Murmur 2

+MURMURthe gums magazine

ISSUE 2May 2014

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ContentsGuttentag dear readers!

How are you both? Kidding, we hope. More than two of you read this, right?

You might notice, we’ve given murmur a bit of a makeover! Yes, this has more to do with our in-creasing capabilities/tolerance of InDesign than actually intending to improve the aesthetic of this wonderful rag. But either way, we’re quite pleased with the result, and we hope you are too!

We’ve realised now that we have published the first year guide, the first murmur, and the electives and selectives guide (with bonus articles coming soon!), we’ve become the phantoms of GUMS, so to speak, and there is a risk that you perhaps don’t know who these people writing all this stuff are. So, let us introduce ourselves!

We (Jasmine and Nicola) are both third years, and boy oh boy is medicine a million times more awesome in the clinical years. Jasmine is based in Stanthorpe this year, and Nicola on the Gold Coast. Some fun facts about us both, which if uni has taught me anything is a compulsory part of awkward introductions - Jasmine is an Irish dancer, and Nicola used to compete in artistic roller skating (basically ice skating with wheels).

That’s enough rambling from us , we hope you enjoy this edition of mumur!

+ Jasmine and Nicola

President’s letter

Community Update

Wellbeing Recipe

Surviving Exams

Internship Evening Wrap Up

GUMS Conference Subsidy Scheme

Conference Watch (SMACC)

Farewell to Griffith Staff

Social: Med Ball

RACGP Clinical Update Weekend

Around the grounds: GPSN

Around the grounds: hope4health

Around the grounds: surgia

Alumni Corner

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Dear members,

Since our last newsletter GUMS has been busy at work!

As you may remember from our recent member update in May GUMS has been working tirelessly to complete the Australian Medical Council report. As this report begins to reach its final draft a number of areas of concern in the student population have become appar-ent. I encourage you all to make the effort to read this report, which can be found on the GUMS website. The more feedback and input we have from students the more meaningful this report is, and it is more likely meaningful change will be made to the Medical Educa-tion program.

I’ve also had the pleasure of seeing 568 of you at GUMS Gala Medical Ball on Saturday 3rd of May. I can only speak for myself when I say I had an amazing time in the beautifully decorat-ed Marquee or decadent desert buffet poker room, but I believe the girly screams caught on camera with our guest “Snake Lady” speak for themselves. A huge thank you must be said to Angelica our Social Officer and her team of year level convenors James, Katie, Jaydie, Anna and Rhys.

On a more serious note, the Resident Medical Officer Workforce Recruitment team visited Griffith campus this month to provide our final year students with the information they need to apply for positions in QLD health in 2015. Although reassuring to hear that all Priority One candidates are guaranteed a place in a high quality intern position in 2015, I think many students still left feeling apprehensive about the upcoming process. As such GUMS will do its best to support you through the upcoming process - compiling resources and hints from alumni across the state to help you get across the finish line and into the workforce this year.

As mid year exams loom, our pre-clinical First and Second year students may begin to feel the heat. We encourage our GUMS P2P Mentors to check in on their mentees to see how exam preparation is going and provide an encouraging word or motivating coffee where needed. Furthermore, I implore you all to keep an eye on your friends. As the recent Beyond Blue study found, Medical Students are

+ from the president’s deskMikaela Seymour

[email protected]

“...provide an encouraging word or motivating coffee when needed.”

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at high risk of emotional and mental illness. At times of extreme stress we are most prone to feel isolated, helpless and anxious.

Being high achieving, successful type A personalities we are always reluctant to ask for help. During this exam block I ask you to draw on the inspirational Australian, Gavin Lar-kin’s famous words “R U Ok?”. I remind you we are all part of the medical community, and one of our responsibilities is to look after our own colleagues, not just our patients.

Finally, GUMS is your Medical Society! We work hard to holistically support your progress through Medical Education. As such we are always keen to speak to members through any form of media. If you are unaware of the right person to speak to please jump on our website to find the person you’re looking for. If you’re not sure than always feel free to email me at [email protected] and I will happily re-direct you’re email. I hope throughout this year we can be as accessible and approachable to members as possible! GUMS wishes you all the best of luck with your upcoming exams! And we look forward to celebrating with you at your respective GUMS End of Exam parties!

All the best,

+ Mikaela Seymour

Mikaela is our GUMS president for 2014. She is currently in third year at Logan Hospi-tal, finishing off her surgical rotation. Email her about anything,,,she is the ultimate GUMS guru and will refer your questions/problems/sugges-tions on!

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Hi Murmur readers,

I hope that the year so far has been treating you all well! While I have no doubt that we’ve all probably had some tough days this year (PBL at 8am is a struggle for anyone), it is important for us not to forget those in the wider community that may also be having a tough time. My role, as Community Executive, is to help with this. At the start of this year we decided that the Community focus would be on Project: Love and Care. Project: Love and Care is a relatively small charity, based in Inala, which acutely supports foster children and teenagers when they are first placed in foster care. When kids are first taken from their families, they often have nothing but the clothes they are wearing. It is a scary, emotional time, made worse by the fact that these children and young adults often don’t have any possessions or toiletries of their own. During the removal process, individuals may be required to stay in “holding group homes” while their foster home is organised. Imagine having to ask a complete stranger for a sanitary pad. This is the reality that these kids may have to face.

