duc t us
EDITOR'S NOTE Samantha Giang & David Ngo
Two months ago, we decided it would be a good idea to revive the Ductus magazine (just so that we can shamelessly plug our IGs for some more followers). With a great deal of procrastination, a fantastic subcommittee team, and an ungodly amount of KFC, we have done it! So to entertain your needs to ignore PBL for one more week or whenever you tune out in your lectures, here are some quality articles written by a couple of talented medical students at Newcastle Uni. We have covered all bases in this magazine, from an informative piece about clinical years from Isabella to an incredibly passionate article about AMSA by Liv (when does she not talk about AMSA?) to updates from our UNMS committee. Sadly, we had to cut riveting columns such as Bal’s Backyard and Mong’s Memes due to lack of funding for stock photos. However to make up for this loss, we got the iconic first year legend Kajanan* to contribute a couple of wise words.
If you would like to thank us for reviving Ductus, we are happy to accept any gifts in the form of Doughheads. Big thanks to the contributors of Ductus and our subcomm team who have helped put this together! Without all your efforts, this magazine would not have been possible. Samantha Giang (@samanthalinhh) and David Ngo (@dayvidngo) Editors
*may or may not have been written by Darshan
-2-
PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS Ravi Naran
On the one hand, and probably the one that resonates with most people, is this idea of embracing life. Do what makes you happy, do things that you'll enjoy, do things for the experience. And don't make excuses or put it off. Do it today because, as Ne-Yo says, "for all we know, we might not get tomorrow". Life is too short to not be enjoying it. Wanna take a gap year or travel? Do it! Looking to go for it with a guy or girl you've had your eye on? Ante up! Got the opportunity to go get lit with your friends? Let me pour you your first drink! Because SOON WE'LL BE DEAD! Ah, whoa! But wait a sec! "Soon we'll be dead" is a double-edged sword.
"Soon we'll be dead" I have a friend who I've known for quiet a long time. Great guy, easily in my top 3 future groomsmen list. First guy I meet on my first day at a new high school in a new town. Both outsiders looking in who quickly became insiders looking out in a way. Both since bonded by an appreciation for the little things in life, waxing philosophy, increased patriotism for the country we love, and what we like to call the "ethnic burden of responsibility". I often turn to this friend when something important in life warrants discussing. And the man is never short of wisdom beyond his years. But the last time I spoke to him, he summed up the situation perfectly with a simple line: "Soon we'll be dead."
Because while it might be life affirming, it is not an abdication of responsibility, to both others and yourself. So you wanna take a gap year or travel? But you've got your dream job lined up and if you pass on it now will you get another shot down the line? Because soon we'll be dead. So you're looking to hook up? But is it time you start thinking about settling down with the right person and starting a family?
Sounds a bit morbid at first. It's actually a very life-affirming statement. Sounds a bit ike a rip-off of "carpe diem" or "#YOLO" at second glance. I like to think it's a lot more nuanced than that (I know he certainly would). Let me explain.
-3-
1/ I'm three days out from a 5th year long case and needed a 20min task to get me past my 3.30-itis 2/ Other presidents in the past have waxed philosophy in these intros, and this was the first thing that came to mind 3/ So that I can tell my friend I've done so and enjoy his response (which will undoubtedly contain at least three crying laughing face emjois)
"You know what's a powerful movie, that Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" – the lodging manager for the O'Camp site, upon first introductions Because soon we'll be dead. So
Take from it what you will. My 3.30itis is cured. Back to it.
you're ready for a big night on the piss? But is there more to be enjoyed in a weekend and life than getting wasted and suffering through epic hangovers? Because soon we'll be dead. I can't really answer these questions for you either way. It varies depending on who you are right now, what stage of life (or med school) you're at, and what you're looking ahead to (or if you even are looking ahead).
Chur, Ravi Naran
Regardless, I almost guarantee your answer is different from 5 years ago, maybe even as little as 5 weeks ago depending on what's been happening in your life. It's all about knowing yourself, making decisions based on that, and then not apologising to anyone for it. So what was the point in sharing that as a President's introduction for Ductus?
-4-
DUCTUS COMMITTEE
Bonnie Zhu
Damian Golja
Grace Liu
Jason Huynh
Matt Mew-Sum
Maxine Manila
Olivia Chang
Ramith Sarambage
Wenbo Guo
UNMS COMMITTEE Any questions about UNMS? Contact these people!
President
EXECUTIVE Ravi Naran
president@unms.org.au
Vice President Int
Samantha Giang
vpi@unms.org.au
Vice President Ext
Bhavi Ravindran
vpe@unms.org.au
Treasurer
Rachael Zuzek
treasurer@unms.org.au
Secretary
Tharsini Urutherakumar secretary@unms.org.au
Sponsorship
Krishni Vettivelu
sponsorship@unms.org.au
COMMITTEE AMSA Rep
Jax Nguyen
amsa@unms.org.au
Jr AMSA Rep
Jo Fu
jramsa@unms.org.au
External Liaison
Grace Liu
liaison@unms.org.au
Academic
Michael McClucas
academic@unms.org.au
Charities
Adam Perkovic
charities@unms.org.au
Wellbeing
Suren Mao
wellbeing@unms.org.au
Vehayana Janu Education
Riashad Monjur
education@unms.org.au
Fahed Ahmed Indigenous Rep
Nada Powell
indigenous@unms.org.au
International Rep
Sonam Christen
international@unms.org.au
IT Officer
Jon Zeng
admin@unms.org.au
Promotions
Tara Kinnan
promotions@unms.org.au
Grace Dennis Social
David Ngo
social@unms.org.au
Clarence Ratnakumar Sports
Claudia Mallory Catherine Manca
-7-
sports@unms.org.au
REPRESENTATIVES Year 1 Reps
Jason Huynh
year1@unms.org.au
Lauren Zawal BMed Teachout Rep
Alex Marzol
Year 2 Reps
Corey Morgan
year2@unms.org.au
Anika Birmingham Year 3 Reps
Ashley Bailey
year3@unms.org.au
Daniel Urquhart Year 4 Reps
Isabella Ludbrook
year4@unms.org.au
Sophie Kate Year 5 Reps
Jessica Redmond
year5@unms.org.au
Ankit Ajmera Gosford Clinical Rep
gosfordrep@unms.org,au
Amy Yip
Tamworth Clinical Rep Melina Sim
tamworthrep@unms.org.au tareerep@unms.org.au
Taree Clinical Rep
Jane Tait
Maitland Clinical Rep
Nyan Du
BMedSci Rep
Rebecca Miles
O'Camp
SPECIAL EVENTS Bal Dhital
ocamp@unms.org.au
Darshan Sitharthan Anes Karahasan MedBall
Jaiti Khosla
medball@unms.org.au
Pamela Wu MedRevue
Alex Marzol
medrevueuon@unms.org.au
Daniel Urquhart For general enquires, contact secretary@unms.org.au
-8-
O'CAMP 2018 Anes, Bal & Darshan
change from previous years. Like a version of Big Brother on steroids, this amped-up socialising was aided by the fact that the delegates were all in one large lodge together with their allocated rooms, making it easier to hang out at any time both at the accommodation or the nearby lake and beach.
"You know what's a powerful movie, that Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" – the lodging manager for the O'Camp site, upon first introductions With that meme of a greeting, the platform was laid for O'Camp 2018 to be a memorable experience for all involved, full of new friends, great moments and funny stories. As freshers, a new university degree can be a daunting experience with new faces and finding out what room your PBL is in and how you might get hungry in anatomy labs. With that said, what better way to launch yourself head-first into the course and cohort than embarking on a 3 day muzz at a beachside campside with all of your soon-tobe mates, which is precisely what happened.
Day 1 started with a 2 hour bus trip to the venue, with ice breakers and a chance to win prizes. By the time the buses set down at the accommodation, everybody had already gotten quite chatty, setting a good precedent for the events to follow. After settling into their rooms, the first years were assigned groups with their mentors, who were rigorously chosen for their ability to munt but also impart tips on how to be good Newcastle medical students.
