sausage sandwich while they were at it.In conjunc on with the global health club at UWS, we held a stall for Close the Gap

Day, to raise awareness about Australia’s Indigenous health.We will have a Clues trivia night, AGM, Rural high school visit to Port Macquarie and a clinical skills night. We look forward to ge ng together with other rural health clubs at NURHC and RAW. UWS has two new rural medical schools star ng up mid-2010, in Lismore and Bathurst, meaning 22 medical students from UWS will be headed bush for 12 months, allow us to spread our roots in those regional centres.

ROUNDS:Notre DameUniversity, NSW

Kelly Wilkinson

ROUSTAH:University of South Australia

Ruth Vogelsang

Rus ca:Universityof Tasmania, TAS

Nidhi Verma

ROUNDS is comprised of a close knit community of Nursing and Medical students predominantly studying at the Notre Dame University Darlinghurst Campus, Sydney. With a broad variety of skills and backgrounds, our students are keen to be involved in all aspects of Rural, Remote and Indigenous Health. The fi rst cohort of Medical students to leave campus for their clinical years has expanded the areas in which we are able to par cipate, with students at Melbourne being keen to join with other Rural Health Clubs. To encourage our members to have a social understanding

of rural Australia, ROUNDS is looking to organise a Picnic Race Day that would be a great opportunity for some inter-club mingling. We’re keen to get involved with other clubs this year to strengthen rela onships and learn from clubs that have been established longer. A website is on the way and ROUNDS members are taking the opportunity to get involved in all aspects of the club, and a endance at events is on the increase.

Well, where do we start? The results of our AGM saw an exci ng mix elected to the 2010 commi ee. Rus ca (la n for ‘rural’) has the unique situa on of being the only Rural Health Club in Tasmania. Hence our ac vi es and events are spread across the whole state and the University of Tasmania’s three clinical schools. Our annual Welcome Dinner is a popular event for all members to have a social catch-

up in a relaxed atmosphere. Prepara ons are underway for the Rus ca Skills Night which will see our members prac cing procedures such as cannula on, venepuncture, suturing, cardio-pulmonary resuscita on, and catheterisa on. Excitement among the members is high for the Na onal University Rural Health Conference (NURHC)! We hope this year to fund more delegates than ever, and to involve as many people as possible in Rus ca by promo ng the wonderful rural lifestyle. Looking forward to a great 2010!

We have so far had a really successful recruitment drive in 2010 boos ng our membership database to well over 300.Our fi rst ac vity this year is visi ng the Australian Na onal University (ANU) in Canberra as part of an alliance in medical and health educa on between the University of South Australia (UniSA) and ANU. We’ll be hos ng our RHSV in the Riverlands travelling to over 10

schools. We’re even taking the ski boat with us up to the river for some kneeboarding, water skiing etc. One of our goals this year is liaising more with the University, so we will be co-hos ng a welcome event with the Rural Reconnect program where we’ll be part of a social mentoring program, for the new rural students that are studying at the UniSA.We’re hoping to co-host Campfi re amongst the three SA Rural health clubs, and are keen to make this year one of the best and increase a endance numbers twofold. It’s a great opportunity to network between allied health and medicine disciplines and also between universi es and clubs.

As always SHARP started the year off with a HUGE bang! The fi rst day of medical school was SHARP-ifi ed with a BBQ and at Med Camp thong throwing, jelly bean kidney dish races and blind folded tent building.Then it was me for the new Health and Behavioural Science students to be introduced to the SHARP way with a pool party and video presenta on. Our annual SHARP Bush Dance was a great success as noted by the sea of fl annos boot scoo ng like crazy! A

whole range of students danced the night away. This year will be extraordinary for SHARP! Upcoming events include a Hills Hoist Seminar, Close the Gap Day and ‘Healthier Illawarra Men’ (Men’s Health

Checks). SHARP is incredibly excited to be involved in the Na onal Rural Leadership Development Seminar (NRLDS) in Wollongong. We’re looking forward to catching up with some of our NRHSN buddies in our beau ful home town! And we look forward to a very big year.