Project: Love and Care tries to help during this transi-tion period by providing age appropriate Care Kits to indi-viduals when they are first moved out of their homes. The aim is to “…give each child coming into care something to own and to hold onto during the transition to foster care” (Project: Love and Care website). The kits include toilet-ries, such as toothbrushes, toothpaste and face washes, and specialised items such as sanitary pads and nappies to those who need them. They also include activity kits – think colouring books and stationary -, clothing and where

appropriate, a soft toy for these kids to hold onto. It is a small token to help them feel loved and cared for during their time of need. It is a wonderful charity headed by one very dedi-cated woman (Ann) and I am looking forward to the upcoming Community events that will support this great cause.

The events coming up in the next few months are Colour Party and Coffeehouse! Colour Party will be held on the 25th of July, with more details (such as the elusive colour), released closer to the date. Coffeehouse will be on the 11th of September.

Mikaela [email protected]

+ gums in the community

Project: Love and Care Kendall [email protected]

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Kendall [email protected]

For those who aren’t aware of what Coffeehouse is, it is a fabulous, relaxing evening where everyone gets together to drink coffee and enjoy the musical talents of our fellow med students. If you are a musically-inclined individual and want to know more, details are to come. Don’t hesitate to drop me an email though if you’re super keen. After the success of both of these events last year (well done Ally), they are definitely ones to look forward to. Wishing you all the best,

+ Kendall Mead-Denyer


“The aim is to give each child coming into care something to own and to hold onto...”

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+ gums wellbeing

Annabelle’s vege fry-up Jacqui [email protected]

Ingredients:2 tsp canola oil½ brown onion, chopped1 garlic clove, diced1 zucchini, sliced1 carrot, sliced½ bok choi, sliced½ red capsicum, sliced1 tin lentils1 tin tomatoes2 tsp cumin1 tsp mixed herbs1 tbs soy sauce4 button mushrooms, sliced1 bunch coriander

Method1. Heat a big fry pan with canola oil, chopped up onion and garlic 2. Chuck in veggies. Stir around while it cooks. Add a tin of lentils 3. Add 1 tsp of cumin and the mixed herbs. Stir through4. In another fry pan, add oil and cook up some slivers of chopped hard tofu. Pour some soy sauce in and mix the tofu through it. Add the other tsp of cumin. I like to cook my mushrooms in this pan as well for extra deli-ciousness5. Mix the two together and garnish with some corian-der HOORAY

Note: you can use

any and all the veggies you have ly-ing around home, and add some pizzaz with

your favourite spices!

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+ how to survive exams



Jacqui [email protected]


+ how to survive exams

1. Realise that you are an individual. I don’t mean this in a lame mantra way. I mean this in the way that everyone studies differently and that’s ok. If you don’t like group study, don’t let anyone make you feel bad for not going to study sessions. If you only study well in a group, then find a group of people similar to you (if you haven’t already). Hanging out in the PBL rooms to study post classes is always a good way to meet people to study with. If you find your study technique isn’t working, try a new one.

2. Find your place. Study where you are comfortable. I need to be near a source of tea, so home is best for me. Other people prefer the library where they can easily access books, or the PBL room where they are mildly secluded.

3. Give yourself time to procrastinate. Realise that you can’t study all day every day, without purposely finding new random things to excite you (suddenly, cleaning your room becomes really fascinating). With this being said, cater for these breaks. Make sure you give yourself an hour for lunch. Go for a short walk to grab a coffee. Even going to see a movie that is totally mindless is helpful.

4. Have a good supply of your favourite food. I went through so much chocolate during exams last year, it is actually ridiculous. Yeah I gained a little bit of weight, but I’m quite sure my brain would’ve melted without it. However, other good addic-tive things for you include dried mango, sultanas, nuts and granola. Food that you can pick slowly at with your fingers is definitely the best

5. Crying is ok. Yelling is ok. Sitting in a ball in the corner of the room rocking back and forth is ok. So long as you pick yourself up after. Everyone has that moment of fear that they can’t do this. You are definitely not alone. So in those moments, pick up your phone and send someone a message. It can be a friend, family member or even your GUMS mentor. Med school is not always easy, and everyone knows it. GOOD LUCK!

+ Jacqui Fraidley

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On May 6th the Resident Medical Workforce Campaign team visited Griffith Campus to provide information to final year students preparing to apply for internship in 2015. GUMS would like to thank the Office of the Principle House Officer, AMAQ, Doctors present and GUMS Alumnus for supporting the evening.

In 2015 The Commonwealth Government will continue to honour its 2006 commitment to priority 1 applicants. That is the Government will provide 705 internships in Public Hos-pitals over 16 locations state wide, with GCUH having 90 places available.