This year's edition of O'Camp was hosted at Sundowner Tiona Tourist Park with the nightly social events being held at Forster, marking a significant and very successful
Before long, it was time for the first social event – 'Break the Internet' at the Lakes & Ocean Hotel Forster. With some people electing to do pres whereas others
-9-
just got munted at the venue, everybody had a high-yield time in their costumes, chopping and hakking to the beats of a middleaged DJ not called Kane Kirby. Unfortunately the internet wasn't broken, but a few of the establishment's rules were, so it was a class evening all-round.
Soon it was time for boat races by the lake waterfront. Numerous rounds were smashed through and by the end of it all, both the participants and the audience were pleased with what they had just seen. Most people were already buzzed enough that extra pres weren't needed so the decision was made to head off to Club Forster for the 2nd social night – 'Hipster Apocalypse'. With a party even more hype than the previous day's and an abundance of food on offer alongside the bevvies, the night memorably flew past to the tunes of the same DJ, who was so good we decided to call him back for a second go.
The night went by quickly and the group was taken back to the "You know what's a powerful campsite where everybody movie, thatbefore Threestarting Billboards hibernated Day 2 Outside Ebbing, Missouri" – the with a quality breakfast consisting lodging forother the not as of MAXX manager POWER and O'Camp site,named upon first interestingly cereals, breads introductions and spreads.
Day 3 was recuperation day as everybody eagerly waited for their BAC to reach 0 again. Niche prizes were handed out for niche achievements before the delegates and mentors boarded the buses and ended their weekend getaway, heading back to Newcastle and the MD classes. Big shoutout to all the delegates for attending and having a good time, as well as the mentors for all their help with everything. All in all, O'Camp 2018 was a resounding success as an event and the lodging manager said she would be happy to have Newcastle back at Sundowner Tiona Tourist Park anytime, just as long as we consider the powerful message behind Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
The groups then split up and rotated through an activity circuit that was meant to promote further socialising but ended up being a competition about who could do the stations in the most cooked way possible, with the delegates having an even better time than originally hoped for. During free time, most people opted to hit up the nearby bodies of water, which was another high-yield decision.
- 10 -
AMSA CONVENTION Jax Nguyen
~ Every single social night + dancing in the front left with the Newcastle
Monday, 2nd June. It was a cold morning in Perth, and about 35 beautiful Newcastle students got off the plane unknowingly headed to the best week of their lives. They had no idea what was to come - a week of inspiration, the formation of unbreakable friendships and unforgettable memes and love poetry, which all culminated in an amazing week, followed by PCD (post convention depression)
A quick rundown of how AMSA’s National Convention works: academics by day and lit socials by night. Everyone thinks that convention is a “week long party,” but honestly it is so much more than that. Whether you drink or party or not, you will have the most wonderful time!
Summary of the ultimate highlights of convention: - The spectacular fire and acrobatic show performed by medical students at opening ceremony (they were doing acrobatic tricks up in rings suspended in the air!) - Sports day! Watching Lewis Freeth the Beast winning Australia’s Brawniest Medical Student + beating ALL the medical universities in Australia in Tug of War - Steven Bradbury, the legend - Getting inspired by all the speakers at convention delegation
Each day’s academic schedule was jam-packed with plenaries, breakouts, workshops and more. Fitting with Perth’s theme of “The Other Side,” the sessions truly inspired us to venture beyond our comfort zone and pursue passions
- 11 -
we didn’t even know we had. And can you blame them? We had an amazing talk from Tyler Sexton, who overcame obstacles of having cerebral palsy and became a successful doctor specialising in paediatrics and hyperbaric medicine. We also heard from Nikki Stamp, one of Harper’s Bazaar’s 2017 Women of the Year, a cardiothoracic surgeon
The breakouts were amazing, particularly the ones about healthcare in extreme environments such as the sea and Antarctica, and organisations like Medecins Sans Frontieres. The images shown were highly confronting and eye-opening as they depicted life threatening conditions in impoverished areas around the world. There was also the opportunity to visit the Royal Flying Doctors Service to hear their stories and explore the planes! Finally, we got to see a hilarious cabaret comedy show by Dr Ahmed Kazimi about his journey from medical school to becoming a doctor. The talks have really shown me that doctors have limitless potential to inspire, make changes and help people in ways I didn't even realise!
who advocates for gender equity within surgery and wrote the popular book “Can You Die Of A Broken Heart?”. We also had the honour of listening to Steven Bradbury’s story and how hard he worked to get to his gold Olympic medal. We even got to touch the medal too! There were many more amazing speakers to list, and their journeys were so motivational and inspirational. We also attended workshops like simple suturing, CSI Perth where you investigate the cause of death and trauma skills in emergency medicine where you get to try out bone drills and chest decompression.
Sports Day was legendary. It was historical. It was a day of pride for all. Not only did we (only) win the first round of basketball, netball and touch football, we beat every single other university IN AUSTRALIA in Australia’s Brawniest Medical Student and Tug of War! #farmstrong Other highlights of sports day include physiotherapists giving everyone massages, delicious food from food trucks and just being engulfed in team spirit as we cheered on students from our delegation and also from the UNE delegation. #JMP
- 12 -
Now onto the socials. I enjoyed EVERY SINGLE NIGHT! It was so fun getting to try on a different costume every night and party at a different venue with different themes. We started off with the “East vs West,” where we all dressed as our respective state beers, Tooheys New for us, and raved with dentistry students. Did I mention there was a silent disco? My personal favourite night would be the “Over the Rainbow” night - held in a gay bar, with drag queen performances, circus performers, free cotton candy and face paint. The Newcastle delegates looked adorable as we tackled “Over the Wall” for our group costume. We were rabbits, cause of the Telstra ad about the Great Wall of China “keeping the rabbits out.” Yeah, we’re creative. The socials culminated in the most extravagant circus-themed gala night. They had a delicious 3 course meal, an open bar, amazing circus performances, real snakes you could put on your neck, tarot card reading and some carnival games. It was like being whisked away into a different world every night! Overall I had the most amazing time! I didn’t expect to be able to befriend so many medical students from across Australia. I have gotten to know so many people and it was truly a wonderful experience. Also, I had the most amazing and hyped up Newcastle delegation, and it
- 13 -
was so fun getting to know them and getting to spend this amazing week with them. Shoutout to Jess, Jack, Ash and Liv, our Newy reps in the AMSA executive, who helped ensure convention was a legendary but safe time. Shoutout to the 35 Newy delegates who made this the best convention I’ve ever been to. I am so keen to attend the next convention in Hobart next year! Also the biggest shoutout to my Junior AMSA Rep, Jo Fu. I am so thankful for everything you have helped me with this year, I could not have done this without you! If you have not been to convention before, I highly recommend you go at least once in your medical degree. Yes I might have lost my voice, yes I might have gotten sick, and yes I have less money in my bank account, but it is truly the most magical experience and I do not regret any cent I have spent to get myself there. :D Xoxo Jax the AMSA rep
CHARITIES Adam Perkovic
What a start to 2018 for our charity portfolio! With a very strong seventeen-person subcommittee, with the most wonderful personalities, it hasn’t been difficult to get the ball rolling with both our barbecue and the party surpassing our greatest expectations! The biannual UNMS Bunnings barbecue is the most characteristic charity event on the calendar. A treacherous three trolley shopping adventure and several hundreds of sausages (plus you can imagine all the resultant cleaning) was very much worth the investment, having raised over $1,000 for our charity of choice. This year we have elected to stick with our familiar charity; Fair Go For Kids, a local Newcastle based charity that raises money for disabled children’s support, an area certainly underfunded by the NDIS. This year’s charity party with the theme Athletes, Mathletes and Charity Beats was a roaring success, featuring a lit set from our very own DJ Ali setting the tone and many great photos capturing the full
- 14 -
vivacity of the night from our photographer Ben. Despite a popular surgsoc event occurring on the same night, we were thrilled with a strong turnout of around hundred and ten. As a result, a fantastic profit of over $700 was raised by the event, adding to our tally for Fair Go For Kids. Overall this semester has been absolutely incredible for the charity portfolio, having had a lot of fun within the subcommittee, a testament to the amazing individuals within, while raising close to $2000 for the equipment and support provided for the overlooked disabled children locally.