SHARP: Universityof Wollongong, NSWNSW

Emma Harvey

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the WAALHIIBE team as we plan to collaborate in the planning of several events this year including the Mul -D night and rural high school visits. Get Plastered was also heaps of fun, with members being taught by doctors

and nurses (one of whom was an ex-SPIN member!) working in local Perth hospitals how to make arm fracture casts, then catching up over some food and drinks. SPINRPHEX has plenty more events coming up, with plans to expand both the RHSV and Mental Health Workshop programs, as well as the usual favorites such as the annual SPIN camp, Mul -D night, Vibe alive and Conference.

SPINRPHEX: University of WA

Marie Leknys

StARRH: Charles Darwin University, NT

Kim Izod

TROHPIQ: University of Queensland, QLD

Elissa Milford

WAALHIIBE: Combined WA Universi es, WA

Daniel Mahoney

SPINRPHEX is off to a fantas c start following our fi rst handover night. The SPINRPHEX commi ee has undergone a restructure and will be mee ng more frequently, whilst smaller working par es will be in charge of organising specifi c events during the year in addi on to their usual commi ee roles. The exec day this year held team building exercises and a bumper planning session with WAALHIIBE. It was really great for the SPIN exec to meet with

2010 is off to a great start with a welcome back bbq on the beau ful St Lucia campus, and a similar event at UQ’s Ipswich campus. It was great to see many new students sign up. Our skills days proved extremely popular with the Ipswich and Brisbane based skills days selling out quickly. Our annual Fraser coast trip saw a busload of TROHPIQers travelling to Hervey Bay and Bundaberg checking out the

local hospitals, picking up some new skills, and of course ge ng to know each other a bit be er at some of the local watering holes. We were stoked to support Hope4Health’s

annual Midnight Muster, the TROHPIQ con ngent had an awesome me partying the night away at the Beaudesert Racecourse.Planning is well underway for the annual Joint Rural Health Club weekend, to be held in Rockhampton. This event sees the four Qld rural health clubs - Hope4Health, RHINO, BUSHFIRE and TROHPIQ join forces to create a weekend with a fantas c academic and social program.

StARRH (Student’s Associa on for Rural and Remote Health) is a rural health club emerging in the top end of the Northern Territory. While in the process of fi nding their feet StARRH s ll has some great events and opportuni es coming up for its members 2010. Stemming from the success of their 2009 par cipa on in the Wakakirri

fes val, StARRH will be looking to send another troop of eager health students off to Barunga in 2010. The rural high school visits will give StARRH members the opportunity to explore some of the NT’s

enchan ng outback while they visit rural high school students and ins l their wisdom and experiences of pursuing health careers. StARRH is also hoping to off er some members the opportunity to par cipate in a “Bush Trip” this year, so they can experience fi rsthand what living and working in rural Australia can off er them.

2010 is set to be big for WAALHIIBE. A er a successful campaign at university O-Days around Perth our club membership is set to be the biggest yet! We have many events and trips planned around Western Australia to give allied health students a chance to experience rural and remote Australia. We’re teaming up with Cur n Volunteers to run several health based weekends to the remote towns of Laverton, Leonora and Wiluna. We’ll be visi ng Geraldton, Kalgoorlie and

Harvey just to name a few.Our fi rst event was our Rural Clinical Placement Night, with speakers presen ng on their experience on rural placements, what clinical supervisors expect from students and fi nding fi nancial assistance.

We are looking forward to our next event, “Mul -D Night”, to be held with SPINRPHEX where we will hear from the Royal Flying Doctors Service, a Physiotherapist in Cri cal Care, a Speech Pathologist in Neurosurgery and an Occupa onal Therapist.

WARRIAHS: Charles Sturt University, NSW

Dave Marcelline

WILDFIRE: MonashUniversity, VIC

Margot Lodge

QUIZ!An open book exam...

