Monash Rural Health celebrates ten years of graduate entry medicine in Gippsland
Alumni, Monash staff, students, representatives from local health services and community stakeholders gathered to celebrate ten years of Monash University’s graduate entry medicine program in Gippsland on Friday 1 April at Traralgon Vineyard.
The event, hosted by Monash Rural Health and the Gippsland Regional Training Hub, brought together more than 70 guests including alumni from the inaugural graduating class of 2011 who have remained working in Gippsland as doctors.
Guests were welcomed by Professor Christina Mitchell AO, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, who acknowledged the significant milestone of the anniversary, with the graduate entry medical program originally developed to meet the needs of the local community.
Professor Mitchell said “There was a clear demand, that remains today, to provide regional medical education, engage in regionally focussed medical research, enhance the medical workforce in Gippsland and contribute to medical postgraduate training in the region. Over the last 14 years, the partnerships with local health services and the support of the Gippsland community has helped bring the vision for a top clinical school, embedded in the region, to life.”
The program – which is designed to immerse students into a rural clinical experience from the students’ first year – has trained more than 1000 doctors. A snapshot taken this year indicates that over 50 alumni are practising in Gippsland, making up a third of the Monash trained doctors currently working in the region. Over the last decade, many more graduates would have spent time in practice in Gippsland, but may now be elsewhere to take up postgraduate training opportunities. Some of these graduates may return to Gippsland later in their careers.
Professor Shane Bullock, Head of Monash Rural Health, and Professor Michelle Leech, Deputy Dean of Medicine, both reflected on the impact of the program and alumni in the region over the last decade - from starting the first cardiac intervention program in the Latrobe Valley, to helping teach the next generation of medical students.
Professor Bullock noted some of the recent initiatives led by Monash Rural Health that have helped support local medical students and junior doctors in the region - such as the formation of the Gippsland Regional Training Hub in 2018 and the introduction of the Gippsland Partnership Program with Federation University last year.
Councillor Kellie O’Callaghan, Mayor of Latrobe City Council, shared her personal experiences as a patient and related the critical role doctors play in regional communities as trusted guides on a patient's healthcare journey.
Dr Sean Atkinson graduated as part of the inaugural 2011 class. He shared some of his memories as a student and praised the abundance of practical learning opportunities on offer. Dr Atkinson has now come full circle and teaches clinical skills to first year graduate entry students in Churchill while also working locally as a general practitioner in Trafalgar. His love of Gippsland and the people in the region have kept him there.
Celebrations across Monash Rural Health will continue in 2022 as the school also commemorates its 30th anniversary this year.