Since 2006 the Government Intern positions have increased from 319 to 705 in 2014. However the AMAQ and AMSA have expressed some concerns that numbers in the 700 may be reaching critical saturation point in QLD and we do not expect this number to rise significantly in coming years. Furthermore, although the number of intern positions has doubled, the number of Resident Medical Officer (or Junior Doctor) positions has not increased in direct correlation. This may reflect students leaving to pursue careers in GP training pathways or Private practice, however it is a concerning trend.

In 2014 the majority of Griffith Graduates have found themselves at GCUH or Logan hos-pital. However Griffith Graduates in Post Graduate Years (PGY) 1 and 2 can be found in every hospital around QLD (with the exception of Caboolture - we don’t know why! If you know of a GUMS alumnus here, we’d be keen to know!).

For those not in Commonwealth supported positions the number of hospitals you can choose from is less than the full 16. To find out your options please contact the co-ordi-nator of your scholarship or bonded program to see if you are required to accept a Rural Generalist training spot and if so which hospital currently offer these.

The Internship Process in QLD is done via an online application form. This year applica-tions open May 22nd closing June 6th. Offers will be released Monday 14th of July.

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+ gums internship night + intern application process

The online process, which is similar to the QLD high school QTAC process, relies on a Unique Identifying Number which will be provided to you by AHPRA.

The application involves 7 online steps which will ask all your relevant details. Mandatory documentation includes: Criminal History Checks, Hep B status, Passport (or proof of iden-tity). Further details may be required based on personal circumstance. You will also be required to have details of 2 referees. You will not require written reports, just confirma-tion these individuals are happy to be your professional referee and speak to your ability, motivation and rapport.

When applying you will be asked to preference all 16 hospitals. 1 to 16 in order of declin-ing preference. If your number one preference does not have the required number of applicants then you will automatically be selected for that hospital. If the hospital you’ve preferenced as number 1 has too many interns wishing to go there that hospital will enter the Ballot Process.

In the Ballot process there are a number of Bingo wheels. All the names of hospitals with too many applicants will go in one wheel, whilst the names of all interns wishing to work in that hospital will go in another. The Ballot panel will then select an oversubscribed hospital from the wheel - and then find the bucket of names for that hospital accordingly. They will then select out a name. This unlucky person then misses out on this hospital, their number one preference. The ballot panel will then go down this individuals list. That is they will look at number 2 preference, if number 2 has some intern spots free the applicant can go there. If there are no spots free the panel will look at the individuals 3rd preference and if their is any spots free there. They will continue down this individuals list until they find a listed hospital that has a position available for them.

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+ intern application process

If 100 applicants apply to as hospital with 95 positions - 5 names will need to be removed from the bucket to bring the number of applicants down to the required 95.

In 2014, 90% of applicants received their first hospital preference. 2% received their sec-ond, and 1 applicant out of 609 received their 14th preference. No one received their 15th or 16th preferenced hospital.

When sent an offer you get 3 choices, Accept, Tentatively Accept or Decline. It is important if you do not get the hospital you wanted to work at DO NOT DECLINE your QLD health offer. If you decline you will NOT be eligible for any other offers of Internship in QLD. If you do not get the hospital you were hoping for Accept Tentatively. After all offers are sent out to students a “Rolll Back” process occurs. As students pull out of offers or go interstate students may get offered their first preference in a second round. This system randomly generates a list of individuals who will be rung systematically to offer them po-sitions. If you do not answer the phone when they call, you miss out on your opportunity, you cannot call back at a later time you either take or leave the offer they give you verbal-ly on the phone during the roll back process.

You can swap intern places, if both parties are amenable to the change. However this needs to be arranged with the individual employers (hospitals), not QLD Resident Medical Officer Workforce.

For those of you who have specific reasons to stay in a certain area QLD Health may grant you exception if you: are a member of a couple in which one partner is conducting full time study and cannot complete their studies via correspondence, yourself or your part-ner operates a business which is non trans-ferrable or on exceptional compassionate grounds. Your application is deliberated by a Special Consideration Panel. Please note - you may not be allowed to nominate a specific hospital, but you may be able to request to stay in a certain region, for ex-ample South East QLD.

If you are in a long term relationship with another Intern - you may be able to re-quest a joint ticket to be sent to do your


+ gums internship night + intern application process

internship in the same area together. You must be married or in a significant de facto rela-tionship for at least 9 months, and be graduating at the same time, and have preferenced your hospitals identically. You will be required to prove your couples status.

For those of with other commitments - for a variety of reasons - you may be able to orga-nize a job sharing arrangement with your individual hospital.

This needs to be negotiated with your employer and job sharing partner. In the past this situation has been used for two mothers with young children to split the intern work load.

If you are looking to intern interstate you will be required to enter another application through the appropriate interstate Internship Application Body. However, as a graduate from a Queensland Medical School this will affect your priority status in that other state. Furthermore, QLD participates in the National Audit in Intern Acceptances. This means that if you are to accept multiple offers from different states these states will know of your multiple acceptances. We have been assured this will not jeopardize candidates intern positions, and is done so the states can plan the number of intern places that will actually be taken up. In Queensland, applicants who accept more than one offer will have 2 days to confirm which offer they will be accepting, or they will forfeit their QLD internship posi-tion.

