We’ve all seen the shows on television, and probably all wondered how realistic they are. For our year three University of Sydney medical students, the answer is probably not that much, with the recent storyline less about the adrenaline rush of the operating room, and more about the contemplation of research.
The students have just completed their research project presentations, the culmination of a fourteen-week block where they were tasked with a deep dive into issues of relevance and interest to them and our region. This year the topics were as diverse as they were impressive, with projects around:
- Identifying best practices that support linkages between environmental health and primary health care services to improve the health and well-being in rural and remote Australian Indigenous Communities.
- The usefulness of microbiome profiling for geriatric patients with neuropsychiatric conditions.
- Identifying the barriers and facilitators to implementation of structured annual health assessments for people with intellectual disability in primary care.
- Virtual health services use by older adults with preventable chronic conditions in northern NSW rural communities.
- Investigating the impact of the 2022 Lismore flood on surgery and procedural delays.
Each student was supervised throughout the research block, supported by one or more of UCRH’s academic and research team or a clinician from the Northern NSW Local Health District. Some of the projects are scoping reviews, where students synthesize existing literature on a given topic, looking for insights, gaps or opportunities. Others were analyses of existing data, qualitative analyses or cohort studies. All provided an important opportunity for the students to develop their analytical and scientific skills.
With their research block complete, these students have returned to settings slightly more akin to the small screen. The hospital-based placements they have now embarked on will see them focus on critical care and mental health.
They will spend time in the emergency, intensive care and anaesthetics departments of Lismore Base Hospital. They will also spend time learning about psychiatry and addiction medicine, with placements at Lismore base Hospital’s various mental health units, the Riverlands Drug and Alcohol Centre, Byron Bay Central Hospital Mental Health Unit or community mental health services.
While it may not be as glamorous as the scriptwriters might have us believe, the education we work hard to provide to our students is designed to help them understand and develop the range of qualities and skills they will need as a clinician and as a community leader.
Pictured above: the year three University of Sydney medical students have this week brushed up on their plastering skills (along with physical therapy students from University of Sydney and Griffith University) in readiness for the next round of placements.