ACADEMIC & EDUCATION Michael McLucas, Riashad Monjur & Fahed Ahmad
ACADEMIC - Michael McLucas
future in the Common Week calendar!
“One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain't nothin' can beat teamwork.” -Edward Abbey (my inspiration for creating an Academic subcommittee)
After this, the Academics Portfolio moved from strength to strength – next came the Great Debate. With a fresh format and a new location in the Godfrey Tanner Bar, the event ran brilliantly because of the amazing speakers and attendees. In the first debate, the wonderful first speaker from the Affirmative truly gave the night’s best speech (and the finest academic write-up that you’re lucky enough to be currently reading). After this, a mix of sharp humour, old text messages from ex’s, and a surprising amount of Aussie Gutter Rap saw to make the 1st Debate one for the ages.
After a semester of hard work, determination, and grit – UNMS finally managed to elect an Academic Convenor. In what has been relatively smooth sailing since then, we’ve had a semester of learning and laughs. In the early days of the cursed January start, the Academic Portfolio reared its (not at all) ugly head in the 4th Year Common Week. “Surviving Clinical Years” was a new, short-and-sweet seminar from two recent JMP Graduates, who looked to give the new Med/Surg students the tools to survive the dreaded process of the later years of medical school. After a test run this year, this event seems to have a promising
Somehow, the trials and tribulations, the laughter and heartbreak, were actually taken up another notch by the second debate. Answering the question, “Should parents who practice alternative medicine as
- 15 -
opposed to taking their child to hospital be prosecuted?” – we saw Clinicians tear down students, numerous instances of mistaken specialty, and a surprising amount of microphone usage as knives. Truly, as our debaters have proved time and time again, you can make this stuff up.
in significant interest from you all. None of these events would have been possible without the generous help from the faculty, senior medical students and clinicians so we thank them for their support in advancing our education! We also certainly have not forgotten our incredible subcommittee team who made these events run smoother than we could have imagined. We particularly want to acknowledge your efforts during the mock OSCE nights (arguably the most difficult events to run!) where we were in awe of all your organisation skills and ability to stay calm under pressure - skills that will certainly take you far. Most importantly, you all worked as an incredible team!
It’s been a year of firsts, fun and other f-words. I’m excited to see what the rest of the year holds, so stay tuned and make sure to read the Seahorse posts!
Finally, just as we all learn from feedback throughout the year to pass exams, we would also love to hear any feedback, comments, concerns or questions you have on education@unms.org.au. This will help us make the education events even better in the future!
EDUCATION - Riashad & Fahed Hey guys!
We have certainly had an incredible time being your Education Officers and am confident we will all have bigger and better things coming from the incoming Education Officer/s.
Hope 2018 has been as an excellent educational experience so far! It certainly has been for the education team here with our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year mock OSCE nights as well as the Elective Information Session night drawing
- 16 -
SPORTS REPORT
Catherine Manca & Claudia Mallory
What a season Semester 1 of 2018 was! If we were to summarise how it went down, this is how it would go: We won some matches, we lost some matches, and occasionally even tied some matches! We had every team but one (sorry UNMS Irwins, we know you tried <3) make it to semi’s, and a couple even stumble their way to the grand finals. To be perfectly honest, a lot of the teams only made it that far because of our constant flow of never-ending subs, but hey as long as we get that schnitty voucher in the end does it really matter how we got there? Big thanks goes to our captains, who not only did all our work for us, but also consistently managed to get us mixed up each week (we thrive off the confusion).We hope to see everyone next season to dominate more social sport, to once againtake out Interfaculty Sports Day and possibly (if they don’t have sneaky fill ins) slaughter Law in Med vs. Law.
UNMS Ja'mies - Netball (Lauren Gam)
Were we in Div 1? Were we in Div 2? Did we have a single game where all players were there? How did we make the semis? Who knows, and who bloody cares. It was a season of ups and downs for the Ja’mies, with some brilliant wins and some less brilliant losses. We used many subs over the season (shoutout to you if you played for us!), and had some good laughs on the court. Individuals improved a lot over the season, and we learnt that we all play best when extremely hungover. UNMS Kath + Kims - Netball (Holly Tonkin)
The Kath and Kims just bloody took netball by the balls. Great shooting by my shooting team, Stepho and Jordo. Delightfully devilish defence from Brott, Abdogs, Tazmon and Rachy “roo” Cozza. Centre court was absolutely buzzin with the Panginator hacking limbs, Aly destroying the wings, Fiona side steppin it like crazy, and Irene and Krishni making heavenly appearances. Much love to the team and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. xoxo Holly the best and worst captain ever
- 17 -
UNMS Nollsies - Touch Football (Carl Ashworth)
The Nollsie’s could not have started the season any better than we did, winning our first game in Div 3 against UNMS Sebastian’s, proving once again that Australian Idol was rigged. We then lost our next two games, and the touch gods blessed us, creating our very own Div 4! We had a bit of a mix of returning superstars (Sam Dearness, Xanthe Walker, Denise Chia and of course Cath and Claudia) which meant I didn’t really have to do much " captaining. These guys absolutely killed it and turned our newbies (Demi Cheetham, Melissa Park, Katie Bird, Lindsay Patch, Brock Pascoe, Spencer Foley and Kajanan Nithiyananthan) into a fearsome unit that went on a run of wins, leaving us in equal first place at the halfway point of the season! We then had a bunch of washouts and ended up playing a team that had moved down from Div 2, then a team that had moved down from Div 3, twice in a row! This left us equal second for the finals, where our girl gang (with Brock and KJ) put in a huge effort against the team that moved down from Div 2. Unfortunately we were defeated and our season was over. However, we had a few highlights this season, including Sam asking us all if we flossed (and what the term bed meant), Cath’s heroic knee slide “try” on the 5m line, followed in kind by Spencer Foley later in the season, Lindsay parting the red sea, running straight down
- 18 -
the middle for a full-field individual try, Claudia “I don’t score tries” Mallory scoring two tries in one game (TWICE), KJ donating plasma before 4 consecutive games (great plan) and Xanthe scoring her first try ever in our first game of the season! UNMS Irwins - Basketball (Rhys Gould)
We were a side with all of the fundamental attributes of champion basketball team, as long as those fundamental attributes don’t include height or basketball experience. The Irwins had an absolute roller coaster of a season. We started off with 3 straight losses which had all the fans questioning the coaching methods. However, the next 5 weeks included 4 wins and a draw including 2 (exceptionally) easy victories over the 2 other UNMS teams. This mid season rush had us in poll position, only needing 1 win from the final 3 games of the season to cruise into the finals. Sadly, we dared to fly too close to the sun and were subsequently burned; crashing to 3 successive defeats to finish the season in 5th place. The greatest injustice was watching our previously vanquished UNMS foes rise through the ranks to compete in the finals in our stead.
UNMS Zooper Doopers - Netball (Erin Jayne)
Our season started with a performance probably best described as having “room for
improvement”. The passion was evident. I could see it burning behind the pupils of every single player (no fundoscopy required) but we just needed to find our groove. I would like to say that I, as Captain, played an integral role in developing our team into the magnificent group of athletes you see today...but alas, I was absent for about half of the season. The credit lies solely with the players themselves, along with some of the finest subs I have ever seen (thank you!). It wasn’t until " faced the UNMS Milos in the first we round of the finals that our star began to fade...but then they do say that the brightest stars burn out the fastest, don’t they? Thanks team x UNMS Milos - Netball (Bronwen Kirk)
Despite it taking over half the season for us to actually play as a complete team, we were by far and away the most encouraging group on the court. After finally learning each others names (it only took 6 weeks…) we proceeded to dominate any opponents who dared question our ability to cheer the loudest, both on and off the court. Some may have laughed (read: were incredibly jealous) at our team cheer, but the haters only made us stronger, allowing us to smash our way through to the Grand Final. What started out as an awkward mix of random people just looking to escape the trials and tribulations of med school, turned into the most wholesome
and supportive experience you can imagine. So thank you to the Milos, for being the most amazing team I could have asked for xx UNMS Snags - Netball (Jordan Addley)
*Please take a moment to play ‘We are the champions’ as you read this report* We started out the season with some losses, but god if they weren’t the biggest WIN we had all season. We got knocked down to Div 2 and the rest, they say is history. We had it down to an exact science, the same winning formula: Ben Trigg consistently reusing the same pun: ‘snagging a victory’ The strongest female wall of defenders you’ve ever seen. Donald Trump would be jealous. And a sprinkle of Matt stepping every time, despite captain Jordan trying oh so hard to nicely encourage him otherwise. We soared into the semis at the top of the ladder, where we, a team of 11 very athletic players, played a team of 6. We played an even better game in the finals against a team who had already played a full game an hour earlier. Whilst we may have snagged THE ENTIRE COMPETITION, in not the fairest of circumstances, the UNMS Snags were a bloody good team full of skill and never-ending enthusiasm and 100% deserved the Schnitty voucher more than anyone else.
