Health and edical Sciences eDeFacts€¦ · behind the scenes, the professional services team without whose contributions nothing would be achieved. However we cannot be complacent

Continued on page 6 Continued on page 8

Rural clinical schoolGalvans Gorge Gibb River Road was snapped by Ms Victoria Everton, an RCSWA student based at Derby. Many RCSWA students take the opportunity to travel the Gibb River Road during their year in the country.

Previous editions of MeDeFacts can be viewed online at www.meddent.uwa.edu.au/news/medefacts

www.meddent.uwa.edu.au/news/medefacts

Rural clinical school tips the scales for the bushGood intentions of medical students to become country doctors do not necessarily translate into action unless they participate in a rural clinical school during training, a new study has found.

And the finding goes for students who hail from rural and urban areas, says Associate Professor Denese Playford, Co-ordinator for the Rural Clinical School of WA (RCSWA). She was lead author of the study, “Opting for rural practice: the influence of medical student origin, intention and immersion experience” that was published in the Medical Journal of Australia in August.

“The RCSWA is the deciding factor in the decision pathway to practise rurally,” she said. In fact, RCSWA participation increases fivefold the likelihood that those students with a pre-existing intention later choose rural practice.

Generation 1 and sleepSleep should be a National Health Priority area along with the other eight that include cardiovascular health, mental health, and obesity, according to an eminent professor.

Professor Peter Eastwood, who is the Director of the Raine Study housed in the Faculty’s School of Population and Global Health and also President of the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA), said it was important to educate the public about the need for adequate sleep.

The ASA together with the Sleep Health Foundation has been lobbying the Federal Government to make sleep a National Health Priority. “So when you think about a healthy life, you think about exercise, you think about diet but you also need to think about sleep,” Professor Eastwood said. “Those three factors are what are going to keep us healthy and productive.”

A report released this year showed the total cost of inadequate sleep to the Australian economy is $66 billion a year in health system costs, productivity losses and loss of wellbeing. It was estimated that 7.5 million Australians adults did not regularly get the sleep they need in 2016-17, with many suffering the most common sleep disorders including sleep apnoea, insomnia and restless legs syndrome.

In June, a two-year follow-up was completed of 1045 participants in the Generation 1 (Raine Parents) study, of whom 1000 underwent an overnight sleep study at the Centre for Sleep Science at The University of WA.

Professor Eastwood said the follow-up had updated the health information on the Raine parents. “The main aim of

Medical students can apply for the year-long immersion program at RCSWA which is undertaken in the penultimate year of their medical degree and during which they are placed at one of the 14 sites around the State.

The study of 508 UWA medical graduates practising in 2016 found only two variables significantly predicted rural workforce participation: graduates from a rural background were almost four times as likely as urban origin graduates, and RCSWA participants nearly twice as likely as non-RCSWA participants, to practise rurally.

When entry intention was taken into account, it was found that both rural and urban origin students with rural intention at entry were more likely to work rurally only if they had also trained in an RCSWA.

The authors said RCSWA experience did not affect the workforce choices of students without an initial rural intention. “This group may include students, of rural or urban origin, who apply for RCSWA training

IN THIS ISSUE Editorial P3 | Reunions P7 | Hosting students P10 | Farewell P15

Health and Medical Sciences

MeDeFactswww.meddent.uwa.edu.auVolume 23 | Number 4 | December 2017

Medical student behaviour – what do you think is acceptable? Medical students are the doctors of the future – so what should their behaviour look like?

Should the same professional behaviour be expected of medical students as of qualified doctors? When the students are in first year, should they be given more leeway than final year students?

A research group led by a UWA academic is surveying qualified Australian medical doctors and the Australian public to develop a better understanding of the professional behaviour expected of medical students.

These issues are being addressed for the first time in Australia by a national survey on student doctor professionalism.

The research is being conducted by Associate Professor Paul McGurgan, Personal and Professional Development Co-ordinator in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Dr Katrina Calvert, Dr Kiran Narula, a UWA MBBS graduate, and Dr Christine Jorm, Associate Dean (Professionalism) Medical Education, University of Sydney.

