2008 Rural Careers Weekend

On a chilly Friday night in Traralgon, over 50 medical students from Melbourne and Monash University converged on the Gippsland Regional Clinical School (GRCS) at Latrobe Regional Hospital (LRH). They had come from all around Victoria for the 4th Annual Rural Careers Weekend. Having been hosted by OUTLOOK and MOOVIN' HEALTH in Ballarat last year, it was WILDFIRE's turn to showcase the diversity of rural medicine, and it didn't take us long to decide that it was Gippsland's turn in the spotlight.

Greeted with a BBQ dinner, the hungry students were able to mingle with each other, the speakers and sponsors. We had invited local doctors from around Gippsland to share their experiences and following dinner, students heard about a range of specialties, covering areas such as paediatrics, psychiatry, pathology, anaesthetics and surgery. Although the night focused on rural speciality training, two of the specialists, Dr Patrick Van Der Hoven (Pathologist) and Dr Bruce Osborne (Psychiatrist) had begun their career in General Practice and both encouraged everyone to consider taking a few years to gain a general medical experience before pursuing a specialty.

Saturday began with breakfast, compliments of GRCS. We were joined by a few more medical students and some local year 12 students. It was going to be a packed day and we had a line-up of fantastic speakers.

The Saturday program had a strong focus on general practice in Gippsland, in particular training, supports for General Practitioners (GP) and medical education opportunities. One of the speakers, Dr Briohney Klason, a current GP registrar with GetGP (the local GP training provider), discussed how having her family in Gippsland had influenced her decision to return.

All speakers shared their unique experiences of working and living in the rural areas around Gippsland. Like many of the students, I was impressed with the diversity of career paths that were possible in the area.

The final speaker for Saturday, Associate Professor (A/Prof) Alisdair Barnes, detailed her extraordinary career, which included, being a medical officer in the Australian Navy, a GP in Traralgon, an Associate Professor (A/Prof) at GRCS for Monash University as well as writing for Australian Doctor. A/Prof Barnes emphasised the importance of making time for family and hobbies, offering a personal account of the effects of professional burnout.

I would like to thank everyone who attended and assisted with the organization of the 4th Annual Rural Careers Weekend. Special mentions should go to Julie Luke and Elaine Evans from GRCS, Dr Gary Bourke and Di Doyle from Melbourne University and Heather Kelly and Hyacinta, for working so tirelessly behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly. Thank you also to all our sponsors, especially MDA National who has been a continuing sponsor of the Rural Careers Weekends. Events like these could not be provided free for students without the support of organisations like MDA National.

Aaron Wiggins
WILDFIRE Council Sponsorship Officer
Monash University

NB: WILDFIRE is Monash University's Rural Health Club; OUTLOOK and MOOVIN'HEALTH are the clubs at The University of Melbourne

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