- 19 -
UNMS Bradmans - Volleyball (Tazman Osbourne)
rUNMS Report (Jocelyn Ledger)
Ours is a story of triumph in a battle for glory. All we had to do was turn up and the opponents would drop their limbs like lepers and retreat into the shadows. Team after team would keel out of the comp, their little volleyball boots trembling. Before long we were left with 2 teams left in the comp. Don’t ask how we came up on top. If I had to answer, it would involve a minimally-exaggerated tale about the smiting spikes of Gary " Chen fused with Britt May’s setups, Katja’s ability to serve up consistent fireball aces and general badassery from the rest of the team. Our skill level jumped from zero to hero by the end of the term. Solid effort by all.
As students, we usually feel like we are running around in circles and that is the foundation of rUNMS! We run around Oval 1, every Wednesday afternoon usually to the sound of me shouting ‘5, 4, 3, 2, 1, run!’ or gasping out ‘recovery!’. rUNMS allows the fastest, the slowest and the inbetweeners to run together and have fun! Our sessions are high intensity interval training which is a great way to (1) increase cardiovascular fitness, (2) get faster at running, and (3) get involved in running if you’re not a runner. We warm up, complete some core work, do our HIIT, cool down and round out the session with a sweaty selfie. We have gone from the first session of just me turning up (so sad!) to our largest week of 12. It’s been so great to see those who didn’t think they could run a metre to finding out they just ran 6km in one session (amazing effort!). Here are some stats for you: Number of sessions run - 11 Smallest group – 1 Largest group – 12 Number of people who have vomited – 1 Number of people who couldn’t finish – 0 Check out our facebook page for more details if you’re keen to come along! Cheers, Jocelyn
- 20 -
WELLBEING Suren Mao
Teddy Bear Hospital is an opportunity to work with children and familiarise them with doctors and medical interventions, so they don’t get frightened when they see a real doctor. You get the opportunity to work with young children and play with toy medical equipment. Imagine 30 six-year-old children swarming around, each clutching their own teddy bear, trying to listen to the bear’s heart sounds and take their temperature. That’s what it’s all about.
Blue Week is a series of events spanning over a week that raise awareness about mental health issues amongst medical students and aim to reduce the stigma that surrounds it. There is something for everyone, including talks from doctors and students about how mental health has touched their lives, a community event, a trade show showing the services and support available to us, and even a social activity so you can relax, have fun and just forget about medicine for one moment. Wellbeing Breakfast is an event with free food and activities to reduce the stress levels of students that peak around exam time. We offer a chill out zone for you to grab a free bite to eat, hang around with your friends and just take it slow for a morning before heading back out to Huxley to study for the next few hours. But at least you get to have a few moments off in the morning.
- 21 -
Which Wellbeing Event Are You? Do you get stressed out easily?
No
Yes Are you an overachiever? Yes No
No No
More No
Less
No Are you a morning person?
Do you study more or less than three hours per day?
Yes
Yes
Do you leave all your assignments until last minute?
Yes
Would you call yourself an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert Do you know what you want to specialise in?
Text Academic
Yes
Do you like to get involved in many extracurricular events?
Would you rather go to an academic or social event?
Social
Do you want to work with children?
Yes
Extrovert No
Wellbeing Breakfast
Blue Week
Teddy Bears Hospital
You would do anything for free food, even if it means you have to be the one cooking it. Mornings are difficult, and bed is too comfortable, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, and food is worth it.
You’re a chronic overachiever and you love being involved in all the extracurricular activities. You’re a hard worker and you put your mind to everything you start and do it to the best of your ability.
You’re a child at heart and you would love to work with children to hide your own immaturity. You’re laid back and like to take things easy, but you’re passionate and know when you need to focus.
- 22 -
VAMPIRE CUP 2018 Rhiannon Stewart & Fiona Lieu
Vampire Cup 2018 was more than Fiona and I could have ever imagined it to be – and it’s all thanks to you!
In total, we saved 543 lives in less than three months and this is an absolutely phenomenal achievement we should all be so proud of!
A grand total of 181 precious blood, plasma and platelet donations were given by members of University of Newcastle Medical Society. This equated to an enormous 390% improvement from our VC2017 results, which won us second place in the Most Improved category for VC2018! Furthermore, 73% of our 181 donations were plasma so UNMS was also awarded third place in the Plasma Proportion category of VC2018. A silver and a bronze? Not bad for the medical students of this sleepy coastal town.
2018 has been the best year of Vampire Cup Newcastle has ever seen. We have been blown away by everyone’s continual enthusiasm, world-class selfie game and even better captions, and the support you all give each other at the donation centre, uni and online! If you haven’t already, join the Facebook group ‘UNMS Vampires’ to stay updated and help save lives. We are already so excited for VC2019!
Twenty-two medical schools across the country participate in Vampire Cup, and this year UNMS came sixth nationwide, which is thanks to you all being bloody legends (or because you really like free food and a sexy UNMS hoodie).
- 23 -
BREAATHHE Ella Warwick & Claudia Mallory
WHO ARE WE?
BREAATHHE is the Rural Health Club (RHC) at UoN and part of the National Rural Health Student Network (NRHSN). We are multidisciplinary with students from every discipline in the Faculty of Health as members We have approximately 900 members across three UoN campuses We are like-minded students with a passion for Rural & Remote Health WHAT DO WE DO?
Provide the some of the cheapest First Aid Courses on campus – you need this for placement!! Help you find scholarships and make the most of your degree by going on rural placements – such as the John Flynn Placement Program Increase awareness of the disparities of health which exist between urban and rural Australians Provide opportunities to find out more about rural careers with our speakers nights and even engage with rural communities with our Rural High School Visits
- 24 -
HOW DO YOU GET INVOLVED?
» Jump onto our website: https://www.nrhsn.org.au/breaathhe and click Join Now! Fill out the form and pay the $5 lifetime membership fee! » Look for BREAATHHE on Facebook » Get in touch: uonruralhealth@gmail.com » Join our committee Elections coming up soon! EVENTS IN SEMESTER 2
» August: Clinical Skills Night » September: Rural High School Visit » October: Annual AGM
SURGSOC Mahsa Sarrami
The University of Newcastle Surgical Society (UNSS) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the profession of surgery to students and health professionals throughout the Hunter-New England region. UNSS is constantly evolving to ensure relevance and interest to our rapidly growing membership, with events ranging from academic seminars to practical skills workshops. On International Women’s Day, UNSS hosted a Women in Surgery evening with prominent female leaders in surgery from Sydney and Newcastle attracting an audience of students, junior doctors and other health professionals. With more than 140 students in attendee, this night was our largest attending event. Our panel addressed topical subjects from barriers, sexism, and difficulties in surgery to role models, achievements and creating a balanced life. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from our attendees, have encouraged us to look forward to this event becoming an annual celebration and event.
This year also saw the creation of the Hunter SPARTAN (Student Prevocational and Registrar Trials and Audit Network) group, to facilitate multi-centre collaborative research. This further pioneered UNSS’s reputable national influence and opportunity creation. Further, our first Basic Surgical Skills Workshop of 2018 in May again proved to be one of our most popular events amongst students, selling out places within minutes. This was preceded by our annual Pathways to Surgery event, which took from the experiences of surgical trainees and fellows. The rest of the year holds an exciting schedule of events, with our Trauma Career’s Night, Surgical Research Evening and Advanced Surgical Skill Workshop/Immobilisation! As always, be sure to keep an eye out for our Anatomy Lab sessions in the middle of semester and prior to exams! For further enquiries, please contact: uonsurgsoc@gmail.com or contact our friendly Surgsoc Stitches profile on Facebook!
