Junior doctors drive major rural health conference
Abstract submissions for the Doctors for Regional Innovation, Vision, Excellence, Research and Scholarship (DRIVERS) conference are open, with the 2024 event organised by a group of twelve young doctors from the Loddon Mallee.
The DRIVERS conference showcases innovative rural medical research and provides an important platform for networking among medical students, doctors and healthcare professionals from rural clinical schools and services across Australia. The conference is organised by a Steering and Scientific Committee of twelve local doctors, who oversee all aspects of the event - from submissions, to programming, to the conference awards and gala dinner, under the guidance of Monash Rural Health’s North West Victoria Regional Training Hub.
Co-chairs of the DRIVERS Scientific Committee, Dr Jason Cox and Dr Jasmine Elliott, encourage doctors-in-training in rural health services to get involved this year by sharing their research, quality improvement project or innovative health service practices.
Jason, who grew up in Yackandandah and studied medicine at Monash University, is now a pre-vocational doctor at Bendigo Health and passionate about growing rural medical research. He presented at DRIVERS for the first time last year, sharing his work on the impact of pre-operative risk assessments on patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery in a Victorian regional hospital.
“It was a fantastic first opportunity to showcase my research in a scientific forum, and to hear the other projects and reflective presentations showcasing rural and regional healthcare,” he explained.
“Being on the DRIVERS committee this year allows me to shape the program to continue to support regional doctors, and especially junior doctors to be able to share their research and reflections.”
Fellow Scientific Co-Chair, Dr Jasmine Elliott, a Monash medical graduate and psychiatry registrar at Bendigo Health, deeply understands the challenges of accessing healthcare outside major cities.
“Growing up in rural Northern Territory and regional Queensland gave me first hand experience of what accessing health services looks like outside of the city. Whether it was driving 4 hours return for my brother's fractured humerus, to broken memories of going to Darwin for medical investigations as a young child, and now the various stories and experiences I hear in the mental health advocacy space, it's clear that there is a large difference in the care provided and outcomes achieved.”
Since first presenting at the conference in 2022 and being part of the 2023 conference steering committee, Jasmine is excited to take on the role of Scientific Co-Chair and be involved in reviewing and selecting abstracts for the conference. She says DRIVERS is an excellent place for those just getting started in research.
“DRIVERS is really great for those dipping your toes in presenting and research (notably not all presentations are scientific!), all the way up to experienced researchers who want to share their work with rural/regional doctors. I have learnt so many new things through others' presentations, in specialties unrelated to my own training.”
Submissions to the conference are currently open to rural medical students, doctors and researchers, with three potential streams across scientific, reflective and case study presentations and posters. This year, the conference also has a theme of Medicine, Environment, Progress: Rural Perspectives.
“I’m looking forward to reading the abstract submissions and learning the true scope and diversity of projects that regional doctors are undertaking to improve on and innovate in how we deliver rural healthcare. I’m particularly excited to see how submissions explore this year’s conference theme,” said Jason.
Jasmine encourages medical students and doctors who are considering submitting an abstract to “just do it.”
“The abstract submission process is super straight forward, and we love to see new ideas from people new to the space. A fun tip is that the research doesn't necessarily need to be done now, but can be a work in progress for completion in September.”
Abstract submissions for DRIVERS 2024 are open until 18 June 2024.
The conference will be held on Saturday 7 September in Bendigo, with the program and tickets available in July. Visit the DRIVERS website to learn more.
Monash Rural Health Regional Training Hubs
The Monash Rural Health Regional Training Hubs facilitate speciality training and career development opportunities for junior doctors, to help them live, work and train rurally. The Monash Regional Training Hubs are supported by the Department of Health and Aged Care’s Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training Program.