Rural and remote health
by Associate Professor Peter Munn
First
year medical radiation students spent an intensive week learning about
and experiencing the lives of rural and remote health workers, studying
in Pt Augusta and Whyalla during the day and camping out at the base of
the Flinders Ranges during the evening.
Taking over all available accommodation at Spear Creek, 20km south of Pt Augusta, the students learned first hand about the range of issues facing people living and working in rural communities. They participated in a range of activities, visiting hospitals and health organisations and speaking to health workers from across the region.
The students attended a cultural awareness program with the Spencer Gulf Rural Health School (SGRHS) Aboriginal health team, and visited the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the Wadlata Outback Centre and the Arid Lands Centre, and also spent time at the Pt Augusta Hospital.
Pt Augusta’s Social Vision Unit also gave the students a warm welcome, hosting an evening and providing them with a unique opportunity to mix with professionals from a range of health, education and business backgrounds. During the evening, the Mayor of Pt Augusta, Joy Baluch, expressed a genuine appreciation of the students travelling to study in the region and urged them to seriously look at working in a rural community on completion of their studies.
The program clearly provided a chance for students to gain an appreciation of the environment and the health issues that face rural communities at both a personal and professional level. With evenings spent around a camp fire, it was natural that friendships were formed among the group – a fabulous opportunity for those in their first year at university. Several students said how they would now consider a rural workplace and felt richer as individuals from the experience.
In its first year, with such positive feedback from staff, students and
health organisations in South Australia’s north-west, it is hoped that the
program will be run again next year as an intensive course.