- 25 -
CRITCARE Jake North
JMP Critical Care Society is a medical student society geared towards bringing base level exposure to key skills such as suturing, intubation, cannulation and trauma management direct to students of all year-levels. This year we are also lining up some nonacademic events that should get your heart racing like only Critsoc (or a trauma call) can. Join our facebook page JMP Critical care Society, and keep an eye out for our events!
ECG reading, Chest X-Ray interpretation, targeted physical examination and ultrasound scans in trauma (FAST scans) are some of the other key skills on our radar. We also aim to cater to our members’ specific needs, so if any particular area is of interest to you, feel free to hit up the “JMP CriticalCare Bear”, our iconic social media character.
- 26 -
WAKE UP Sahan Nanayakkara & Joanna Fu
Wake Up was an initiative started in 2005 by a team of medical students who were passionate about making more of a difference in the world. Since then, our driven member base has substantially expanded. However, Wake Up still maintains the same goal. Our whole purpose is to help those around the world who truly need it, drive the importance of global health to our peers, as well as make the yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s events engaging, interesting and fun! Contributing to optimal global health is a truly altruistic and selfless phenomenon. Although Wake Up was founded and run by
medical students, it calls to people from all over the university. It is fantastic seeing members from different departments, such as business, environmental sciences, law, commerce and other health faculties, being involved in our events and wanting to help change lives. 2018 has been a very productive year thus far. It has been very rewarding to have tangible evidence of our hard work. This year we packaged around 1600 hygienic birthing kits for Birthing Kit Foundation Australia. It was distributed to struggling lowincome pregnant mothers by the charities â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Society for Women'sÂ
- 27 -
been a pleasure working alongside Bridget, Vehayana, Isabel, Ellie, Sophie, Anne-Marie, Jon, Gabby, Howard and Rachael. None of the events could have been accomplished without their efforts. We also want to thank our subcommittees as well as, of course, our members. Wake Up focuses on multiple aspects of global health, such as women and children’s health, refugee health, environmental health and sexual health. We welcome those who want to make a difference and be involved in a project with nothing but positive intentions. Together, we can be a part of a bigger picture that we will all look back upon when we are older, and be extremely proud.
Education and Awareness "Development’, Kanthi Samstha (India), ‘One Family at a Time’ (Cambodia) and ‘Beaton Foundation Initiative’ (Egoli, Africa). Furthermore, we donated 1209 pads, 1012 tampons and 144 liners to ‘Share the Dignity’; a charity that would go on to donate these items to numerous homeless women and girls. We also raised over $1000 with our Red Week (an initiative to promote awareness for HIV/AIDs) for ‘Marie Stopes International Charity’. This is a charity that educates about and promotes women’s sexual and reproductive health worldwide. Further events we hope to host this year include the famous charity Talent Night, a speaker night, and more bake sales throughout the second semester. The executive committee that has been our unconditional support base, has been incredible. It has
- 28 -
UNOGS Wrivu Martin
THANK YOU
From the team here at UNOGS, thank-you for making our first 6 months incredible. Your enthusiasm and support has been overwhelming, and we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to show you what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got planned for this semester.
Basic Skills in Obstetrics &
Gynaecology 2
Richardson Wing University of Newcastle 29th of August $10 for Members $15 for Non-Members Catering Provided Learn the techniques behind effective perineal repair, successful instrumental delivery, strong surgical hand-ties and thorough pelvic examinations as you rotate through different stations manned by none other than the consultants and advanced registrars from the John Hunter Hospital.
- 29 -
OSCE’s in O&G
Hunter Building University of Newcastle Free (Members only) Catering Provided UNOGS’ O&G OSCE’s were a hit last semester, with 2 of our 3 simulations actually appearing in the final WACH OSCE examinations. This event has been specifically designed for WACH Candidates. With only 34 places available and selling out rapidly last semester, be sure to get yours early.
UNOGS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Hunter Building University of Newcastle 31st of August 2018 Free Catering Provided What a year it's been! To thank you for your support this year, see a glimpse of all that we achieved as a society and vote in the new members of our executive team, we invite you to our Annual General Meeting. If you're keen to be involved, make sure to keep an eye out on our Facebook page for announcements regarding applications for executive positions in 2019.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
Become a Member: Jump onto joinunogs.getqpay.com/ Join the team: Fill out an expression of interest to join the UNOGS team and we’ll contact you once positions are vacant.
- 30 -
Vote for David, not Wrivu
DEA UON Georgia Brown
DEA UoN is a branch of the non-profit organisation Doctors for the Environment Australia, health professionals and medical students advocating for climate action for public health. DEA UoN has had a great first year of being an established club, and we continue to grow and work with AMSA Code Green and local clinicians. We kicked off the year with our cheap ten pin bowling night, where everyone had a ball! Following our open letter to the Vice Chancellor from the medical student community in 2017, which provided a health argument for UoN to divest from fossil fuels, we met with Vice Chancellor, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Learning and Teaching, and the Chief Operating Officer, to discuss UoN’s move towards divestment. DEA UoN also held a social media campaign for Meat Free May, which spread awareness and tips for meat-free eating as animal agriculture is recognised as the leading global cause of biodiversity loss. We even had some committee members trial a vegetarian diet for the month!
DEA UoN was also part of the organisation of iDEA18, the annual national conference by Doctors for the Environment Australia which was held in Newcastle. With an academic schedule of over 20 inspiring people, two beautiful night events and a series of empowering workshops, it was an inspirational 3 days at HMRI. With the sessions of Indigenous Climate Justice, Greening Healthcare, Grassroots Activism, Agriculture and Food Sustainability, and Beyond Fossil Fuels, iDEA18 engaged people from across Australia from all professions. DEA also conducted their annual Meme Competition, where medical students across the country submitted their best climate change meme; and the results did not disappoint! We also launched the new national Greening Hospitals campaign, involving sustainable changes in health institutions as Australia’s hospital system contributes 7% of greenhouse gas emissions! Sustainable measures are known to lower operational costs, freeing up resources for better quality of care, improves overall patient experience in the health system, and helps lower our environmental impact – a win-win!
- 31 -
CODE GREEN Victor Ly
AMSA Code Green allows for likeminded students to come together and promote the links between health and the environment. As future medical professionals, Code Green believes that we should all be educated and prepared for the health effects of climate change. These effects of climate change include an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, reduced air quality exacerbating respiratory illnesses and the creation of climate refugees (those who are forced to migrate due to environmental disruptions).
In July, AMSA Code Green partnered with AMSA Healthy Communities and AMSA Mental Health for the MoveMindfully campaign. The campaign promotes active transport and inspires action on the fact that 9/10 people worldwide live in areas where air pollution is above levels that are safe for human health. Additionally, Code Green and DEA UoN worked together for a Movie Night that starred David Attenborough’s ‘Cities’ from the Planet Earth II series. Hopefully, all those that were involved were able to enhance their understanding of the health effects of climate change. To get involved with Code Green, contact AMSA Code Green on Facebook or your zCode Green Rep (me!) Victor Ly (Newcastle AMSA Code Green Representative 2018)
- 32 -
AMSA Olivia Chang
So…what is AMSA? Didn’t someone already write a page on Convention? Isn’t AMSA and Convention the same thing? FALSE (black bears are best) but also AMSA is the mother organisation that has over 500 volunteers, with projects and policies covering basically any topic in medicine you can think of. AMSA also hosts multiple events for students throughout the year – most notably the annual National Convention (Perth 2018), and AMSA’s Global Health Conference (Melbourne 2018). This year also marks the first year where almost one third of the current National Executive team is comprised of students from Newcastle: with Jessica Redmond (Year 5) as Vice President Internal, Jack Mackenzie (Year 5) as Treasurer, Ashley Bailey (Year 3) as National Coordinator, and myself as Student Engagement Officer. Here I’ve outlined an ABC of some big AMSA news relevant to Newcastle.
