DRIVERS 2022

DRIVERS 2022 Pre-Conference Workshops

Saturday 10 September

  • Online and at Mackenzie Quaters, Ms Batterhams, 10 MacKenzie St, Bendigo
  • Coffee and Registration from 9.30am
  • Workshops: 10am – 2pm, with delicious lunch and matched wines

All conference presenters and delegates can choose to engage in DRIVERS pre-conference workshops, a great networking event with plenty of time for discussion, and for those in person enjoying good coffee, fine food and great company. Certificates of participation will be provided to all attendees online and in person. All you need is a pen and paper, full notes provided.

Over four hours we’ll cover three topics.

First Session: Building your professional brand online

Practical support to develop your online brand and network (think LinkedIn profiles, how to use social media and more).

Stephanie Swain is a marketing and communications professional with ten years of experience across the tertiary publishing and higher education sectors.

Whether you’re just starting your medical career or trying to position yourself for the next step, managing your online professional profile is more important than ever. Harnessing the positive power of social media is an important way to not only control your professional profile, but also increase your credibility, boost your visibility, connect with mentors and expand your network.

Discover how to effectively use LinkedIn (hint: it’s not just for finding your next job) and other key social media platforms to build your professional brand online. This 60 minute workshop will teach you how to:

  • Build your professional profile using LinkedIn and Twitter
  • Audit and optimise your online profiles
  • Craft your professional social media strategy and how to write great content
  • Grow your professional network online
  • Communicate your success through social media

Second Session: Mentoring - More than just coffee

Dr JuMP is a coordinated medical mentoring program designed to support Medical Students, Junior Doctors and Registrars in regional Victoria. The program provides a platform for regional medical professionals to connect and grow by facilitating relationships whilst also providing mentoring support, education, event and networking opportunities. We’ll hear from DrJuMP members about their experience on the platform.

Emma Mackinnon (nee Sutton ) is an intern at Echuca Regional Health as part of the Rural Generalist Pathway.

She is also the founder of Med Mentors a national mentoring program for students hoping to enter medical school, the vice chair of the Australian Medical Association’s Women in Medicine Group and member of the Board of Directors at Eating Disorders Victoria.

Emma has always been interested in becoming a rural doctor and had been looking for ways to become more connected with other doctors working in rural Australia/Victoria to look to for advice and support. She was so excited to find Dr Jump and a fantastic mentor who has had such a huge positive impact on her career pathway so far. She hopes other medical students and doctors in training can utilize this incredible platform to guide their next career moves too!

As Junior Doctors and Medical Students,  finding the right mentor can help you in so many ways:

  • Access an independent voice, outside your direct sphere of influence.
  • Grow your people skills and leadership capability
  • Gain practical advice, support and encouragement
  • Develop life-long social, professional and academic networks
  • Explore opportunities to progress your career or upskill

What DrJuMP users are saying:

  • “I was excited to meet a mentor in the field I was aspiring to go into. Not just someone who would teach me theoretical content, but someone with practical knowledge of how to get to where I wanted to be..”

  • “I was struggling to find someone to talk to about the realities and day to day life rural doctors experienced and really wanted to find out more - Dr JuMP has absolutely been pivotal in working towards this goal and has exceeded my expectations!”

Third Session: What can statistics do for you?

A 101 in Statistics, practically building Your Research Skills and understanding of which question to ask and how best to answer it.

Emeritus Professor Terry Mills PhD, FAustMS is a mathematician. He has worked in various universities in several countries, and as a statistician at Bendigo Health. At present he is Emeritus Professor at La Trobe University, and teaches mathematics at Crusoe College in Kangaroo Flat, Bendigo. His qualifications have been in mathematics, statistics, computing, and education. He has a PhD in mathematics from the University of Florida, and has lived in Bendigo since 1975.

Often I have been asked by people involved in a statistical project, questions like this: Should I use a t-test, or ANOVA, or should I use a non-parametric test? This is the wrong sort of question. The key is to understand what sort of problem you are trying to solve. Then the method follows.

My intention in this presentation is to give you a broad overview of statistical problems. By the end of the presentation, you will be able to decide what sort of statistical method is appropriate for your problem.