1. Which eminent heart surgeon was murdered in Sydney on July 4, 1991?

2. Which former prime minister once managed a rock band called The Ramrods?

3. What does ASIC stand for?

4. In which city did Australia’s fi rst legal casino open for business in 1973?

5. Which American evangelist visited Australia in 1959, a rac ng over 3 million people to his ‘crusades’?

6. What worldwide pandemic killed more than 12,000 Australians in 1919?

7. In which South Australian opal-mining town do many residents live underground to escape the heat?

8. Who was Dannii Minogue’s fi rst husband?

9. What was the name of the ‘Life. Be in It’ campaign launced in 1975?

10. Who won the silver in the men’s 200-metre freestyle at the Sydney Olympics?

Wagga Area Rural, Remote and Indigenous Area Health Society (WARRIAHS) is the Rural Health Club of Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga. We began 2010 with a miserable and rainy recruitment day but came shining through with 200 members. In 2010 we aim to encourage members to take full advantage of our many opportuni es to develop their knowledge and understanding of rural health and prac ces. We’e introducing professional development sessions to reinforce and improve the essen al skills required in many rural health professions. We are also working towards building upon 2009’s introduc on of a “Rural Experience Night” where we encourage our members to come along for an informal discussion night to share their placement experiences. We will be hos ng the WARRIAHS health expo and will be invi ng high school students from the Riverina region to partake. We would also love to involve other health clubs in this event so if you are interested please contact us! Recently we kicked off the WARRIAHS year with our commencement dinner, giving our members a chance to meet the new commi ee and to learn a li le more about WARRIAHS and the year to come. We’re planning many other exci ng experiences, both educa onal and social, including: Cadaver trips, Winter Ball, Rural Experience Night, Skill Sessions, Fundraisers, BBQ’s and many other social events to bring everyone together! Looks like a busy and fun fi lled year ahead!

WILDFIRE has hit the ground running to welcome the start of the 2010 university year. With subcommi ee and clinical sites at Bendigo, Mildura, Warragul, Churchill, Traralgon, Sale, Bairnsdale, Parkville and Clayton, Monash students – both new and old – were welcomed by the enthusias c WILDFIRE team as their respec ve O-Weeks were held. Building upon our tradi onal ‘welcome’ events at Clayton, individual clinical sites also conducted their own entertaining sign-up events. As a result, our membership numbers are great, and we have seen an increased representa on of a variety of health disciplines.The interest and excitement generated by these events helped gather a large crowd for WILDFIRE’s major annual event, the Ma hew Campbell Memorial Evening (MCME). 2010 was the 16th MCME and, as always, focussed on a per nent issue in Indigenous health. Held on a Friday night, many of our members from rural sites up to six-hours away were able to make the trip to Melbourne to enjoy and be educated on the topic: Sharing Stories in Indigenous Mental Health. With guest speakers ranging from an experienced remote area psychiatrist, to a recent Monash University graduate, the stories told and anecdotes shared made for an evening that was not just enlightening, but incredibly inspira on-provoking.With a number of exci ng events on the horizon, WILDFIRE members are looking forward to the inaugural RAW VIGOUR, the NRLDS, and of course – NURHC!

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PORTFOLIOS

Indigenous Health Por olioThe NRHSN Indigenous Health Por olio aims to make some signifi cant growth in 2010. We aim for every Rural Health Club in Australia to have an Indigenous health representa ve, to provide assistance to those representa ves in organising events and to re-launch the Australian Indigenous Medical Elec ve Database (AIMED). To achieve our fi rst goal we need each Rural health Club to send us the details of your Indigenous health representa ve, and if you don’t have an Indigenous rep