A is for Advocacy The large majority of AMSA’s work revolves around advocating for students. While AMSA continues to advocate broadly on numerous topics, this year’s primary priorities include: Preventing increases in student numbers and the establishment of new medical schools Improving student mental health and wellbeing Guaranteeing the availability of quality internships to all Australian medical graduates Action on sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination in medicine
Pictured: Newcastle attendees at AMSA's National Council 2 in Perth
- 33 -
This first half of the year has seen some fantastic advocacy wins including a hugely successful ‘Call your MP’ campaign which saw students across the country engaging with their local MP to discuss the negative implications of establishing new medical schools. More advocacy wins were reflected in the 2018-19 budget with major reform to the Bonding scheme, additional funding being put into existing rural clinical schools and the funding of a "National Rural Generalist Pathway.
One of the most humbling events of the year has been the response from the men on Manus Island to the massive efforts of the medical students who came together in April to fight for refugee and asylum seeker rights.
AMSA President Alex Farrell addressed the 2018 AMA National Conference with a speech that brought the audience to its feet. She discussed unconscious bias, diversity in leadership, bullying, mental health and the postgraduate training pressures facing medical students. A powerful speech and one that truly shines a light on the need for change to the culture that exists in medicine; watch it at https://amsa.co/2zXLSCy
It is truly a testament to the altruism and determination of medical students to advocate for what they believe in, no voice is too small to be heard. A fantastic effort put together by AMSA Global Health and AMSA Crossing Borders.
- 34 -
B is for Bloody winners! This year brought the biggest Vampire Cup since its inception with over 3000 donations across Australia in just 8 weeks. Over 25% of the Newcastle cohort rolled up their sleeves for the annual blood drive and recorded a whopping 390% improvement from last year. Hats off to the bloody legends Rhiannon and Fiona for putting together such an incredible Vampire Cup this year, and to everyone who donated. Each donation can help save three lives and while Vampire Cup is our biggest blood drive of the year you can donate at any time by calling 13 14 95 or visit www.donateblood.com.au to book your appointment today. C is for Council AMSA National Council is held three times a year and sees MedSoc presidents, AMSA reps, and guests from across the country gather to discuss their medical schools, and to discuss current topics impacting the medical profession. AMSA Second Council saw the acceptance of various policies, as well as updates from all arms of AMSA including AMSA Global Health, AMSA Gender Equity, the new AMSA Queer project, among others. Especially exciting was the announcement of the Core Executive team for 2019 – congratulations to Jessica Yang and her team on their election.
I would highly recommend attending Council if you would like to learn more about what AMSA does, network with students from other medical schools and discuss current issues. Look out for Council 3 rego coming up in September this year.
With the breadth of topics that AMSA covers, it can be incredibly confusing to wrap your head around exactly what AMSA does. I hope this update gives you a brief overview of some of the things that happen in the organisation. Most importantly, AMSA exists for YOU – it exists to represent the views and needs of all Australian medical students. If there is any particular topic you’re interested in or would like to learn more about, be it internship advice, mental health advocacy, rural health, or refugee rights, there is something in AMSA for you. Get in touch and get involved! Much love, Liv olivia.chang@amsa.org.au facebook.com/yourAMSA twitter: @yourAMSA Instagram: @yourAMSA
- 35 -
PVOGS CONFERENCE Helena Qian
"Life began with waking up and loving my mother's face" - George Eliot Mothers are the cornerstone and foundation of society and yet millions worldwide are denied adequate healthcare or abused by those who take advantage of their vulnerability. Over the past few months, I had the privilege of working with an incredible team to bring about the inaugural PVOGS ANZ Obstetrics and Gynaecology Conference. Â The agenda featured a jam-packed weekend of inspiring speakers, engaging panel discussions, high-yield workshops and a networking cocktail party. Â A snapshot of the agenda is below.
Text
- 37 -
PVOGS also provides a central communication point for all medical students and junior doctors to facilitate the foundation and continuation of university and state-based O&G interest groups. If you’re interested in being more involved with PVOGS, email me anytime at helena.qian@uon.edu.au and I’ll be happy to answer your questions! As someone passionate about aiding underserved communities, I was particularly moved by Associate Professor Ray Hodgson’s talk about his foundation, Australians for Women’s Health (A4WH). A4WH is an Australian charitable trust whom regularly provides treatment to Nepalese mothers in need and is currently working on building a Mothers and Babies Hospital at the Gaurishankar Hospital site which suffered major structural damage from the 2015 earthquake. His sentiment resonated strongly with me in that I have always found it incredulous how easily society detaches themselves from the horrors and reality of those in need. Even with the recent Thai cave rescue, I overheard brief sympathetic remarks amongst doctors as we waited for handover to begin before conversation quickly switched to the World Cup.
" For those unaware, Pre-Vocational Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society (PVOGS) is the peak representative organisation for medical students and junior doctors in Australia and New Zealand interested in a career in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Founded in 2015, the society has quickly grown with PVOGS representatives from each medical university. Our goal is to promote and foster active interest in matters affecting the O&G field and its training pathway as well as enhance the educational opportunities given to medical students and junior doctors. Our network represents the transition from a medical student to an O&G registrar, connecting pre-vocational doctors/students with RANZCOG.
- 38 -
binge-watching legal dramas (The Good Fight and For The People) and hearing from inspiring O&Gs, I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that although I’m privileged to have food, shelter, education and the means to explore my passions, it’s not my fault that I was born into privilege or that inequity is as ubiquitous as air. However, what’s important is to use my privilege for good, to be able to care and give thanks to those around me and to accept that sometimes, when the world seems to be plunging into chaos, I can take a step back and take comfort in making my little corner of the world sane.
Most (if not all) of us are often consumed by the struggles and reality of our own daily lives that the injustices faced by disadvantaged populations slip our minds frequently. Not so long ago, this always made me feel guilty and upon reflection, I was horrified by my apparent hypocrisy and over-indulgence. I have been to buffets, waterparks and bought designer items despite millions around the world starving, having no access to clean water and/or living below the poverty line. Khal from Complex encapsulates this perfectly in his analysis of ‘This is America’ by Childish Gambino, ‘folks will stay scrolling timelines, searching for the perfect meme or commenting on the latest songs, consuming distractions while the world around us burns, figuratively and literally. It’s hard to tell if this is ignorance to what really matters or a coping mechanism and escapism from the f***ery of everyday life’.
“Chaos was the law of nature; order was the dream of man.” – Henry Adams
This year, through countless discussions (kudos to those who’ve let me rant to them about life and philosophy – I appreciate y’all <3),
- 39 -
ASSC
This past May saw the Australasian Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Surgical Conference come to Sydney. ASSC runs annually, as the premier event of the Australasian Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Surgical Association, to form the ideal opportunity for surgically inclined students to meet like-minded individuals who share their passion. Over 400 medical students from Australia and New Zealand attended the conference to hear from 30 of the most highly esteemed and influential surgeons in Australia, in addition to three pioneering international surgeons in Dr Adil Haider, Dr Lillian Kao and Peter Neligan.
We are very proud to be represented by nine of our UoN/UNE Joint Medical Program Medical Students, who tirelessly worked on the executive of this phenomenal student-run conference. Congratulations to Jaffly Chen, Grace Dennis, Bal Dhital, Jackson Harrison, Jocelyn Ledger, Hannah Smith and Darshan Sitharthan for their efforts. A special mention to Mahsa Sarrami for co-convening ASSC 2018, and Will Ridley for creating the first ever Australasian-scale Golden Scalpel Games.
This conference provided students with the opportunity to discover the breadth of surgical careers, present research, perfect surgical skills and to form connections with hundreds of other students.
