Auricle April 2014 by ANUMSS Publications

The

Auricle April 2014

Graduation Ball Words of wisdom for the Class of 2013

O-Week

The MedSoc Mole reports on happenings during the week

“A Canadian Perspective” The first few weeks into medical school

A month in Ghana Stressed out?

Your Mental Health First Aid is waiting for you

Summer adventure in the Phillipines post typhoon Haiyan

Med Revue, Ensign, ARMs, Fiji Village Project and much much more...

MedSoc calendar - events you don’t want to missis

From the

Dear Students,

President

The academic year is fully underway and I hope everyone has settled in after returning from the summer holidays. Your MedSoc has been hard at work this year to support, represent and entertain you. To highlight a few activities thus far,Christina Hodge has continued to grow the Wellbeing Officer role and brought you the Mental Health First Aid course. Your AMSA Rep, Alex Brown, also worked hard to make sure the opinions of ANU students were heard at AMSA Council. And I hope you have been out to enjoy the many social and academic events put on by MedSoc and its Sub-Committees. This year also marks the 10 year anniversary of the ANU medical school. To commemorate this milestone, the Medical School and the ANUMSS are finding ways to celebrate throughout the year. The main celebration will be on 21 June with an afternoon of events culminating in celebrations at Old Parliament House. Be sure to mark this date in your calendar and join us in celebrating 10 years of the ANU Medical School. I hope everyone is enjoying the year so far, and I hope to see you all at the next MedSoc event! Lauren O’Rourke President

Editors’ note Welcome to the Auricle of 2014. 2013 saw the revamp of the Auricle like no other. I certainly have some very large shoes to fill. Having been part of the Medical Student Journal of Australia last year I thought running a publication would be easy. How wrong I was. Creating the Auricle was not just about the articles that go into it but the design and structure of the whole magazines that required many hours on just figuring out how to insert a picture into InDesign (before I realised that all I needed to do is google it!). Despite the many challenges it has definitely been an eye opening experience and I hope that everyone can continue to enjoy the Auricle and entertainment it brings. If you have any ideas, feedback or would like to write for the Auricle, please don’t hesitate to send me an e-mail at u5133323@anu.edu.au. We would love to share your experiences and ideas with your fellow colleagues. For the last few months I have been keeping an eye on everything happening at medical school like a fly on the wall as well as buzzing around chasing up photos and articles for your enjoyment. I would like to thank all the fantastic contributors without whom this edition would not have happened. Your time, patience and enthusiasm is greatly appreciated – Dr Graeme Moller, Lauren O’Rouke, Sam Harkin, Christina Hodge, Melanie D’Souza, Billy Xian, Chris Wilson, Yi Deng (photographer of front cover), John Au, Sam Moore, Jade Lee, Michael Marginson, Rebecca Irwin, the whole MedSoc committee and of course the MedSoc mole. Thank you for your patience, effort and putting up with my constant nagging e-mails about word count lmits and deadlines. Until the next edition.... Yi Fan Tang Publications Officer

Graduating Class of 2013 Guest speaker Dr Graeme Moller To the graduating class i.e. doctors of 2013, I pass my sincere congratulations on a journey you have travelled successfully so far in your careers in medicine. You have undertaken an arduous and comprehensive academic program of study over the last four years, one, which has required considerable dedication, application and learning, well and beyond simple rote learning and, apart from all the nuances and subtleties of medicine, the art of communication in medicine, which is ever so important. Clearly there are some debts you owe to a number of people and organisations but chief among them surely has to be your parents, your partners, be they wives/husbands or partners, and of course, the debt to the government! I read in another address to graduating doctors the following: “To those parents present remember, the best revenge is to live long enough to become a problem to your children.” You also owe a debt to all the teachers and supporting staff in the medical school who have guided, encouraged, taken you from your comfort zones, tested, stressed, irritated, frustrated and organised you but I genuinely believe they all had your interests and aspirations foremost in their minds as they took you through this fascinating journey – the study of medicine. What then is it this wonderful field – a field of study which is such an enthralling and lifelong process. Ours in not a new profession, dating back to 4th Century BC and all of you have studied in a building in which there are proudly displayed two leaves donated to the School by Professor Paul Gatenby. The words under those leaves are: “These two leaves were collected by Professor Paul Gatenby from the plane tree in Kos descended, as tradition has it, from the plane tree under which Hippocrates of Kos the “father of medicine” worked and taught in the 4th Century BC. Hippocrates founded a medical tradition which clearly delineated the profession of medicine being distinct from theurgy or philosophy. The Hippocratic oath originally developed by this school still underpins much of modern medical ethics” Hippocrates the father of medicine passed to us many aphorisms and, of those, many are true to this day. To cite just one which is topical: “When more food than is proper has been taken, it occasions disease” So here you are - doctors, at the threshold of a career in medicine. We always seem to be at thresholds, fortunately they are not at the top of an abyss. Your future now is largely dependent on what it is you seek. You will progressively take up leadership roles in medicine from this point forward, to various degrees

