Wheatbelt health news

Northam Welcome to 2024

Health professionals and their families from Northam and surrounds are invited to our welcome to 2024 networking event to connect and catch up with colleagues and friends.

Friday 23 February 2024 | 5.30pm–7.30pm
Northam Country Club, 15 Wood Drive, Northam

Light refreshments provided!

This event is FREE for all members of the Wheatbelt Health Professionals Network – Visit www.wbhpn.com.au/network to join as a member (membership is free).

Registrations for this event are essential; click here to register.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Medical students review of a year in the Wheatbelt

Three Rural Clinical School students; Ben Minson, Penny McDonald and Lila Rodari spent their penultimate year in the Wheatbelt town of Northam, here is what they had to say about this amazing experience.

Lila what are your most memorable moments of your year spent in the Wheatbelt?

I really enjoyed the Dowerin Field Day, I thought this was a great way to get involved in the community and it was great to meet and chat with the people attending. The EMET sessions were also really valuable. Networking and meeting doctors from other towns gave insight into how they balance rural living with medicine, I kept picturing if I could be in one of these positions in the future. It also demonstrated how metro doctors can still give back to a rural community. Lastly, I loved hanging out with my room mates and the team at the Northam RCS Office.

Ben why did you decide to go into medical school and what factors drew you to apply for a rural year?

I decided to pursue medicine after a career in hospitality and I really want to work in mental health. I was drawn rurally as I had heard how good the teaching was and how beneficial the one-on-one time with the doctors is. I also really wanted to see how a smaller remote hospital works with more clinical acumen required.

Penny what are your top tips for next year's students?

My first tip is to keep onto of study as it is very easy to relax here as it is a slower pace to that of a city. Find a way to involve yourself in the community, it's a great way to make friends and create a social life. Set some goals for the year and recognise this is a great insight into rural living as well as medicine. Be grateful for this sometimes challenging but also rewarding and exciting adventure!

EOI sought from Wheatbelt General Practitioners

The Western Australian Cervical Cancer Prevention Program (WACCPP) are offering:

Free, supervised, Cervical Screening Test (CST) clinical education sessions for General Practitioners seeking to be competent in the provision of CSTs.

Normally costs $385 per attendee, fee will be covered by the WACCPP sponsorship.

In-clinic education sessions will be provided at the Sexual Health Quarter (SHQ) clinic premises at 70 Roe St, Northbridge.

Date: Open from January 2023 - June 2024

Needs assessment/educational session with a SHQ Medical Educator will be conducted prior to the in-clinic education session.

This opportunity is available to General Practitioners working in the Wheatbelt region.

Doctors working with a limited or provisional AHPRA registration will require AHPRA approval via a change in circumstances application to attend CST supervised clinical attachment at SHQ. Further details will be provided by SHQ upon application.

For more information and to register your interest please contact: clinic.ed@shq.org.au

Did you know our Wheatbelt Health Professionals Network events calendar is a one-stop-shop for health-related training and events happening in the region?

We do our best to ensure our calendar features relevant upskilling, training, webinars and social networking events that are coming to your town or your tablet. Make sure you visit the calendar to check out the education and activities delivered in the Wheatbelt.

Do you have something you would like published on the WBHPN events calendar and promoted via our socials? Email Program Officer Anna McPhee to get in touch.

Practice support

Practice Assist is a free service that coordinates and delivers end-to-end practice support services for not only general practice teams, but all health professionals across Western Australia.

The Practice Assist team can help enhance the efficiency, capacity and sustainability of your practice with a comprehensive suite of practice management resources and support services:

A toll-free help desk between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Email the helpful team for advice regarding practice management queries.
Assistance with Quality Improvement in your practice from Quality Improvement Coaches.
Visit the dedicated wesbite for the latest news, information, resources, COVID-19 information and more.

Receive support and information about digital health technologies.
Educational webinars, networking events and regional workshops.
Stay up to date by subscribing to Practice Connect, our fortnightly newsletter.
Contact the Practice Assist team to connect with Primary Care Navigators and Quality Improvement Coaches.

If you require assistance, please contact Practice Assist on 1800 227 7478 or email. For more information visit the Practice Assist website.

Practice assist is a joint initiative of Rural Health West and WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA).

The Wheatbelt Health Professionals Network is brought to you by the following stakeholder partnership:

You have received this newsletter as a health professional working in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Email addresses used to disseminate this newsletter were obtained through Rural Health West's databases. Unsubscribing from this newsletter will remove you from the distribution list for all Rural Health West publications. To stop receiving this newsletter only, please email contact@wbhpn.com.au