The message that the office of the Principle House Officer (who oversees Junior Doctor Training) is keen for students to know is that every internship position in QLD is accredit-ed by the Medical Board of Australia to ensure a quality internship experience regardless of location.

Further information and statistics can be found on the GUMS webpage under GUMS Guide to the Internship Ballot as well as information from GUMS Alumni on Intern experi-ences at Individual Hospitals in QLD.

+ Mikaela Seymour

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+ intern application process

Congratulations to the successful applicants of the GUMS Conference Subsidy Scheme for Semester One 2014!

As you may be aware the conference subsidy scheme was introduced to encourage and assist students who are nerding it up at conferences all over Australia and the globe. Conferences are a great way to learn what is at the forefront of medicine, learn a bit more about a specific area you’re interested in, network, and most of all have lots of fun doing it!

Our lucky subsider recipients for or Semester 1 are:

Laura Renger - SMACC 2014 Gold Coast

Rebecca Lion - SMACC 2014 Gold Coast

Matthew Brownlow - EMCORE 2014

Ella McGrath - Exercise as the treatment for chronic disease for the Collaborative Research Network

Nicola Campbell - NLDS 2014 in Canberra

Applications for the second half of the year open soon. For more information and the terms and conditions see the GUMS webpage.

+ conference watchAnne Gonzalves

[email protected]

+ smaccGOLD

smaccGOLD 2014 was the first medical conference I’d been to. After their rousing ‘opening ceremony’, complete with tribal themed drum performances, dances and fire twirlers to symbolize the reuniting of the different tribes of critical care, I knew any future confer-ences I go to would have a lot to live up to.

SMACC stands for Social Media and Critical Care. It’s a modern and innovative conference mixed with on-line technology and social media, catering for critical care practitioners from around the world (including emergency physicians, inten-sivists, anaesthetists, critical care nurses and paramedics). With energetic and cutting-edge presentations from leading specialists in these fields, it also brings together some of the biggest names in online medical blogs, websites and FOAMed (free open access medical education).

After the spectacular opening ceremony, GCUH’s very own Victoria Brazil continued the tribal theme, illustrating the potentials of teamwork between the different ‘tribes’ of medicine, and calling for a rejection of the “us VS. them” mentality that is deeply rooted in the hospital environment and can cause more harm than good.

The days were then filled with a smorgasbord of presentations and panel discussions on the most up-to-date and relevant topics in critical care, encompassing the following as a few examples, with everything in between: • Airway management – “own the airway!” – and be pro-active about it, because by the

time an airway needs rescuing, it’s too late• Damage control resuscitation – with information on the lat-

est technologies such as ECMO (extracoroporeal membrane oxygenation) and REBOA (resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta) which are becoming realities in emer-gency departments)

• End-of-life care and decision making – a task that often falls to emergency physicians and requires coordination between the patient’s family, treating team/s, GP, and allied health. A debate was enjoyed between professionals from the different specialties, aptly titled

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+ smaccGOLD

• “What is possible. What is reasonable. What is best.”, focusing, as always, on pa-tient-centred care and outcomes.

• The future of pre-hospital care – with new technologies, the increasingly in-depth training of paramedics, as well as the introduction of pre-hospital care as a specializa-tion in some countries, the management of patients before they even reach hospital is reaching new possibilities

• Subtle ECG changes in ischaemia, status epilepticus, raised ICP, paediatric care… and more

In SMACC style, sessions were of course also accompanied by a massive response on social media, with a ‘twitter moderator’ for each talk, fielding questions and inputs from the audience. There was also a literal smorgasbord of savoury and sweet buffets between sessions, which could be enjoyed while exploring the exhibition hall packed with stalls featuring the latest in technologies, equipment and organisations involved in critical care. Each stall had challenges for delegates to complete, as part of the smacc GOLDRUSH team challenge, such as the fastest time to intubate a patient (our team came within sec-onds of the record!).

The final day ended with the energetic and humour-filled ‘SIM WARS’, where three teams battled it out across simulated resuscitation scenarios, which included a meth lab explo-sion, a PPH in a Jehovah’s witness, and in true Gold Coast/Aussie style – a shark attack. For reasons both inexplicable and yet not at all out of the ordinary for SMACC, the sim wars were Star Wars themed…

+ smaccGOLD

The worst thing about SMACC was having to choose which talks to go to each day (FOMO is real people!). Luckily for us – and for those at home who missed out – the whole confer-ence is recorded and videos will be up on the website (http://www.smacc.net.au) in the coming months, joining the ones from last year’s conference which are available for view-ing now. I can only hope that my intern holidays next year happen to fall in May, so that I can attend SMACC CHICAGO 2015!