Medical Por olioThis year has seen the coming together of a new Medical Por olio team who are all chomping at the bit to get started on the new and interes ng projects for the year. The two senior offi cers are Teena Downton (a previous medical por olio team member) and Nicole Delaat. The two junior offi cers are Tim Hasted and David Khaicy.High on the agenda for this year’s Medical Por olio is to look at issues regarding: increased medical graduate numbers and how this can aff ect rural and remote health; specialty training in the rural se ng; and the BMP and MRBS schemes. We also aim to con nue the high standard of work that has previously been achieved with our important medical and rural stakeholders. As always, the por olio team will be aiming to spread the word about the work and goals of the NRHSN and seek our member’s perspec ves on the key issues listed above and other rural health issues. Last but not least, it is important that the medical por olio offi cers of 2009 are recognised for their great work. Over the past year, they went from strength to strength, represen ng the NRHSN to numerous professional bodies and at various conferences and mee ngs. They have le huge shoes to fi ll by the new team. Thank you to Ma hew Van Ze en, Teena Downton, Jasmine Banner, Andrew Tierney, Soo Yee Naidoo, Jordan Whicker and Robyn Silcock.Please remember that we are here to represent medical students across Australia, so if you have any ideas, sugges ons or pressing issues you would like to bring to the fore, please email us on medical@nrhsn.org.au.

Allied Health Por olioThe Allied health por olio has undergone some major changes in structure over the summer period with council representa on now increased to 3 co-junior and 3 co-senior por olio representa ves. We would like to congratulate and welcome our three new juniors: Dave Tarrent, Beth Viner Smith and Ilana Jorgensen and our newly recruited co-senior representa ve Sarah Mcmullen-Roach. We look forward to a very produc ve and fun year together. Already this year, Sarah has con nued the strong rela onship we hold with SARRAH, a ending their teleconferences. At the end of last year Dan gave a presenta on at the Na onal Allied Health Conference held in Canberra, speaking about the NRHSN and the issues allied health student’s face.The March Face to Face provided an opportunity for the NRSHN por olios to get together and develop some key ini a ves they wish to achieve during 2010. Some of our key tasks for 2010 are: to compile a list of allied health scholarships (including na onal, state and university) to publish on NRHSN website with links to scholarship pages; to organise / run allied health student forum at NURHC to gauge needs of allied health students and give a por olio update; to be ac vely involved with the SARRAH conference; form partnerships with more key allied health organisa ons to increase student representa on and further promote the NRHSN.These ini a ves have been developed to improve the needs of allied health students. If you feel there are any issues you would like us to discuss or have any sugges ons please email us at alliedhealth@nrhsn.org.au.

Community & Advovacy Por olioWow, where’s the me gone? Both myself and Andrew a ended the NRHA Annual 2009 Councilfest, which was held in November 2009. We both had a great me pushing the student voice at Parliament. We enjoyed the opportuni es of speaking with Nicola Roxon, Warren Snowdon and Tony Abbo just to name a few. It was fantas c being able to hear about the amazing experiences from the NRHA 29 members who live and work in rural and remote Australia. The day we were in Parliament also happened to be the day the Prime Minister chose to announce his apology to Forgo en Australians. Susan has being busy strengthening our es with ARHEN. Lauren has also being busy working with REFA, who have invited us to a end the Leadership in Rural Communi es Forum being held at Flinders University SA, which we will a end. The NRHSN and Community Advocacy Por olio would like to thank Susan and Lauren for all their support and fantas c ideas over the past year as part of the por olio and wish them all the best for their future. We would like to welcome Amy Stephenson and Lisa Hagget to our por olio team as our new junior liaison offi cers and look forward to hearing their ideas. We would like to welcome all of our new members and look forward to mee ng you all at events throughout the year and hearing your great and exci ng ideas. Feel free to email us at advocacy@nrhsn.org.au.

careers among Indigenous people.The AIMED database is a long term project that will facilitate students who want to undertake a placement in Indigenous Health. We will be asking every club to provide the details of 2 suitable placement venues, one urban and one rural/remote. Each entry into the database should have informa on about who to contact, address, what health services are available, and what type of student can be placed, internet access and accommoda on op ons.Looking forward to working with all of you. Email: indigenous_health@nrhsn.org.au.

we will encourage you to elect somebody to start some exci ng projects. The person doesn’t have to be Indigenous or have extensive experience working with Indigenous people, more so we would like a representa ve with a passion to learn, make a diff erence and disseminate informa on to club members about Indigenous fes vals, events and educa on opportuni es.We will be able to provide advice and op ons on how to organize ac vi es that promote cultural awareness, make health educa on fun, and encourage health