Regardless of your decision the rate of change in medicine and the practise of it may well have a significant impact on your future career choices and the next couple of years will assist you in either reaffirming your choice or directing your choices along lines that you believe will provide you the lifelong satisfaction so that you may apply your skills, ability and interests well into the future for the care of your patients. The other point I would like to make to you is that until now a considerable part of your learning has been directed by assessment. For the time being, in the next couple of years, you are free from those dreaded assessments, by and large, and you can use this time to thoroughly enjoy extending your knowledge of medicine in a range of directions as you choose without the fear of the dreaded examination. This, I believe, is an enormous privilege and a joy. To be able to increase your knowledge for the joy of it is something you have yet to fully experience but I wholly recommend it to you. Expanding your knowledge and clinical experience will be at a pace and depth which you and only you decide is appropriate for your needs. But, be aware it is an important foundation for your lifelong learning journey that defines you as a medical professional. Against that background I with all of your senior colleagues have a strong belief in you, your achievements and the basis on which you will progress. I congratulate you again on your significant achievements, to date. I know more will follow. During your course you have seen the excellence of the clinical practice of all of your teachers in a range of specialties, some of which I have mentioned earlier. You have seen and benefitted from their teaching, their expertise, their leadership in their respective fields and unquestioned knowledge, expertise and focus on providing outstanding health care to the community. Among them must surely be your role models for your future careers. In closing I have one challenge for you all to take forward into your future careers and that is: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dare to Excelâ&#x20AC;? in all you do in Medicine. You owe it to yourselves, your patients, the community and the profession. I thank you sincerely for the opportunity of addressing you.

Your

Wellbeing in 2014

Congratulations and welcome to 2014! Whether this is your first year or you’re a well-seasoned med student who’s successfully passed another year of outrageous exams, congratulations are in order. Whilst you’re probably relaxed and rested after a long summer break, it is never too early to invest in your health and wellbeing before the start of another stressful year. As your Wellbeing Officer, I understand there’s a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously studious and this is the point at which I suggest you find out what it is and consider your wellbeing. Given that none of us are invincible (as much as some of us would like to be…), in order to be a good doctor, we need to put a little bit of effort into looking after ourselves - both mentally and physically.

What is your wellbeing? Your wellbeing encompasses your mental, physical, emotional and financial health. The management of these 4 domains is essential to ensure that you maintain a balanced lifestyle. This is especially important whilst in med school given that medical students are susceptible to heightened levels of depression and anxiety. This is not surprising - studying medicine is no easy feat. Juggling both the intense demands of your medical studies with your own wellbeing can be a tricky act. There will undoubtedly be times during your degree when there are stressful deadlines to meet and exams to study for, however constant stress is perhaps a sign of overload and unrealistic goal setting. In order to maintain your wellbeing, it is critical to set yourself some boundaries so that you can sustain yourself throughout the degree as well as throughout your future career.

Mental Health First Aid

Just to keep you up to date with activities we are running for student well being below is a brief summary of one of the events we have already started! The first Mental Health First Aid Course was run on Saturday the 8th to Sunday the 9th of March. The 2 day course saw 20 interested ANU medical students develop skills to support a person developing a mental health problem and assist someone in a mental health crisis. Feedback from participants included comments such as, “very informative”, “provided great strategies to approach mental health crisis”, “gave better understanding of how to support someone with a mental illness”, “pertinent to my future as a medical doctor”.

Upcoming events: Mental Health First Aid Training: • 17-18th of May • 24-25th of May Wellbeing Event: • 29th of May – The Canberra Hospital Speaker: Dr Katrina Anderson

Interyear Cup: Friendly competition between 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th year student teams to determine who are the champions of sport! • 21st of June – Soccer (+ 10 year Anniversary BBQ) • 26th of July - Netball • 30th of August – Finals (Followed by a social BBQ and Scrubs Crawl)