+ Laura Renger

+ smaccGOLD

Dr Claire Harrison Dr Ian Kerr GUMS is also sad to see Dr Claire Harrison and Dr Ian Kerr leave our staff to pursue roles in Medical Education in Melbourne to be closer to family.

Dr. Harrison had been with Griffith University since 2011 as Year 3 and 4 academic manag-er. Not a small task, seeing Claire chair the year 3&4 Committee, Assessment Panel, Edu-cation Committee, supervise clinical staff and work with the Australian Medical Schools Assessment Consortium to standardize year 3&4 assessment throughout Australia. Dr Harrison was well respected by clinical staff at all of Griffith’s Medical campus’ and was well known among students for her dedication to quality teaching in years 3&4. Consider-ing Dr Harrison’s significant work load, the promptness with which she replied to student concerns was remarkable. Although having to make a number of difficult decisions re-garding senior students medical education at Griffith, no one can doubt her commitment to ensuring exceptional teaching outcomes for students.

Dr. Ian Kerr, famous among students for his scottish accent and rugby analogies, joined Griffith in 2011 with his wife Claire, as Senior Lecturer in Clinical Skills and Assessment. As a major contributor to the theme of Doctor and Patient, as well as being responsible for OSCE assessment Dr Kerr was also very active in the Griffith community. GUMS is espe-cially thankful to Dr Kerr for his efforts in helping GUMS establish their formative OSCE for first and second years. With Dr Kerr’s assistance a greater understanding of the OSCE system was established which many students commented was a priceless contribution to their clinical skills learning.

On behalf of all students, GUMS would like to thank Dr Harrison and Dr Kerr for their sig-nificant contributions to Medical Education at Griffith, and am sure their legacy will not be soon forgotten. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours in Melbourne!

Dr Harrison has kindly indicated she is happy to receive enquiries from Griffith students hoping to complete electives or GP placements in Mel-bourne, and GUMS thanks her for her continued commitment to Griffith Medical Students Educa-tion!

+ Mikaela Seymour

+ staff farewellsJacqui Fradley

[email protected]

+ around the SoM

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Dr Charles Nankivell GUMS is sad to see Dr Nankivell leave us as he heads to Redland’s hospital to take up his position as Director of Surgery. Dr Charles Nankivell has been with the Griffith School of Medicine since its inception in 2004 and has passionately campaigned for the improve-ment of Medical Student education through this time. Originally Griffith Student lead in Surgery at Logan, Dr Nankivell has been working tirelessly as Clinical Sub-Dean of stu-dents for the past 5 years. When contacted by the medical society. Professor Broadley commented, “He is undoubtedly an outstanding educator”. This message is amplified by the many students who have been under his tutelage and mentorship over the past ten years, many of which who have returned to Logan to pursue careers in Surgery under his guidance.

Renowned for his Mantra, ‘to create good doctors, not just medical stu-dents who can pass exams’, Dr Nankivell has provided outstanding medical edu-cation not just to Logan Students but also to all 3rd year Medical Students via his STAIRS conference, which we are pleased to announce will continue to run this year. On behalf of all Medical students, both past and present, we give our sincere thanks to Dr Nankivell for his passion and commitment over the past ten years, and wish him all the best in his future endeavours at Redlands Hospital.

GUMS is proud to have purchased a thank you gift on behalf of the student body for Dr Nankivell, with thanks to the Logan Representative Lizzie. If you would like to give individual thanks to Dr Nankivell we encourage you to do so via email or at the STAIRS conference later this year.

Dr Nankivell’s “Mary Poppins Approach” If you don’t know what to say for management of a condition, don’t say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.Think what are the

• Risk Factors• Associated Factors of this illness, and how

would I manage those?? .

Dr Nankivell’s “Smorgasbord Approach to Illness”If you don’t know the Pathology of a disease don’t despair, look at your smorgasbord - the illness must have some of the following:• Pain• Loss of Function: including abnormal function• Haemorrhage • Ischaemia• Infection • Inflammation• Neoplasm • Hormonal abnormality• Trauma • Congenital Factors

All information provided is acknowledged as the academic property of Dr Charles Nankivell and is not owned by GUMS.


+ staff farewells

What a night we had! 450 people, an unbelievable venue, 3 delicious cours-es, a great band, an illusive magician, a cheeky photo booth, our underground after party haven with great clubbing tunes and our very own personalized cocktail making flare bartender complete with 3 magnificent fire shows!! If all of that wasn’t enough there was a SNAKE! Yeah that’s right, a snake! Partying our way all the way into the social pages of the gold coast bulletin, it was a great night, leaving no onlooker hesitating about our ability to party the night away!

