Community inspires medical training in west

As a young medical student, Dr Stephen Lew looked up during a lecture and thought there had to be another way to learn. It was his passion for both education and medicine which guided the career path of the now Head of the University of Melbourne’s Western Clinical School based at Western Health in Footscray and Sunshine.

Out west, he says, the medical students are challenged by a community not typical of that of the major city hospitals. The largely migrant population, in what is a more distinct catchment, as opposed to the larger sprawling suburbs of the eastern and northern parts of Melbourne, make the west a unique place to train. “If people are not well, for example, they are more likely to come back to us as opposed to travel elsewhere,” he says. “We are more likely to see members from the same family more often for example.”

The range of cultural groups from regions such as Africa and South-East Asia means there is a higher rate of certain diseases such as Hepatitis B and Tuberculosis. “These are more prevalent in the west as migrant groups have not always had such good access to health services,” Dr Lew says.

It is a close connection to the community and within the medical community itself which epitomises the medical training experience in the west.

Ms Lihini Samarawickrama, a fifth year University of Melbourne medical student agrees.

 “A sense of community definitely has made my experience in the west a good one, not only to better understand all cultures but also to get to know patients better,” she says.

A resident of Hoppers Crossing, Ms Samarawickrama says it is her local knowledge of the area which has helped her to relate to and understand her patients’ experiences and health.

It is also the hospital environment which is less hierarchical than other larger major hospitals which has provided a sense of community.

“The hospital is definitely geared towards teaching. There is great support for students there and has given me the idea that I would also like to return to teach one day,” she says.

This element is reinforced by the direction of the Western Clinical School’s training program moving towards students being placed within community health centres, working alongside GPs and allied health practitioners.

“This is so they can observe how other health professionals manage complex social and health situations unique to this area,“ Dr Lew says.

For the past 21 years, the Western Clinical School has been historically connected to the Royal Melbourne Hospital Clinical School. Beginning with only a handful of students training for around six weeks every year, the School has gradually grown in 2009-2010 to have 16 full-time students completing one year of medical training in Western Health hospitals at Footscray and Sunshine and grown further still to take 37 students full-time from July 2010.

This increased time has enabled students to feel more connected to the hospital, its staff and patients.

“They are well embraced here by the staff who enjoy their input and participation,” Dr Lew says.

Ms Samarawickrama also speaks of the culture of inclusion. “I feel I am valued as a student to contribute. There is definitely an effort made to be included in the care of patients and to learn,” she says.

Recruiting local students to embark upon a medical career is part of the goal for the School. “We are championing medical careers, for example, through partnerships with local secondary schools and hope that these students will become the junior and then senior doctors of the future,” Dr Lew says.

“They will have the enormous benefit of understanding the region, the hospital and the community,” he says.

Ms Samarawickrama is one of the pioneering 16 full-time students of the Western Clinical School. With another year and a half to go, she will do another six months at Western Health Sunshine next year before heading to a hospital internship. “I would definitely like to return to work in the west. It would allow me a chance to give something back to the community in which I grew up.”

A big drawcard to the medical students in the west will be the soon-to-be-built $51.6 million teaching, training and research centre at Western Health, Sunshine. Funded by the University of Melbourne, Victoria University and State and Federal Governments, the facility will provide high-quality teaching and training for a range of medical students across a number of medical disciplines.

The new facility will house innovative teaching spaces and simulators to learn about medical procedures, an auditorium, lecture theatre and conference area, library and laboratory and office space for researchers with wireless technology throughout.

“This includes highly complex simulator technology to enable a team of doctors, nurses, anesthetists and students to conduct a mock operation and run through a simulated heart attack for example, including emergency-type drills,” Dr Lew says.

The research unit will combine medicine, surgery, psychiatry, population health, pediatrics, nursing, allied health (including physiotherapy) and women’s health.

“These research areas will enable the local medical community to address chronic health problems specific to the west,” Head of the University of Melbourne Department of Medicine (Sunshine & Western Hospitals) Professor Peter Ebeling says.

“In the next few years, any medical student wishing to have a rewarding career in research or most specialist medical areas will be able to do so at Sunshine,” he says.

“Premium spaces in hospitals are usually difficult to find for education purposes, so this is an excellent environment for medical students to learn in,” Dr Lew says.

www.westernhealth.org.au