Christina Hodge Wellbeing Officer

Elective

Experience - a month in Ghana

When the humidity is high outside, and you are sweating from almost every pore on your body, the expected relief from the inside of a hospital is welcomed. But, this relief does not come at Nsawam Government Hospital in Ghana. Humidity lingers, as you open the flyscreen door to the ward, and you are greeted by the faint smell of disinfectant and effluent. Twenty-two patients lie on thinly mattressed metal frame beds, covered by bedsheets the hospital expects them to bring from home. The luxury of remote control beds is nowhere to be seen. Six ceiling fans fail in their attempt to cool the sick and dying. Even through all this, you never hear a single complaint. Nsawam is a small town, 40 minutes from the hustle of Ghana’s capital, Accra. Nsawam Government Hospital has a 135-bed capacity spilt across female, male, paediatric and labour wards and is managed by only 5 doctors, who after completing ward rounds and ward-based work, will consult patients in the outpatient department. This “OPD”, as it is referred to, is the equivalent to the Australian General Practice system. General Practices, as we know them, do not exist in Ghana. The OPD will have a minimum of 200 patients per day, waiting to see a doctor for conditions ranging from the common cold to severe malaria. Occasionally, a taxi will pull up directly into the OPD, and a bloody, semi-conscious body will be urgently carried out, placed in a wheelchair (yes, wheelchair!!) and hurried over to the emergency department. The cleaners soon follow, removing any traces of the incident with a swipe of a dirty-looking mop. During my month at Nsawam Hospital I saw life come into the world and saw life leave. On the labour ward one morning, Erika, a fellow elective medical student, and I were coaxed by the midwives into delivering a baby; they would not take no for an answer, despite our claims that this was the first vaginal delivery Erika and I had ever seen, yet along assisted in. Women at Nsawam are not given any pain relief until the second stage of labour due to scarce resources and often, complaints of pain are replied to with a sharp slap across the thighs from a midwife.So when this Ghanaian woman was on the verge of second stage of labour, she was made to walk over to the birthing bed, was finally given some pain relief, and Erika and I entered (wearing a butcher’s apron and a pair of gloves) with trembling hands and thumping hearts. After a brief, uncomplicated delivery, Erika and I bravely pulled a slippery little boy into the chaos and beauty that is Africa. Then I cried a little. Elsewhere at Nsawam, 20-something year-olds were dying from HIV. Poor compliance to anti-retroviral medications is a major issue in Ghana. I cannot imagine what it would be like for a mother to have to feed an emaciated, dying child from a disease that, in the Western world, can be so well managed. My most vivid memory was seeing a man with generalised tetanus – locking of the jaw, opisthotonos, and painful, involuntary muscle rigidity. This farmer had received a tetanus shot on arrival to ED however could not afford further treatment with tetanus immunoglobulin. He discharged himself against medical advice because, in Ghana, you have to be able to pay for medical treatment in order to receive it. I often find myself still thinking about this man and what sort of death he would have had. My Ghanaian medical experience was heart-warming and heart breaking all at once. Doctors work endlessly with minimal resources, and patients never complain about conditions or waiting times. Added to the mix are the international medical students, who are amazed, shocked, hopeful and distraught. I would love to tell you more, but perhaps you should go over and experience it for yourself. You would not have any regrets. Melanie D’Souza 4th year Medical Student

O-Week And the Monday morning countdown was on. 7:30am on day one of O-week 2014. Our trusty team of second years were ready, ready to set up to meet the brand new first years, ready to no longer be the newest medical students at ANU. Walking up to the doors of the Medical School, laden with bags of scrumptious treats and sausages galore only to find that we no longer have access to our beloved building. Never fear! Nothing can hold this O-week team down and with the help of overly keen first years already at the doors (a testament to the new year the very first waiting at the doors is now one of the year reps!) we were able to juggle the set up in time. 8:29am. Bright eyed firsties were having no trouble mingling outside the front doors, glancing in waiting for the moment they could officially start their medical journey. At 8:30 they streamed in and we got to meet all 96 of our new colleagues wondering who would end up being our new best friends, who would notoriously stay out every night this week, who would try and challenge us in the inter-year cup, who would dance the night away at all the social events and who would we see late every night in the PBL rooms? It was great to see everyone taking up Liam’s great who am I challenge and before long they were off to their first lecture as a cohort. Throughout the day we set out to meet as many first years as we could and convince them that Mooseheads was the place to be on a Monday night – which was tricky with so many locals in the cohort. However after a BBQ cooked perfectly by our second years, we had a great turn out at the annual Monday Mooseheads Meet and greet with many embracing the ANU tradition and staying until the early hours of the morning. A few older year students were on the prowl and many delighted the new cohort with their usher-like moves on the dance floor. I was personally impressed by the number of 3rd and 2nd year students (and a token 4th year student) who took the time to come along. What a great first day! Tuesday was Pizza day and EnSign was there to help us hand out pizza to the hungry students whose faces were becoming more familiar as each meal break went by. The first years were introduced to the Medical Indemnity companies and the cool free merchandise you can collect for signing up. They were now set for pens for the year. Tunnel ball made a come back from primary school days in the PBL games. Along with egg and spoon races, balloon popping and mountains of fun. Budding artists emerged as PBL shields were imagined and put to paper. Efforts were rewarded with lots of great prizes from the brilliant sponsorship officer Emily. I was excited as tonight was Trivia night and we were determined that there would be a plank off (of the bridging kind). Lecture numbers were dwindling down to the low 80’s (Surely one night at moose wasn’t to blame?). We were told this was due to some students wanting more medicine content (???). Don’t worry keen beans, you will lament your past selves right around exam time for your past misguided wishes. The missing spots were spectacularly filled by second years at trivia night and Prof Bowden as the MC made it a memorable night for all, with great food, witty MC comments, the annual (yes we are making it a tradition) plank off, second years being absolutely no help in remembering any answers to the trivia questions and some good natured team sledging showing a budding PBL camaraderie. We made it half way, no one has been hurt and no one has left the course, which I can only count as a win. We were not pro’s at setting up the BBQ and tables, knew exactly how early we should start boiling the water and were starting to call the new students by their correct name. At lunch