Associate Professor McGurgan said qualified medical doctors benefitted from clear guidance provided by the Medical Board of Australia about expected professional behaviour and there was a guide called “Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia” (http://www.medicalboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Policies/Code-of-conduct.aspx). But there was no such equivalent guidance for medical students.

“The dilemma happens in that the medical students are doctors in training often working in the clinical environment with patients, yet they are under the remit of the university,” he said. “Hence there is a grey area as the medical students are expected to behave at a higher professional standard than the average university student. This is because they are involved in confidential and sensitive health care issues when they are out on placements.

“We wanted to explore a wide range of challenging and controversial areas, such as the medical students’ use of stimulant drugs to help them pass exams, or what they would do in terms of using hospital equipment inappropriately.”

Associate Professor McGurgan is the chair of the UWA Professional Behaviour Advisory Panel, which assesses complaints about student behaviour, and some of the questions arose from his experience in that role as well as from the other researchers’ clinical experience of working with medical students.

The initial part of the research project has been completed. It involved the researchers contacting all of the medical students enrolled in Australian and New Zealand medical schools. Associate Professor McGurgan said the response had been overwhelming, with 3,165 students from every medical school participating. Although the findings are not yet published, the data show that students have widely varying opinions on appropriate professional behaviours and that they believe there are inconsistencies in how medical schools address these issues.

The final part of the project is to seek the opinion of two more key groups of people, the Australian public and qualified medical doctors, to develop a better understanding of the professional behaviour expectations of medical students.

The research project already is the largest medical student cohort study on professionalism. “By gaining the opinions of the Australian public and qualified doctors we have a unique opportunity to explore further what and where the limits lie in terms of their professional behaviours,” Associate Professor McGurgan said. “This should provide a framework for developing a comprehensive guide on medical student professionalism.”

The surveys, which are online, anonymous and should take about 10 minutes to complete, will remain open until 31 December. The link for medical doctors is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AMA_doctors_survey. For members of the public it is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AusPublic.

If you have any questions about the surveys, please contact Associate Professor McGurgan at [email protected]

-by Cathy Saunders

Associate Professor Paul McGurgan

Dr Kiran Narula

Dr Katrina Calvert

Dr Christine Jorm

2 | MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017

The Dean’s DiaryAs 2017 draws to a close I reflect on the past year and look forward to the year ahead. We have achieved much, but there is also much more to achieve. Our students have completed their academic studies for the year and many are to embark on their professional careers. Some will proceed down the research pathway towards Honours, Masters or PhD degrees. Yet others may decide to take a break from their studies before making decisions about their future. I wish them all well, whichever path they follow.

of Medicine” as their primary degree. My personal congratulations to our new doctors, dentists, pharmacists, podiatrists, social workers and all other health professions who are concluding their studies in 2017. The medical graduands will be welcomed to the profession by their soon-to-be colleagues in a “wall of welcome”.

NHMRC fundingOur Faculty continues to deliver on the mission of advancing health through education and innovation to improve the patient care and the wellbeing of society. Our pioneering research work in many fields continues to have impact on the health of people worldwide - be this in preventing preterm birth, discovering the genetic basis of inherited and acquired disorders, or regenerative medicine. We have had successes in research even in the tough funding environment which all academic institutions are facing. In 2017 UWA was awarded the largest amount of National Health and Medical Research Council research project grant funding ever. We improved our position in all four international ranking schemes.

I am proud to be leading this world-class Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at UWA. This year we have again witnessed the achievements of our extraordinarily talented students and academics and,

behind the scenes, the professional services team without whose contributions nothing would be achieved. However we cannot be complacent – there is more to be done to ensure we are the University-of-choice for students and the academic workforce. This is crucial as our Faculty has an important role in delivering knowledge and discoveries to guarantee we have healthy futures. Looking ahead to 2018 we aim to bring to UWA the highest calibre students, the brightest researchers and best teachers we can. We offer our students a high quality education and student experience. We will be recruiting new academics through the “Be Inspired” campaign.