- 40 -
CIVIL INCIVILITY Anonymous
While strides have been made in hospital culture and bullying in the work place isn't as prevalent as it was a mere 10 years ago, it is still, unfortunately, present. The following op-ed was written by a fellow medical student and a personal friend who had the misfortune of encountering such incivility. At my request, they have given me permission to publish their reflections anonymously. - David Civil Incivility: Vignettes of modified behaviour from senior doctors designed to intimidate, deliberately confuse and re-enforce power structures in the era of misconduct vigilance – First-hand observations from a naïve medical student. One “What is your name?” “My name is Tina” “Oh, Diana?” “No, it’s Tina.” “Oh princess Diana!...or maybe I’ll call you Pam. That was the name of our last registrar.” --
- 41 -
Two “What really annoys me is if you can’t tell me about the patient. We have only one responsibility, and that is to the patient. If you can’t tell me everything about any patient whenever I ask you, when it comes time to do your form, we are not allowed to write bad things anymore, so I will write that you are only good enough to be a GP.” -Three “Excuse me Dr X, Dr Y has just texted me asking myself and Z to come to theatre within 15 minutes. Would it be alright if we go?” “Next time, don’t disrespect me by leaving half way through a meeting…if so I don’t ever want to see your face again.” -Four “Don’t worry, you’ll have Madeline and…this thing…helping you tomorrow”. -Five [In front of the registrar, surgical resident, another medical student, parents of the patient and nurse]
"How can you go one week without knowing about (condition)?”. Looking at the registrar “we have failed him.” Returning gaze towards medical student 1 – “If medical student 2 had answered me the way you did, I would be very disappointed…but because it is you it doesn’t matter.” -Recent changes in the way doctors are expected to conduct themselves in the workplace have brought about dramatic changes in hospital culture. Intimidating and off" putting behaviours once considered commonplace can no longer seek refuge under the pretence of casual conversation – explicit guidelines now exist to dictate what is considered professional and unprofessional behaviour. Indeed, much of the credit for these changes must go to the brave individuals who have stepped forward to share their experiences of bullying and harassment, and for the powerful administrative bodies who have believed their stories and implemented measures to prevent others from experiencing the same. It appears however that rather than triggering an introspection within those who may have been practicing these behaviours, in some, it has served rather as an alarm that there is now an increased vigilance around these matters, and that modification in technique rather than cessation of
their practice is a sound alternativein order to continue their behaviours of intimidation. The purpose of this reflection is twofold. Firstly, I hope to canvass the realities of “above the line” intimidation, and the very real prevalence of subtle acts of subordination. Secondly, this reflection is semi-cathartic, where I hope to neatly organise my many moments of self-doubt during my first exposure to clinical medicine into a rational analysis. All of the vignettes are real conversations that I have either witnessed or participated in, and the names provided are fictional in order to protect the privacy of those involved. Specific conditions have also been omitted for the same reason. Vignette one and four highlight the saliency of deliberate attempts to identify team members with generic or delicately derogatory titles. Dale Carnegie once said, “names are the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” As has been my personal experience, deliberate attempts to misidentify team members has a profound impact on the person’s self-perception, as it profoundly derails their sense of importance and place in the team. This is hazardous to patient outcomes, as it diminishes the quality of care provided to the patient by creating an unnecessarily unpleasant work
- 42 -
clarity in the provision of instructions. Ultimately, this reinforces unspoken power dynamics within a team, where – if a person is not worth identifying, then, by extension – they are of no value. Unspoken power dynamics are further explored in vignette two, where comparison to a General Practitioner is utilised as a slur. There are a number of issues with this. In my experience, while it is common (though still not acceptable) to refer " to General Practitioners as “just a GP”, explicitly undermining the sacrifices, expertise and value that GP’s bring to communities by using the profession as a slur is deeply offensive, especially to those of us whose parents, intimate family members and close friends practice their profession with tremendous pride and fidelity. Derogatory comments such as this falsely create notions of incompetence in General Practice, and subsequently drive a firm spanner into the cogs of the multi-disciplinary approach that keeps our health care system running. Finally, reinforcement of power dynamics are further explored in vignette three, where deliberate confusion over whose instructions take precedence is used, to yet again, intimidate subordinates. The senior doctor in this instance demonstrated a manifest righteous anger when two
medical students requested to be excused from a meeting at the request of another senior doctor. Competing priorities are an inherent component of not only the medical program, but of life as a doctor, and there are times when difficult decisions need to be made. It is however, entirely unacceptable to subject subordinates to incivility when they are simply seeking to carry out the instructions they have received from another senior doctor. Finally, vignette five is particularly important in this reflection, as it illustrates a situation in which there is justified criticism from a consultant to a medical student – namely, the lack of knowledge about a condition they are expected to know. The importance of this vignette stems from its capacity to vividly demonstrates the artform of constructive feedback, and in particular – the importance of giving public praise, and private criticism. There is nothing more humiliating than having one’s incompetency put on display through direct comparison to a colleague in front of an audience, particularly when this audience consists not only of the colleague to which one is being compared, but of parents of the patient and other staff members that medical students look up to. There are many other ways to provide effective criticism, and public ridicule is unnecessary and unacceptable.
- 43 -
Ultimately, the purpose of this reflection has been to draw attention to some of the more subtle behaviours from senior doctors which continue to intimidate others, despite there being a profound shift in the manner in which we view these encounters. In the end, an inevitable part of a full and meaningful life is to experience adversity, conflict and disappointment â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and indeed, these are the things that expand our capacity to problem solve, " demonstrate compassion and become introspective. It is probably also true that given the stressful nature of medicine, it is foolish to expect courtesy and pleasantries from everyone at every single encounter. Yet, as has been recognised, the adversities created by intimidation in the workplace have no constructive function. They exist to reinforce unspoken power structures and torment subordinates, which ultimately delivers poor outcomes for patient care. While some of us have the strength, resilience and support network to overcome these experiences, there are those of us who do not, and it is for this reason that we must re-evaluate our own capacity to report behaviour that is on, if not only just above, the line.
- 44 -
DOING MORE WITH PUBLIC HEALTH
Bhavi Ravindran
Right now, there are 150 million people living with viral hepatitis in the Asia-Pacific, and in some countries, that can be as many as 1 in 8 people. If you had Hepatitis C in Newcastle, you would make an appointment at the John Hunter Hospital, and by taking one pill for 3 months you would be cured. However if you lived in Kiribati, an island republic in the Pacific Ocean, it would be a very different story.
doctors do encounter patients with liver failure in Kiribati, they are sent home to the local healers. There is no symptomatic treatment, no palliative care and no hope for them. It is 2018 and we can quite easily treat viral hepatitis in Australia, yet some of our closet neighbours still do not have access to testing or treatment services. One of the founding principles of medical practice is that all lives are of equal worth, but that principle is perhaps not always upheld. When comparing the two patients in Australia and Kiribati, it is clear that they have vastly different health outcomes. This difference is at the heart of public health and at the core of the World Health Organisation. Its purpose is to ensure that all people, regardless of location and background, have access to the appropriate resources and medical care to ensure that they can live a healthy and fulfilling life.Â
There are limited diagnostics and treatment facilities within the islands of Kiribati. Kiribati is thousands of kilometres from a tertiary referral hospital in Fiji, and there is a general lack of awareness and knowledge about viral hepatitis.. They do not have access to direct-acting antivirals, the gold standard of treatment, or Interferon, the previous medication used to treat Hepatitis C. The limited expertise in the treatment of hepatitis and meager hospital facilities mean that patients slowly develop cirrhosis, cancer and then liver failure. Worryingly, whenÂ
Since its founding in 1948, the focus of WHO has been constantlyÂ
- 45 -
evolving with the development of medical interventions, the changing demographic of patient populations and the need to respond to global health emergencies. In the past, there has been a strong focus on communicable diseases (such as TB, Malaria, HIV) and while they are still impacting a significant amount of people, the focus is shifting towards noncommunicable diseases and the push towards universal healthcare coverage. " Public health is focused on prolonging life and promoting the health of societies, organisations, communities and individuals, as well as the science of preventing and treating disease. So next time you see a patient, what will you do?