Courte

sy of P ip

2014

I heard a student cry out in protest that sausages were being cooked and that they were sick of sausages. I heard their concern and silently added up the number of times we had served sausages, lunch today would be the second time. Were they eating sausages at home? Surely we couldn’t be responsible for this? After the BBQ men realised frozen meat takes longer to cook than normal (sorry those who took a bite of raw beef!) the rest of lunch passed smoothly. Friends and Family night was a great opportunity to meet the supportive players in our new first years lives and an excellent opportunity to get an early night as the most exciting days were just around the corner. I’m not exactly sure what the first years were up to today as they were now attending lectures and didn’t need me to guide them around any more. But despite ARMS putting on an amazing lunch, I couldn’t stay away and had to make sure they were being fed and looked after. ANU Med 2017 scrubbed up nicely! They certainly knew what the term “clinical clothes” meant and dressed to impress at the annual AMA drinks, before venturing on to Cube. Our beautiful social rep from 2013 emphasised the tradition of this majestic night and what a night it was. It was filled with inter-year dancing, talking and “friendly” pool games early into the morning. A few hours later that morning… The medical school was filled with a lot more sunglasses than usual as we realised O-week was coming to a close. First years were sneaking into morning tea to find the second years sleeping in the common room. Many were exclaiming that they would not be going out again that night but we quickly changed their minds reminding them that tomorrow was Saturday and you only get O-week once! I was humbled by the nice words of the first years as

we finished up our last BBQ for the week and as Liam’s and my role as O-week captains came to a close. The end of O-week also seemed to be looming over the new cohort of whom now blended in as a part of the Medical school. I saw a collegiality forming in what is sure to be a wonderful year of students to introduce to the exciting, yet challenging world of medicine. We couldn’t finish O-week without a party! All four years crawled out of their graves to attend the Back to school party – Zombie apocalypse style. Blood splattered with ripped clothing, zombie school students danced on the UNIpub dance floor. Impressive costumes were seen all around with a special mention to the male students dressed as school girls. Weary eyed and ready for a long nap, I stayed on dancing with the students whom I have only known for a week, yet now called my friends. To the ANU medical class of 2017, Liam and I had the privilege of being your first point of call as you entered ANU medical school and we wish you all the patience, adventure, excitement and knowledge as you embark upon the enchanting path that is Medicine. What a great field you have chosen, one that will forever challenge you, one that will forever be innovating new ideas and one that will forever push you to see how far you can go. Never stop believing in yourselves and remember you are now apart of the Medical family and we are all here to help you along the exciting journey that is Medicine.

c o S d e M mole

ANU Medical Stude Lauren Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Rouke PRESIDENT

Nic Holt TREASURER

If I could be anything in the world aside from being a doctor I would be...

a scuba insturctor in South Africa!

an inanimate carbon rod!

Kelsey Josling

VICE-PRESIDENT

Christopher Wilder ACADEMIC AND ADVOCACY OFFICER

If I could be anything in the world aside from being a doctor I would be...

dancing!

less dependent on coffee!

Gemma Curry SECRETARY

Kieran Neill AMA REPRESENTATIVE

If I could be anything in the world aside from being a doctor I would be...

a dolphin!

having a life!

Emily McLeod SPONSORSHIP OFFICER If I could be anything in the world aside from being a doctor I would be... gollum...no explanation needed!

Alex Brown AMSA REPRESENTATIVE If I could be anything in the world aside from being a doctor I would be... a cheetah!

Blair Burke SOCIAL REPRESENTATIVE If I could be anything in the world aside from being a doctor I would be... a dolphin trainer and a sky photograher so I could swin and fly all day!

ents Society 2014 Christina Hodge WELLBEING OFFICER

Arunima Jain YEAR 3 ACADEMIC REP

If I could be anything in the world aside from being a doctor I would be...

Dora the explorer with my pet monkey!

a travelling food critic! Free travel and food!

Wasif Mirza IT OFFICER

Ayesha Arora YEAR 3 GENERAL REP

If I could be anything in the world aside from being a doctor I would be...

NOT setting up websites!

a professional dishwasher or safari guide!

Yi Fan Tang PUBLICATIONS OFFICER

Brian Chan YEAR 2 ACADEMIC REP

If I could be anything in the world aside from being a doctor I would be...

running American Vogue or a loveable fly on the wall!

Chef / baker Ask me about sourdough baking!

Suhaila Kamrani INTERNATIONAL OFFICER

Liam Stone YEAR 2 GENERAL REP

If I could be anything in the world aside from being a doctor I would be...

a bright shining star that lights up the night sky to guide wandering travellers home!

a zombie!

Kerrie Aust YEAR 4 ACADEMIC REP

Chris Wilson YEAR 1 ACADEMIC REP

If I could be anything in the world aside from being a doctor I would be...

owner of a cupcake empire!

a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma

Svetha Rao YEAR 4 GENERAL REP

Billy Xian YEAR 1 GENERAL REP

If I could be anything in the world aside from being a doctor I would be...

Beyonce!

somewhere else!

AMSA Report 2013 I hope, whether you’re new to ANU, or familiar with Canberra’s icy clutches, that your 2014 is treating you well. 2013 was a big year in the AMSA department – we passed in excess of 20 policies at our 3 councils throughout the year, with which to guide future advocacy efforts on behalf of Australia’s medical students. The year also saw the world’s (!) biggest student conference at GC2013, featuring a successful world record attempt, and a world record number of ANU attendees -allow yourself to be inspired by Ally B to attend Adelaide 2014. We also sent a strong (both physically and in terms of numbers) delegation to the AMSA Global Health Conference in Hobart, who would implore you to put GHC in your calendar for September 2014 in Sydney – featuring our very own Bec Moses as an Academic Convenor.