3 weeks later, after all the memorable moments have been shared, all the em-barrassing actions ridiculed, the party injuries healed and the ball gowns and suits dry cleaned, Med Ball is unfortu-nately over. The good news is though that there is only 49 weeks until we can go again =D

Hope you all had an amazing time and for those of you that want to reminisce about the best night of your life, there are photos from the night up in the gallery on the GUMS website (photo booth photos will also be available in the gallery soon).If you have any questions, comments or general messages of praise (highly en-couraged) please email [email protected]

+Angelica Triant

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+ around the grounds

GPSNJenna [email protected]

+ RACGP 57th ClinicalUpdate Weekend

Achieving Greatness in Generalness

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners hosted their 57th Clinical Up-date Weekend as a way to unite GP’s and medical students alike from across Queensland and inspire collaboration of thoughts, knowledge and experience. The highlight of the weekend and the Order of Australia winning keynote speaker, Don Bowley, who opened the conference with an insightful discussion of the issues facing rural practice. Sharing with us his years of experience as a Royal Australian Flying Doctor he put us in the shoes of a rural practitioner highlighting the dying art of being a generalist.

The weekend then consisted of an array of workshops geared at up-skilling prac-titioners with experts in areas including paediatrics, dermatology, and gynae to name a few, to update us on the latest medical practice in their respective fields. I was fortunate enough to attend the casting workshop, where I got my first taste of plastering and splint-ing. The unique and inventive techniques he imparted onto us will be an invaluable access that I carry with me for the rest of my career.

Additionally, I attended seminars on Gynaecological malignancies and the overac-tive bladder; listened to the passionate Dr Glen Gole detail Paediatric eye issues; as well as discussed the medicolegal complications of working in the bush. The learning curve was steep! While the information being thrown at me was of a calibre a little higher than what I was used to, as a first year student I still benefited immensely as their presentations put into perspective so much of what I am learning. RACGP placed an emphasis on innovation with research at the forefront of the conven-tion.The final plenary had us captivated during plenary as the tribalism of medicine was exposed, inspiring action and change to address this problem. These universal concepts ensured that as a student the conference was accessible, relevant and inspiring Finally, the weekend provided a platform to connect with others. The meal times pro-vides a great time to socialise and network with an array of unique individuals from other students to GPs and even industry representatives; along with getting a tasty bite to eat. Through this experience I learnt more than I could have ever imagined; made lifelong mentors and friends; and was inspired to pursue greatness in generalness.

+ Arianne Kollosche

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Howdy Griffindors,

So the GPSN calendar year commenced with the GPSN Amazing Race, where we subjected our poor contestants to tasks such as creating a song and dance about the GIT and playing human Pictionary for some well known books. Congratulations once again to our winners the ‘Amazing Racists’ who went home (slightly breathless) with goodie bags from RACGP. The year continued as three Griffith students attended the national Future of General Practice Conference in Can-berra where our very own Nicola Campbell (3rd year) gave a talk at none other than Parliament House (score one for the Griffindors). On a slightly more serious note, the #FGP14 conference gave us the opportunity to meet executive members of GPSN clubs from universities all over Australia (not to mention getting a pic with Prof. John Murtagh, the father of General Practice).

To keep the ball rolling we have commenced the Red Flags series for the year, discussing the common and not to be missed conditions in Neurology presented by none other than Griffith’s Prof. Simon Broadley. For all students who are a fan of these Red Flags seminars, keep your eyes peeled our for Red Flags in CVS, OBGYN and the acute abdomen, coming later this year. There is a potential that we will be opening these sessions to students from other universities, such as Bond and UQ, who have expressed an interest in the event, so watch this space. We are also be-ginning to plan our clinical skills events for the year, the golden oldie of the Suturing Workshop, as well as a Dermoscopy and ENT workshop are currently in their planning stages.

Coming shortly will be more information on the First Wave Scholarship program, which under-went a recent restructure and will offer students the opportunity to experience clinical place-ments in rural locations. More information will be available at the upcoming First Wave Schol-arship Information Session. Other events to watch out for are the TriUni Symposium with Bond and UQ, being held for the first time at Griffith University, the annual Careers Fair and GPSN’s first ever Rural event. Make sure to check out the GPSN Griffith Facebook page for regular event up-dates and see your year reps for more information or email me at [email protected].

We hope to see you at the next GPSN Griffith event!+ Jenna Weetman


GPSN Jenna [email protected]

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+ RACGP 57th ClinicalUpdate Weekend

2014 so far has seen a number of successful projects happening by HOPE4HEALTH in local, inter-national, rural and Indigenous areas of health.

RECENT EVENTSUbuntu Through Health Jungle PartyOn Friday the 11th of April HOPE4HEALTH threw a combined event with the Ubuntu Through Health committee- the inaugural “Jungle Party” at Swingin’ Safari in Surfer’s Paradise. This event attracted over two hundred students from within Griffith Medicine and Allied Health as well as students from other Universities. Over $2000 in proceeds was raised, with proceeds given to the HOPE4HEALTH’s Birthing Kit project- sending aid to women overseas.

Stand Up Paddleboard DayOn the first Sunday of May, HOPE4HEALTH allied health and medicine students traded their textbooks for sunshine and paddle boarding at Currumbin. The weather was beautiful and members had the opportuni-ty to learn to paddle board for free!