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• Ernie Dingo is the conference MC• Alice Springs loca on - the red centre!• Over 400 Medical, Nursing and Allied Health students• All 29 Rural Health Clubs• Incredible keynote speakers• Interes ng workshop sessions• Student Presenta ons• Amazing social ac vi es• Awards for NRHSN members and Rural Health Clubs

So how can you a end?Each Rural Health Club will have 9 NRHSN funded member places to a end NURHC but if you’re not one of the 9, don’t let that deter from a ending. You may have to put in a li le bit of extra work, but it will be well worth it when you land in Alice Springs ready for 3 days of full on health conferencing!

You can source sponsorship to a end, talk to your Rural Health Club to see if they are embarking on a sponsorship campaign (and if they’re not, you can get the ball rolling!) There may be plenty of local businesses or organisa ons that would like to assist you to a end - you’ll never know unless you ask! Or you could apply for one of the NURHC awards, all recipients of awards will be funded by the NRHSN to a end. And if you’re not successful there, you can always pay for your own costs!

Awards include: Contribu on to Indigenous Communi es; Contribu on to a RHC; Promo on of rural health; Contribu on to a rural/remote community; Contribu on to rural leadership; NRHSN Best 2009 RHC Event award; Janie Dade Smith Award.

...And don’t forget to enter the Photo Compe on and Ca leman’s Cup Video Compe on.

All of the informa on on how to a end, applying for awards, conference details etc can be found at www.nrhsn.org.au.

NURHC ‘1015th-17th July 2010 Alice Springs

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Nursing Por olioSince the last nursing report in COOEE! October 2009 edi on, the NRHSN received a record number of applica ons for Conferences of Na onal Signifi cance (CoNS) funding to the CRANAplus 2009 conference. CRANAplus is an organisa on that is unique in its support for remote health and typifi es the can-do a tude found in rural and remote communi es. Not content with simply a ending a conference, myself (represen ng StARRH), Katherine Radosevich (SPINRPHEX) and Amanda Francis (SHARP) presented a paper to the CRANAplus conference delegates. We spoke of the diffi cul es of seeking out and a ending clinical placements in rural and remote locali es when faced with

fundamental communica on breakdowns between the University and health sectors. Also illustrated were the personal costs involved in undertaking placements in far fl ung locali es and, the lack of fi nancial support to students should they wish to experience a placement outside the vision of their University placement coordinator/s. Not wishing to end on a dreary note, we summed up the fantas c and amazing experiences that were to be had in rural and remote health environments and, reinforced that students should never give up pushing both their University and the health sector to support students in their endeavours.The Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health and Regional Health

Delivery, Warren Snowdon just happened to be convening the Health and Hospitals Reform Commission Round Table discussion in Alice Springs during the CRANAplus conference. Nursing students, ever alert for a way to gain the ear of government, a ended this discussion and duly succeeded in bringing the plight of the cost of clinical placement to Minister Snowdon’s a en on. Further follow up of this issue led to an invita on for NRHSN to a end a mee ng with Minister Snowdon’s advisor Nick Cox in December 2009. Stephanie Jeremy (CRANC) was instrumental in represen ng the nursing por olio on this occasion as she had been present at the Alice Springs Round Table discussions. Email: nursing@nrhsn.org.au.

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The Na onal Rural Health Students’ Network is

supported by fi nancial assistance from the

Australian Government.

Rural Health Workforce AustraliaNational Rural Health Students’ Network Level 6, 10 Queens RoadMelbourne Vic 3004 Australia

www.nrhsn.org.au

Telephone 03 9860 4700Facsimile 03 9820 8383Email info@nrhsn.org.au

If you would like to recieve additional copies of the Cowpat, the Rural Placements Guide or

the Wide Horizons DVD please email us at info@nrhsn.org.au

Quiz A

nswers

1. Dr Victor Chang, 2.Paul Keating, 3.Australian Security and Investm

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, 10.Ian Thorpe.