A couple of key highlights of AMSA policy development last year were the passing of several policies particularly relevant to us at the ANU, as well as many which were advocated for on behalf of EnSign, specifically regarding: Quality internships for all Australian medical graduates; Internship allocation; Domestic full fee-paying places in public universities;Rural background entry; as well as Australian Foreign Aid; and Climate Change and Health to name a few, check out http://www.amsa.org.au/advocacy/official-policy/ or get in touch with Alex Brown to find out more! Sam Harkin AMSA Representative 2013

What’s new in 2014 It seems 2014 is flying by but I hope everyone is enjoying the year thus far and the first years have now settled into Canberra life and all the fun that goes with it. I am your 2014 AMSA Representative, incase you haven’t noticed by my annoying facebook and wattle posts and the extensive emails. AMSA is the Australian Medical Student Association and is the peak representative body of the medical students across Australia. My role is to be the liaison between all of you and AMSA. AMSA have been very busy this year with numerous press releases from AMSA President Jessica Dean about the launch of the mental health campaign focusing on the mental health and wellbeing of medical students and junior doctors, the ongoing internship crisis whereby AMSA advocate for internships for all graduates of Australian medical schools, and also to ensure the quality of such positions is maintained. The introduction of the AMSA for refugee and asylum seeker mental health (AFRAM) has been a hit as AMSA works towards achieving amazing things in the global health arena with the launch of the inaugural global health leadership development seminar, GlobalEx, in July this year. I have not long returned from the first council meeting of the year. We passed policies on Alcohol misuse and harms, complimentary and alternative medicine in medical education, internship policy, blood donation deferral, disability care and support, access to safe termination of pregnancy, HIV/AIDs and LGBTIQ. The Bonded medical places policy

was contentious at this council and thus will be up for review again at second council. If you are interested in policy or any issues pertaining to you as a medical student or your future career as a doctor, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with me, I would love to hear from you. Before they even begin, AMSA events have started off with a bang with applications for NLDS and GlobalEx taking the student population by storm as well as the annual AMSA national Convention registration. We have 15 confirmed delegates for Adelaide Unconventional National Convention at this stage which is going to make for one hell of a week of physical strength, inspirational speakers and hopefully lots of laughter from none other than the master of clowning around, Dr Patch Adams. Please all be aware of the National Blood Drive, we want to win the Vamprie Cup this year so I hope you time your blood donations to fit so you can donate between the 12th July and 25th August. And if you donate plasma, you can donate multiple times during that period. So lets get planning and kick Deakin out of their glory and improve on our 4th position in 2012 and our even better 2nd position in 2013. Lets make it 1st in 2014. Who is with me? And that’s all from me…for the moment.

Alex AMSA Representative 2014

Canadian

Perspective

It all seemed so surreal, but 5 weeks of medical school has been completed. If anyone was to stroll around the medical school common room, they would still hear the typical conversations how our cohort is still in disbelief that they are in medical school, let alone having finished 5 weeks. People still chat about what home was like, where home was, and what they were doing before they came here. I know for me, this is especially true. I still get questions asking whether we Canadians eat snow cones with maple syrup as a flavour, or if we eat our pancakes with bacon and maple syrup on top. While completely and emphatically hilarious at the expense of my home country, it makes me miss home all the more. I’m sure those who are away from their homes also feel the same way, and no amount of distance between will change that. I hope I’m conveying the sentiment of a surreal nature, but if my words have failed, just know that we still can’t believe we’re here! But, we are here, and now that we’re here, life is a little bit different. For starters, studying is now a daily exercise (who would have known?). Friendships are slowly emerging as students discover who they can truly be themselves with among the great diversity in the student body. Through the stress and the mountain of knowledge we call medical science, there are still moments of laughter, lightheartedness, and intellectual stimulation in the form of those random trivia cards sitting in the common room. Let’s face it, if medical school isn’t a humbling experience, those cards definitely are. Perhaps the first skill that I’ve picked up in medical school is that I can now easily spot the chefs, the let-me-never-enter-the-kitchen people, and the I’ll-eat-whatever-I-can-put-together people. If you weren’t one of those, then you probably ate your lunch at Subway, and we’ll see how long you last… Clinical days are still my favorite days, because it’s the only day we can wear our stethoscopes and mend our poor egos, if only for a day. The eagerness to ask mock patients SOCRATES has not yet faded, and let’s all be honest here, we’re still scared to death every time we take a history. We’re still told by the clinical skills staff to not congregate in the foyer, but we do it anyway. It’s all part of the fun. Outside of the school schedule, touching people is my favorite pasttime (touch football that is). If we can’t beat second years at anything else, at least we’ll have a shot there. If you ask me, there’s nowhere else I would rather be. Medical school is nothing like I had ever expected, it is so much more. I can’t wait for my training to be over so I can start using my skills, but with that said, let me first enjoy the brutal four years that is medicine. We just got here! The journey to get here has been amazing, but I’m sure the road that lies ahead is even more awesome. Billy Xian 1st year Medical Student