UPCOMING EVENTSCheck It Out is a major Gold Coast community health screening and ed-ucation event that strives to actively engage the local (and wider) Gold Coast population. The event hopes to provide members of the community with the information they need to look after their health, as well as screening them for common preventable and manageable conditions such as diabetes, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and mental health. This event is being held at Southport Sharks on August 16, and will attract numerous health students, exhibitors, community members and keynote speakers.

Jazz Dinner Dance Following the success of last year’s Jazz Dinner Dance (JDD), our 2014 JDD will be held in Sep-tember again this year.We are very pleased to announce that the beneficiary of the JDD in 2014 will be Healthy Start. In just its first year of running, Health Start managed to reach over 300 ref-ugee clients and their children with practical and up to date health information. With the funds raised from this year’s JDD, the team hopes that this will ensure the continuation and expansion of the project.FIND OUT WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING! To keep up to date with everything that is happening in HOPE4HEALTH like us on our facebook page. Become friends with HOPE4HEALTH Harry! Make sure you check out our website – www.hope4health.org.au


hope4health John [email protected]


surgia



surgia Siobhan Fitzpatric [email protected]

The Surgical Interest Association (Surgia) has had a stellar start to 2014, having already run 11 events this calendar year. We launched the year with our Fresher’s Fiesta at the Stingray Bar of QT Hotel, and since then have launched various aspects of our wide-ranging portfolios that span both the academic and skills arenas.

In February was the first of our Academic Surgeon seminar series with our Pathways to Surgery Seminar, featuring leading paediatric surgeon, Associate Professor Deborah Bailey. Also with-in our Academic Surgeon portfolio we launched our medical student research program with the Institute of Gly-comics, and several students have since commenced lab based and clinical research with the Institute. In April, Surgia launched the first of our Journal Clubs, which took on an Obstetrics & Gynaecology theme, as O&G special-ist, Professor David Ellwood, led the session on the Term Breech Trial – a research paper which effectively changed O&G practice overnight! The next Academic Surgeon session will be our Orthopaedic Surgery Seminar to be held in early June and the next instalment of our Journal Club!

The Anatomical Surgeon portfolio anatomy series has been exceedingly popular this year with our clinical year medical students, and Surgia have hosted two of our six annual sessions in Orthopaedic Surgery and Neurosurgery. The next instalment of this series is expected to be focusing on Gastrointestinal Anatomy. Also keep an eye out for our NEW Anatomical Art Series, which will be combining anatomy knowledge and artistic skill in our anatomical illustration workshops!

Surgia’s Community Surgeon portfolio activities were instigated with the Surgia Swimmers Team raising $1500 for MS Australia in the MS Swimathon. Upcoming in this portfolio are our Trivia Night – which will give everyone a chance to compete for trivia victory with teams that include academics and surgeon guests, as well as our proposed Charity Day at the Races.

The Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon portfolio has a range of events on offer this year. The opening event in this series was the Oral Cancer Seminar with fascinating talks for both medical and dental students by oral pa-thologist Professor Emeritus Newell Johnson and Head of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at GCUH, Dr Dimitrios Nikolarakos. The next event in this series is a seminar on Surgical Interventions for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea – to be presented by ENT Surgeons.

The highly antic-ipated launch of the Skilled Surgeon portfolio arrived recently with Surgia’s Suturing Workshop at the end of April. This session saw presentations by general surgeon Dr Victor Liew and plastic surgeon Katie-Beth Webster, and a host of 12 surgical tutors teaching 60 students essential suturing skills. The next events to be anticipated in this series are our Laparoscopic Skills Workshop, and our Skin Lesion and Excision Workshop, followed by Intra-Oral Suturing later in the year.

The first event in Surgia’s Professional Surgeon portfolio was presented at the start of May, with the Getting Started with your Specialist Medical Career seminar. This event featured Professor of Surgery and HPB surgeon, Professor Harald Puhalla, surgical PHO’s Dr Esh Jeyarajan and Dr Mo Alam, and O&G resident and Intern of the Year Dr Prad Hettiarachchi. Following on from this event will be our Surgical Electives and Surgical Research Workshops, and capped off with our Professional Members Dinner at the end of the year.

The Surgia Mentoring Program for 2014 was officially launched in May with our Mentoring Mixer at BMW Showroom. We have roughly 35 mentors participating in this program from surgery, anaesthetics and obstetrics & gynaecology, and this number is slowly increasing as more specialists learn about the pro-gram. This year the Engaged Surgeon portfolio will also be holding complimentary Mentor Morning Teas – the first of which was held in April with Dr Alison Sprague, ENT Surgeon, and Assoc. Prof Deborah Bailey. More of these Mentor Morning Teas will be featured throughout the year, so if you are interested in finding out more about work-life balance and surgery, stay tuned!

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+ alumni cornerClaire McCallister

Finally – in order to share our events with students and alumni situat-ed in Logan and Brisbane we will be launching the first of our Brisbane based events with our Surgical Seminar at Wesley Hospital in the upcoming weeks. For more info check out our website – www.surgia.org – or add Grif-fith University’s Tiny Surgeon (GUTS) or her friend Brisbane Universities’ Tiny Surgeon (BUTS) on Facebook to stay up to date with events on the GC and Brissie, respectively! Also --- don’t forget to grab your MEMBERSHIP CARD which entitles you to $1 off coffee at Doctors Orders Canteen* and swipe registration to events!

