Gippsland Regional Training Hub
The Gippsland Regional Training Hub has a footprint that covers all of Gippsland - from Warragul in the west to Bairnsdale in the east and Wonthaggi in the south. We are here to help doctors work and train in Gippsland, and embrace the rewarding lifestyle on offer in the region.
Established in 2017, we operate across Gippsland to support the next generation of rural medical practitioners. We work with our local health services to build accredited training and supervisory capacity, and we connect with students and junior doctors interested in rural practice, supporting them to complete as much as possible of their studies and medical training in the region. As part of this, the Gippsland Regional Training Hub provides professional development courses locally, career advice, mentoring, events and a range of other services.
Our team works closely with Gippsland’s health services, including Bairnsdale Regional Health Service, Bass Coast Health, Central Gippsland Health, Latrobe Regional Health and the West Gippsland Healthcare Group, as well as primary care providers and GP clinics throughout the region.
Our people
Associate Professor Robert Dawson
Director
Associate Professor Robert Dawson is the Director of the Gippsland Regional Training Hub and his goal is to advocate for the development of rural training pathways from medical student to vocational specialist. Robert is a specialist anaesthetist who has lived and been in practice in Gippsland since 1988. He has been actively involved in the training of medical students, prevocational doctors and in general practitioner and specialist anaesthetists. Robert is currently also the Director of Clinical Training for Latrobe Regional Health (LRH), the Deputy Director and Clinical Dean for Monash Rural Health at LRH, and Supervisor of Training for Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) and the Diploma of Rural Generalist Anaesthesia (DipRGA).
Robert has been actively involved in the development of the new DipRGA and the new rural specialist anaesthetic training pathway through the Victorian Regional Training Network.
Robert is a graduate of the University of Melbourne (MBBS), recently obtained a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Simulation from Monash University, and is a Fellow of ANZCA. He is passionate about the use of simulation in medical education, which reflects his interest in patient safety.
Rob hails from a rural background and chose to settle in Gippsland because of his wife’s family connections - and has enjoyed every moment. Robert’s family enjoys the outdoors and are all keen hikers.
Associate Professor Gary Campain
Deputy Director
Associate Professor Gary Campain is an emergency physician and has spent a significant amount of his career working in emergency departments within regional health services. As Deputy Director of the Gippsland Regional Training Hub, Gary is dedicated to improving postgraduate pathways and training opportunities for junior doctors across the Gippsland region. He is especially passionate about recruiting emergency doctors.
Alongside his hub role, Gary currently supervises clinical training at Bairnsdale Regional Health Services and is Director of Medical Services at Kooweerup Regional Health Services. Prior to this, he served as Director of Emergency Medicine and Director of Medical Services at the West Gippsland Healthcare Group, Director of Emergency Medicine at Latrobe Regional Health and an Emergency Physician at Bass Coast Health. Professionally, Gary has a strong interest in healthcare administration and digital health.
Gary has a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Melbourne and a Graduate Certificate of Management from the University of Ballarat. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Emergency Medicine (FACEM) and an Associate Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators (AFRACMA).
Outside of work, Gary loves restoring cars, tackling a renovation and dabbling in computer programming.
Amy Poynton
Manager
Amy Poynton is the Manager of the Gippsland Regional Training Hub. She seeks to understand the existing barriers to rural workforce recruitment and retention in order to drive sustainable solutions.
Amy has worked for Monash University for more than a decade in research and in operations management. She’s also worked for the University of Melbourne in health systems and health workforce research. She has 20 peer-reviewed publications including in The Lancet Psychiatry and the Medical Journal of Australia. In her five years as Operations Manager for BrainPark, a neuroscience-based research group within the School of Psychological Sciences, Amy maintained a team of 50 staff and students. During this time, she supported the grant applications of the Director to obtain nearly $15 million in research funding.
With qualifications in Behavioural Neuroscience and Psychology and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Amy is interested in how change management approaches might be utilised at an organisational and systems level to enhance rural medical workforce recruitment and retention.
Living in West Gippsland, Amy is a convert to the rural lifestyle and loves the wide open spaces and mountain views. While she’s always enjoyed camping and bushwalks, moving to Gippsland has made Amy realise that rural is the right place to be. She delights in watching her pet chooks and the neighbour’s horses from her kitchen window.
Ketrah Parsonage
Administrative assistant
Ketrah’s career began by studying International Hotel Management which has seen her work in Melbourne, Shanghai, Adelaide & Perth including being part of two hotel pre-opening and opening teams. It was during these experiences that she developed a passion for events management, which then led her into the world of business events and destination marketing in Adelaide.
Ketrah was awarded the Meetings and Events Australia, South Australian Future Leader award and the Young Business Leaders - Highest Fundraiser award which ignited an interest in combining passion with purpose. Her first role in Fundraising was with the Royal Adelaide Hospital Research Fund where she enjoyed working with researchers to showcase their work through live Q&A events and several successful fundraising campaigns raising vital funds for their research.
Ketrah most recently worked within the fundraising team at the Royal Flying Doctor Service SA/NT. Her time at the Royal Flying Doctor Service was truly humbling as there were so many stories that showcased the way medical teams based rurally and in metropolitan areas worked together to deliver first-class care to Australians no matter how remotely they worked or lived.
Having grown up in the Clare Valley, in regional South Australia, Ketrah understands the importance of having locally based, multi-disciplined and well-supported medical professionals. Ketrah has recently moved to the Wellington Shire of Gippsland with her husband and two young sons.
Contact the Gippsland Regional Training Hub
Email: gippsland-rth@monash.edu
Phone: 61 3 5122 7247