After the

storm

...my journey in Tacloban City

Everything was going smoothly – I had my 5 week volunteering-holiday to Tacloban City, Philippines all planned out and holidays were just a week away. That was until the most powerful typhoon to ever make landfall – Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) hit the Philippines on the 8th of November 2013. Winds reaching up to 300km/h and 6m waves caused over 10,000 deaths and 1 million people to be displaced from their homes. The Philippines needed help more than ever so I decided to go against the will of my overly-protective father, and set off for the unknown. As the plane began its descent into Tacloban City, I had one thing on my mind – “wtf did I get myself into!?” The city was in absolute ruin, like a scene off some WWII movie. There were no discernable roads, large palls of smoke were scattered across the landscape, trees were either snapped in half or uprooted and temporary shelters with the UN logo were everywhere. Despite the destruction, the locals who accommodated me were the loveliest people anyone could ever meet. I swear, these people don’t know how to frown. Everyone greeted me with a smile or a “Hi Kuya Yi!” (Kuya means older brother) every time I walked down the street. I stayed at a homestay in a Barangay (suburb) called “Bliss” – a little ironic considering the conditions we were living in. There was no electricity and no stable water supply. I found it extremely difficult to cope with the humidity and 35 degree initially, but you soon learn to embrace the sweat. Mosquito spray was like gold, but I foolishly only brought one container with me. By the third day I counted 27 mosquito bites on my right foot alone.

Luckily there was no malaria in the area, dengue on the other hand… I soon learned that my slender body physique and limited medical knowledge would not be a problem at all. There were 12 year old kids and 60 year old men carrying bags of rice larger than themselves! And as long as you could take a blood pressure and basic vital signs you were in need at the Rural Health Clinic that I was placed at. I spent most of my time at two Rural Health Clinics where I assisted the nurses with measuring vitals and dispensing basic medications. There was no doctor at the clinic but a visiting doctor from Doctors Without Borders would pop in from time to time to assist. Dan (a medical student from the UK) and I were trusted with undertaking our own consultations. To be honest, we had no idea what we were doing, but the doctor would reassure us that we’re doing a great job and she was there if we needed her. Most of the cases were diarrhoea, puncture wounds or upper respiratory tract infections. International organisations such as Doctors Without Borders, Philippines Red Cross, Samaritans Purse and the Canadian-Filipino Medical Association would recruit volunteers from the local Rural Health Clinics to help with medical missions. We went to rural suburbs and set up makeshift clinics. We were taught a variety of clinical skills on-the-go including suturing, pre-natal checks, immunisation, incision and drainage of abscesses, inserting catheters and the list goes on. It was such a privilege to work alongside these outstanding individuals. On my days off, I went to the tertiary hospital – Eastern Visayans Regional Medical Centre. I observed and assisted in a variety of surgeries and helped the surgeon with consultations in the outpatient department. My job was to assess patients with puncture wounds or dog bites and write prescriptions for tetanus and rabies. These accounted for close to 50% of the patients we saw. The doctors have crazy hours over there: daily 8 hour shifts, a 24 hour shift every 3 days and no weekends off! Any kind of help was much appreciated. Medicine aside, there was a substantial amount of relief work for the volunteers. We would help repack and distribute donated food, clothing and shelter kits. The gratitude on the faces of the families were unforgettable.

There were also building and clean-up projects starting up in the Barangay. In my spare time I hung out with the local kids, played some basketball and had a jam on the guitar. I loved my time in Tacloban City. I learnt a vast amount of medical knowledge and gained valuable clinical experience. But most of all, the people were amazing. The locals welcomed me with open arms and treated me as a family member (one guy even offered to cook his turtle for me – what a lovely gesture!). The other volunteers were all amazing, everyone was so easy going and willing to help. The memories we shared and life lessons I learnt will stick with me forever. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience. As part of EnSIGN, our ANU Global Health group, we are trying to organise a shipment of donated medical supplies and school books to help Tacloban City recover. We are looking for volunteers to help with a fundraiser car-wash in early May. If you would like to help make this happen or if you have any questions on how to get involved with volunteering in the Philippines please email me (u5132701@anu.edu.au) or check out www.visayans.org. #TindogTacloban (Rise Up Tacloban) Yi Deng - 3rd year medical student

Medical Revue

Timmy never knew there were cells in his body that could walk and talk and had personalities of their own. He never knew there was an entire society functioning within him, or that he had his own immune guardians protecting him day and night. Unfortunately for Timmy, no one had ever known the likes of Salmonella De Vil before... Join us for a night of infectious fun as Timmy’s finest set out across the body on the trail of a most virulent and seductive pathogen. With years of antibiotic resistance in the making, will Salmonella prove too hot to handle? Or can our immune heroes crack the case of Timmy’s lifetime? Join us for 4 fun filled nights (7-10 May) of song, dance and plenty of laughter at the ANU Arts Centre. Come support your fellow students as we work hard to raise money for the Children Medical Research Institute. For tickets please visit www.trybooking.com/ESHZ. Yi Fan Tang (Co-producer) Michael Marginson (Co-director)

EnSIGN in 2014

AFRAM is an ongoing AMSA Global Health advocacy campaign to promote mental health and wellbeing in the refugee and asylum seeker population, while highlighting the detrimental effects of mandatory detention and off-shore processing. EnSIGN has also been sending student volunteers to MARSS to assist in computer literacy programs for the local refugee community.

