Sorry for the long time between blogs I have been having such fun I lost track of the time. I have been learning so much in freezing cold Victoria (colder than NZ!!!). Over the past two weeks I have been primarily based in the Heyfield GP clinic. Here I have my own consulting room and take part in parallel consulting which I have found an incredibly valuable learning experience. › Continue reading…

The past few days I have been in Bairnsdale hospital. As James describes in his blog, GPs are common place on the wards and in theatre, looking after their own patients as required. The community feel of the hospital extends further than this; the people of Bairnsdale appear to truly value their health facility and support it at every opportunity. › Continue reading…

My previous posts have been relatively up beat, however here I would like to share one of my more sobering experiences in Bairnsdale hospital.

A 72-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with 12 hours of acute severe cramping abdominal pain and profuse foul smelling diarrhoea. Morphine infusions barely scratched the surface. › Continue reading…

After a weekend in Gippsland I am once again stoked to be involved in rural medicine. Already rural medicine has taken me from Wellington to Queenstown, to Thailand, up Mount Ruapehu, into the Wairarapa and now Australia. And the possibilities keep evolving.

Gippsland revealed a rugged coastline, golden beaches, aboriginal culture, national parks and awesome people. Saturday took us to Orbost, a rural town at the entrance to Snowy River National Park. › Continue reading…

Lakes Entrance is a stunning wee town on Australia’s Southern Coast. It sits at the junction between the Gippsland Lakes and the Bass Straight, with a channel at the western edge of the town connecting the two. The sea border of the town is marked with the beautiful white sand 90 mile beach which as the name suggests stretches as far as the eye can see in both directions. Fishing boats are moored in the lake adjacent to the main street and holiday parks are numerous in the back roads. › Continue reading…

The last 2 days working in Bairnsdale’s rural hospital has shone new light on the place they call “GP land”.

Bairnsdale is a town of approximately 14,000 in East Gippsland; a region of Victoria, Australia. It has a single screen cinema, 2 high schools, a bi-weekly newspaper, three Aussie Rules clubs, two GP practices and one excellent GP led hospital. Luckily for me, they are also home to the Gippsland branch of Monash University’s rural medical teaching programme. › Continue reading…

Welcome to my blog on experiences studying Medicine in Australia through Monash University thanks to the Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust.

After a hectic couple of days catching up with friends in Melbourne and a 5 hour train/bus ride we arrived in Bairnsdale, Victoria on Sunday for a night to rest up in preparation for two busy weeks.  Bairnsdale is a town of about 15 000 people with a well equipped hospital.   I’ll be spending some time there later so more to come on that.   We spent a day in tutorials with the local rural student, there are 11 of them in total, and had a look at their clinical skills lab. › Continue reading…

Hi my name is Matt and I am one of the 3 RMIP students from Queenstown provided with an amazing opportunity by the Pat Farry Trust. I am placed in a small rural town of about 2000 people called Heyfield. Throughout my time here I will be primarily based at the GP clinic but also will be spending some time in the ED in Sale (base hospital). I am really looking forward to the rest of my time here and hopefully I will get the chance to explore a bit of the area.