* Terms and conditions on our website

Our Anaesthetist portfolio and Obstetrician & Gynaecologist portfolio will also be launching their first events in the next few weeks, with our Basics of Peri-operative Anaesthesia and Pathways to O&G seminars, respectively. We are lucky to have notable O&G specialist Dr Maneesh Singh to present at the O&G seminar, so make sure you register for the event.



surgia Siobhan Fitzpatric [email protected]

When did you graduate? 2013

Where are you intern-ing, what is it like? Logan. It’s tough, but rewarding. It can be dif-ficult to work in a low socioeconomic area, in a hospital that is understaffed and fighting for resources. But that’s where we are need-ed most.

What has been your favourite rotation so far? Well I’ve only done ED and Mental Health, which are my two great loves. I’m currently on the child and youth mental health ward which is what I want to do in the future, so that’s been wonderful, and takes the cake.

What speciality/ies are you interested in pursuing? I’m applying for the psychiatry program in this years RMO campaign. If you want to find out more about my decision process, I also blog for Elsevier, so you can read more there!

What did you do for your electives and selectives in fourth year, and what were they like? I decided to pick local things that I would enjoy (saved my money for a japan holiday after uni was over). I did child and adolescent mental health at the gold coast – half in inpatient, half at Access which is like the gatekeeper of referrals to CYMHS.

Then I did a research elective with Gerben at Gold Coast ED. It was great to get some prac-tice in research, although there wasn’t much time to get anything substantial done. That being said, I should be getting a literature review published this year from work during this elective. My selectives were ED at GCUH which was great practical experience and good preparation for intern year, and geriatric psychiatry at Currumbin private, which was also a great experience and hopefully will have given me some preparation for my old age psychi-atry placement in future years as a registrar. The main thing I took out of this was that there is a lot more medicine in old age psychiatry than you would imagine, as problems are often organic.



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Do you have any tips on organising and getting the most out of electives and selectives? Same as my general tips. Make connections that will be useful later. My child & adolescent psychiatry consultant during my elective is now my mentor and is my reference for apply-ing for the training program.

Any tips on getting the most out of clinical placements? Be prepared – know what you want to get out of the placement, as well as what the school wants you to get out of the placement. Constantly seek feedback from your regs/consultants to make sure you’re on track. Take time to reflect on your day/week on why you like or don’t like the placement and what you could be doing better.

What advice would you offer to best prepare yourself for life after medschool? Stress less. There is always help available, never be afraid to call a reg. It’s better to look silly and ask a question than to risk someones life because you’re embarrassed.

Do you have any tips on surviving (and hopefully doing well) in med school exams? Pace yourself. Study through the semester instead of cramming at the end. Know the basics before you get bogged down in the specifics. Never be afraid to ask for help from someone in a higher year during your study. Do the past papers and AMCQs.

Do you have a mentor – how did you meet them, and how would you recommend going about finding one? How do they inspire you? Yes, a child psychiatrist. Find someone who you click with on a personal level as well as a professional level. Someone in your area of interest. Be specific ie do they have an add-ed interest in research if that’s what you’re looking to do with your specialty. My mentor inspired me from the first time I saw him interview a patient – his mannerisms, the way he interacted with them,



his listening skills, etc. Personal aspects such as not getting bogged down in workplace politics, keeping a sense of humour, always being willing to help students and registrars.

What are your hobbies outside of med, and how do you find time for them? I enjoy going to the gym which I make time to do 4-5 times a week. I’m a member at goodlife and there are 3 goodlifes I have to drive past between work and my home, so theres no excuses. Recently just started playing basketball again and I make it to most games. At Logan you can request to not be on ward call certain nights if you have other commitments and they are usually very accommodating with this as they try and help you keep a good work/life balance as much as possible. There are never any guarantees with rostering but the girls at logan are lovely and considerate. It gets hard to see friends with many people having different hours on different rotations at different hospitals so theres no more Game of Thrones night with indian takeaway (a favourite weekly event through med school) but the group still catches up as much as possible, and five of us are off on a Contiki Trip to the USA next week.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Hopefully deep into my specialty training, with a house bought and a few overseas holi-days done.

What was your biggest fear on graduating, how realistic was it? That I would be working a ridiculous amount of unpaid overtime. I haven’t worked more than 20mins of unpaid overtime all year. But then again, I haven’t been on gen med or surg yet. It’s probably still my greatest fear.

What was the most exciting thing about graduating? Money. And putting “Dr” in front of your name. I boarded a flight and the flight attendant said “have a wonderful flight Dr McAllister” and it was amazing.

Jacqui [email protected] McCallister

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All the views contained herein are representative of individuals and not the organisation, all information contained is correct at the time of printing. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

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