The AMSA National Health Forum is a debate on the controversial topic of “Australian Foreign Aid: ethical, health and socio-political implications” on the 1st of May. It is a great chance for medical students to engage with medical politics at the highest level. Live Below the Line is coming up on the 5th – 9th of May! Join thousands of people around the world as they raise money to end extreme poverty by eating off $2 a day for 5 days. Ever get that sudden urge of wanting to wash a car for charity? Well here’s your chance! EnSIGN is hosting a fundraiser car-wash on Saturday the 10th of May to raise money for the typhoon-struck Tacloban City, Philippines. We are looking for volunteers to help sell tickets a few days before and to wash cars on the actual day. I CARE is a charity aimed at providing medical care to impoverished Iraqi children. A Global Health Speaker Night featuring a documentary on the health effects of depleted uranium in Iraq and the paediatric surgeon Professor Croaker, is taking place on the 31st of May. The largest AMSA Global Health Conference ever held will be in Sydney from the 5th-9th of September – save the dates! Registrations open in June, but in the meantime, keep your eyes open for updates on this spectacular event. If you would like more information or would like to participate in any of these events please email me on u5132701@anu.edu.au. Yi Deng AMSA Global Health Representative

Surgical Society 2014

The ANU surgical society has accomplished a lot in the last few years, and we have many grand plans for our future. One of the key developments of the society this year is the expansion of its committee structure. In addition to having elected representatives from the 4 years of our medical school, we have added committee member positions for other medical students who are passionate about surgery and are keen on helping out. Currently, we have 20 enthusiastic medical students in our society. Another main goal of this society in 2014 is to raise our national and international profile and foster relationships with other surgical interest groups. This year we have become a member of SurgIN (Surgical Interest Network) which is a network of all the surgical societies around Australia and New Zealand, and IASSS (International Association of Student Surgical Societies) which is an international network of surgical societies. We believe these relationships will allow fruitful exchange of ideas and resources, which will no doubt benefit all surgically inclined ANU medical students. We will strive to further consolidate and build on these relationships in the near future. In 2014 we will also be launching the ANU surgical society mentorship program. This is a pilot program where we will be pairing up 4th and 1st year medical students, with the aim of providing general academic and psychosocial support to the new students. We will also aim to meet the needs of any particular student, e.g. pairing up surgically inclined medical students. We believe the 1st years will benefit tremendously from the real-life perspectives gained from the clinical experience of our final year students. Ultimately, we would like to expand this program in the future to have surgical consultants & registrars mentoring surgically inclined ANU medical students. In keeping with the tradition of the surgical society, we will be once again hosting the highly successful and popular annual surgical symposium. This is the centerpiece of the surgical society calendar where we will invite prominent Canberra surgeons as keynote speakers, providing inspiration for the next generation of doctors and surgeons. Stay tune for the official list of speakers for our 2014 symposium! As usual, our year representatives also provide day-to-day academic support to all our medical students. The Year 1 & 2 reps are involved in organizing the pre-clinical dissection program; The Year 3 & 4 reps are involved in organizing surgical long-case masterclasses. And we are also there to facilitate any academic discussions between students and lecturers. 2014 promises to be another exciting year for the ANU Surgical Society. I look forward to seeing all of you at our future events! John Au President, ANU Surgical Society

Surgical Society 2013 committee with our keynotes speakers at the 2013 Surgical Symposium

Sunday 16th February 2014 saw a group of shiny and clean medical students join 12,000 runners to participate in Canberra’s first Colour Run. Our team quickly split into the hard-core runners who steamed onto the front, and the rest of us who were happy to maximise our colour-drenching experience. After progressing through the yellow zone, we quickly realised the best way to maximise our colour was to adopt the stop drop and roll across each of the remaining colour zones. The atmosphere at the finish line was incredible – great music, a fog of colour flying through the air above the stage and the biggest grins across everyone’s faces. The intermittent rain did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm. In addition to being the happiest fun run on Earth, the Colour Run raised money for The Canberra Hospital Foundation. The Foundation assists the Canberra Hospital by raising funds for equipment, to support research and to enhance facilities for overall patient and family centred care. All funds raised by the Foundation stay within Canberra to support the local community and 100% of all donations are used for this purpose. The Colour Run is one of many awesome running events that the Medsoc supports throughout the year. We encourage students to get involved as training for the next event is a great way to keep fit and get a healthy dose of vitamin D over the Canberra winter. Keep an eye on the Medsoc calendar or ask one of your friendly year reps. Kerrie Aust Year 4 Academic Representative