- 46 -
KJ'S KRACKUPS KJ?*
Howdy my fellow JMP rapscallions it’s me KJ with the first (of many I hope) instalment of Kajanan’s Krackups, where I discuss some of the absolutely absurd things going on in our lovely cohort. While I’ve only been with you precocious lot for a paltry 6 months I’ve witnessed just how choc a bloc full of injustice and galah like individuals our course is. I originally planned for this series to be a weekly podcast so I could invade your eardrums with my buttery smooth and T H I C C bogan AF accent (I mean have you heard me say “wife beater”?) but alas I was too busy correcting lecturers and writing the 4th and 5th year MD course content to commit to that. So without further ado let’s get to it! 1. HOOOW is it possible that there exists a person on this planet that doesn’t know Thomas Dayoub’s dad is a general surgeon in Taree? I mean there are only a few things that are certain – the sun will rise, Sontag will continue to be French and Thomas will let you know his dad is a surgeon within 2 seconds of meeting him
2. HOOOW in the world is it possible that Burma’s answer to Arnold Schwarzenegger and champion competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi all rolled into one - NYAN LINN DU is still single after 4 years of medicine?!?!? I simply can’t fathom it, what a bloody stitch up. Hit him up on Facebook ladies, I hear his likes include “has a pulse”, “nonexistent standards” and “honestly she could be a cardboard cut-out at this rate”. 3. HOOOW is Harish not only in medicine let alone still alive? I have never met anyone with such a huge and undeserved God complex, I still don’t understand how he gets anything done when any reflective surface catches his attention for hours at a time. I once heard him ask in amazement how you can “transplant a renal”. He is somehow at the same time the most arrogant and most insecure person on the planet and I think he genuinely spent more time blacked out last year than conscious.
- 47 -
4. HOOOW in the world has no one figured out that we’ve never seen Neil Broome and Elon Musk in the same room together? I mean the proof is in the pudding people I think it’s quite obvious that we’re dealing with a Superman - Clark Kent situation or more accurately a used beige 2007 Toyota Camry with a broken stereo being traded in for a 2018 Tesla. Too be fair I’ve never seen Neil call a hero diver a “pedo” or Elon hit the decks as hard "as Neil has as DJ Xposed (shameless plug https://www.facebook.com/DJXpos ed/) What an insane bunch of Krackups by some absolute drongos for just the first issue! Unfortunately that’s all we have for you this time folks! Make sure to keep an eye out on social media for updates on when those fabulous KJ shirts will be restocked! While our time together was as short and sweet as Sahan likes to think he is I have some advice on how to cope until the next one;
*This article may or may not have been ghost written by Darshan in an attempt to spread awareness of something very important that could potentially have a huge impact on the future of UNMS… – the fact that Bal Dhital is objectively bad at FIFA and has a stressed induced stutter. The views and beliefs expressed by this 100% serious article cannot be guaranteed to be the same as Kajanan’s (but I like to think I did a pretty good job).
“Don’t be sad that it’s over, be glad that it happened at all” And if that doesn’t work for you I have this second more universal piece of advice “What if the real next instalment of Kajanan’s Krackup was the friends we made along the way?”
- 48 -
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF CLINICAL YEARS
Isabella Ludbrook
While we BMed students may not have idea what a ‘middle PBL’ is, we can give you a tip or two about how to survive hospital. Stay tuned for a full ‘Survival Guide to Clinical Years’ in the coming weeks, but for now, here are the ten commandments of clinical years to get you through your next clinical placement!
we get the luxury of a desk), something conservative, and shoes that won’t make you cry after a three-hour ward round. Guys, if you’re not sure about which button to stop at, go ahead and do up one more. III. Thou shalt not use thy cash in vain
It’s easy to drain your bank account when the hospital is your teaching base. Suss the more senior students for the best free parking spots for your hospital. Please cop the Uber ride or paid parking if you’re planning on leaving late thoughsafety first. The common room and the tea rooms are a good place to stash a packed lunch, or bring some snacks and get home in time for a late lunch. Don’t forget there’s an endless supply of free tea, coffee and biscuits in the tea rooms. And please don’t feel the need to buy a card and bake cookies for every team you’re ever on in med schoola sincere word of thanks and a shouted coffee on your last day are appreciated enough.we get the luxury of a desk), something conservative, and shoes that won’t
I. Thou shalt have none other before thy
nurses and allied health
The hospital is a hectic place with a tonne of people rushing around with competing priorities. But they’re ultimately all part of the same team and you are now a junior member of that team. So take the time to get to know them! If you’re not sure, don’t be afraid to clarify what someone’s job involves exactly- they’re usually happy for the opportunity to educate. II. Thou shalt not make a crappy first
impression
Your clothes are going to speak before you do, so keep it simple folks. Ladies, something you can move in (pencil skirts are for when
- 49 -
make you cry after a three-hour ward round. Guys, if you’re not sure about which button to stop at, go ahead and do up one more.
team. They’re often the ones planning specific investigations and management and it’s in their job description to teach. Try and spread your time between different doctors on your team to get to know different stages and styles.
IV. Remember thy gear
Hopefully I don’t have to tell you to bring a stethoscope, pen, notebook and ID badge, but there are a few extra props that can take you from ward furniture to model student. Reference cards for specifics no one can memorise can be attached to your lanyard or ID clip. A clipboard with storage is a must" extra points for stashing spare progress notes and discharge summaries in there (find these in the doctors’ room on the wards. Pretty much none of that applies on surgery, but do bring along comfy shoes.)
VI. Thou shalt not attend low yield sessions
There are so many opportunities for learning in the hospital that it can feel like you’re always missing out on something that someone thinks you should be attending. Learning to be a capable doctor and passing exams are number one priorities. Attend scheduled uni teaching, your team’s ward rounds and MDT meetings. Just don’t let anyone guilt you into a four-hour surgery you’ve already seen twice or extra clinics on weekends.
V. Honour thy medical colleagues VII. Thou shalt get orientated
As much as we rely on consultants for logbook signatures and free coffee (bless you all), consultants are busy people who you will be lucky to meet twice in a four-week term. Your JMOs will be most helpful for all the embarrassing questions and for introducing you to what kind of jobs their work involves. It can be tempting to learn these as soon as possibleskills like cannulation and writing discharge summaries. While these are important to get a handle on, the stuff that’s going to help you pass your exams is more likely to be learnt from the trainees on your
Your hospital’s student common room will be your home base. On the wards, you’ll want to know where the staff bathrooms, tearoom, and doctors’ room is. Try and get a member of the team to show you where the drugs room is, where to send off lab tests and where the dirty equipment goes for after procedures. Theatres can be intimidating - it’s best at the start of your rotation to get someone to show you where and how to get changed and where to scrub. Don’t forget to write your name on the board as you enter so people know who you are!
- 50 -
VIII. Thou shalt take charge of thine
X. Love thyself
We’re all here to help people, but you can’t do that if you’re not healthy yourself. That means 7-9 hours of sleep, regular exercise, eating decently and taking some time out. Try and do at least once a week that’s nothing to do with medicine- whether it’s a casual job, creative pursuit or spending time with people you care about. Know the warning signs of burnout and mental illness- if you’re experiencing a big change in " mood, weight, appetite, sleep or general enjoyment of activity without another explanation, it might be time to reach out for help. And if you don’t have a GP yet locally, check out UNMS’s ‘Get A GP Guide’ for some guidance.
learning
Pre-clinical is about being a medical student, and clinical years is where you transition to a doctor in training. Now’s the time to get around this whole ‘self-directed learning situation’ if you haven’t already. That means having a system you use to study, and a few central resources you can rely on. Before a rotation starts, make sure you get in touch with your consultant or their secretary early. Offer the opportunity for them to let you know their expectations and for you to communicate yours (including mandatory teaching times), and then check in again halfway through to make sure they’re being met. IX. Thou shalt know how to ask for help
Being an intern is 80% knowing when to ask for help, so we might as well start practising now. In terms of procedures, it’ll be a while before you’re entirely comfortable on your own, but it’s always better to watch someone more senior or have them supervise you if you’re unsure. In general, knowing who is who and the scope of their job will help you to ask the right questions to the right people. Always lead with an introduction- as soon as you mention you’re a student, people tend to be much more patient! Whoever they are, ask with respect.
- 51 -
PUBLI CATI ON OFTHEUNI VERSI TYOFNEWCASTLEMEDI CALSOCI ETY201 8 FI NALLYGOTADUCTUSOUTON TI ME