Fiji Village Project Update

The Fiji Village Project (FVP) is a non-profit student initiative whereby medical students from around Australia, New Zealand and Fiji combine efforts to conduct health screenings, education programs and water projects in disadvantaged Fijian village communities. The first fundraising event took place on the sunny Saturday April 12th with a 5km scenic walk/ fun-run (for the more athletic participants) across the ANU campus. Fifty walkers from the medical and non-medical community (including a few enthusiastic pets!) donned their best tropical outfits and donated $5 for registration. Following the walk, everyone enjoyed a BBQ and bake sale in the beautiful autumn weather with prizes for the best dressed and the winner of the fun-run (congrats to the speedy Peter Bennett). The day was a great success, raising $350 for the project. A special thank you for the generous donations from ‘The Butcher Shop’ Dickson, ‘Bakery Culture’ Jamison and ‘Perfect Poultry’ Civic. The FVP is planning its next exciting fundraising event in conjunction with the Medical School’s musical production, ‘Caecal Weapon 2’, with performances at ANU from May 7-10th. We would love to see you there! Sam Moore Fiji Village Project

Close the Gap The ARMS Close the Gap Ceremony commenced at 11:30am with a delicious BBQ provided by ANU GP Student Network, at the Leonard Huxley Building at ANU on the 5th of April. During this time attendees were welcomed and encouraged to sign the Oxfam Pledge to Close the Gap to achieve health equality for Indigenous Australians by 2030. At 12:30pm, Aunty Agnes, an Ngunnawal elder performed a moving welcome to country followed by the Wiradjuri Echoes who wowed the audience with traditional dances and provided excellent entertainment as they encouraged everyone to participate. Following this 100 people filed into the lecture theatre including 80 interstate university health students, 20 ANU medical students and a number of indigenous community members. Rebecca Irwin, ARMS President opened the forum and Danielle Dries, ARMS Indigenous Representative introduced each of the Speakers. Each speaker was given a hand painted art piece by Danielle Dries or Amanda Steele, to thank them for their amazing efforts and inspirational presentations. The first speaker was Richard Jameson, the student support coordinator at ACU and Medal of the Order of Australia recipient. Richard spoke about retaining Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and supporting them in the workforce and how “we need Indigenous health professionals. We need to support them and keep them culturally strong and motivated”. Dr Jill Bestic, GP also spoke about her experiences in remote Indigenous health and said “The pivotal issue is the complete lack of respect for Indigenous Australians”.

In the break, attendees enjoyed afternoon tea while viewing the NT and rural experience photo exhibit and voting for their favourite. Winners included Victoria Cheung (1st) , Jessica King (2nd) and Deb Wong (3rd) who all received excellent prizes on behalf of MIPS. The 3rd speaker was Janine Milera, CEO of CATSINaM who spoke about how the health workforce contributes to Closing the Gap and importantly stated “We need an Indigenous and a culturally competent health workforce to Close the Gap”. Next was Justin Mohamed, chairperson of NACCHO, who spoke about the history of the Close the Gap campaign and community controlled health sector. Amazingly “NACCHO’s footprint reaches over 300 Indigenous communities, providing health care to over 50% Australia’s Indigenous population”. The final speaker was Debra Hocking, a survivor of the stolen generationand recipient of the International Year of Culture of Peace and Human Rights Award for Humanitarian Activities in Tasmania. Debra strongly conveyed that we “need to address the trauma sustained by the indigenous population to Close the Gap”. In closing, Rebecca Irwin read a letter on behalf of the Prime Minister and ended with a quote posted by Blair Burke, ARMS Vice President during the forum “Health inequality is never okay. Everyone deserves respect and everyone deserves access to health care. You may not be responsible for creating the gap but we can all be a part of closing it.” Rebecca Irwin ARMS President

Research Project Evening

“ If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.” - Lord Kelvin

With research being new to many of the first year cohort, the Research Project Evening gave students an introduction to the diversity that exists within the medical research field. The first year students flocked in vast numbers to the evening for the opportunity to meet potential supervisors, as well due to the appeal of free pide, and they were not disappointed on either front. The keynote speaker, Associate Professor Zsuzsoka Keskes, outlined her research interests in Neonatal Intensive Care as well as her background, both of which captivated the attentive audience. The presentations of previous research projects from upper year students were of the highest standard and included an overview of differing research techniques, as well as advice on how best to approach the project itself. The topics reviewed during the evening included presentations on safe sleeping guidelines for babies in hospitals, diabetes care in urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, and immune cell involvement in the human AMD retina. The highlights were numerous for the night with special mention going to the presentations by Pasqualina Moscolino, Marie Mansfield, and the best student presentation winner, Jae-Gon Yoo. A big congratulations go to all the organisers of the evening and to all the staff and students that voluntarily donated their time in order to make the event a resounding success. Chris Wilson 1st year Medical Student

What’s on?

Don’t miss these fantastic events put on for you by MedSoc and our sub-committees

May

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AMSA National Health Forum debate: Australian Foreign Aid: ethical, health and socio-political implications

ANU Medical Revue - Caecal Weapon 2: The Rise of Salmonella Global Library Project - Philippines typhoon relief car-wash Mental Health First Aid Medical Symposium Mental Health First Aid Wellbeing Evening Ensign - Global Health Speaker Night

June

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ANU Medical School 10 year Anniversary Family Sports Day Interyear Cup Round 2: Soccer

For more infomation on these events keep an eye on your ANU email and our Facebook group (ANU MedSoc) and Facebook page (Australian National University Medical Students’ Society).