As the year draws to a close, I also wish to offer a sincere thanks to Cathy Saunders who is retiring as Editor of MeDeFacts after many years of dedication working with the Faculty. Cathy’s reflections on her 16 years of Faculty newsletters are presented on page 15. On behalf of the Faculty I extend our gratitude and best wishes to Cathy on her retirement.

Thank you for your support throughout 2017. I wish you and your family a safe, healthy and happy festive season. I look forward to seeing you in 2018.

Challenges and opportunitiesBy Professor Wendy Erber, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean

No year in academia goes by without challenges, but with them come opportunities. This year we have worked with our new Vice-Chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater in developing the new structure for the University and the Faculty. This has, at times, been challenging. However we have made significant progress and I am delighted to report that our new five School structure is now working well: each of the Schools is being ably led by a talented Head of School and School Executive with support from the professional Service Delivery team. Each School is focused on a major area of teaching and in line with the University’s vision of enhancing the student experience. We strive to deliver world-class research-led teaching in high quality facilities and supported by student mentors. Mentoring, something with which many of our Alumni are already involved, is highly valued by our students. My thanks go to all of our Alumni who give their time voluntarily to work with our students.

J. Robin Warren Library Over the course of the year you have heard much about the library redevelopment project. The library was officially reopened by the Western Australian Minister for Health, the Hon. Roger Cook MLA on 29 November and renamed the “J. Robin Warren Library”. Professor Warren’s Nobel Prize winning discovery when working at Royal Perth Hospital, together with Professor Barry Marshall, changed the practice of medicine. At the event Professor Warren said he was honoured to have the library named after him. “To have my name at the entrance of such an important building is a real thrill and I hope that my work, alongside my colleague and friend Barry Marshall, will inspire tomorrow’s health professionals to go that extra step – to back themselves and rely on their research.” Our students will be inspired, working and studying in an educational facility named in Robin’s honour. The University has taken the opportunity to name the site upon which sits the J. Robin Warren Library (the home of the Faculty office) and the UWA Dental School as the “UWA Health Campus”.

Over the course of 2017 the Faculty has had some “wins” including the successful introduction of the highly popular new major in Medical Sciences. Interest in this new major has particularly come from aspiring dental, allied health and medical students. From 2018 this undergraduate major will be included in the new Bachelor of Biomedical Science degree. In December our first cohort of medical students will graduate “Doctor

MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017 | 3

Research, clinic and broad placement are prioritiesMr Michael Wilding, the newly appointed Head of Division, Podiatric Medicine and Surgery, has been on a steep learning curve since starting in March but is looking forward to making some positive changes.

Mr Wilding, who trained as a podiatrist in the UK, is new to the academic world but he has a long history as a manager, heading podiatric departments in central London for many years and then in Singapore.

He is now looking forward to helping the Faculty’s podiatric team strive for excellence.

“It is always my intention to push to be as good as we can be,” he said.

Over time he would like to see more research undertaken, although ways to free up staff already busy with teaching obligations would have to be found.

“It won’t be immediate, we would have to try to find some extra capacity or add it on and that has cost implications,” he said. “However, that is something I’ll be pushing for.”

“I’d like to produce graduates who go to their first job looking for opportunities to research.”

Mr Michael Wilding.

Keep a weather eye out for pterygia Results of research showing a link between pterygia and skin cancer are being translated into an informative brochure for the Australian public.

A WA study found that people diagnosed with a pterygium are 24% more likely to develop a cutaneous melanoma than those without a pterygium.

Co-researcher Professor David Mackey, Managing Director of the Lions Eye Institute, said the researchers were negotiating with the Cancer Council to develop a brochure alerting people with pterygia to their finding and advising regular skin cancer checks. The pamphlet will be rolled out nationally.

The researchers examined data on all hospital-treated pterygium in Western Australia between 1979 and 2014 and matched cases to WA Electoral Roll controls with no known history of pterygium. There were 23,625 people who had pterygium treatment (64% male) in WA hospitals and the median age for diagnosis and/or treatment was 49 years (range 14–96).

The researchers concluded that the presence of a pterygium indicates a significantly increased risk of developing a cutaneous melanoma. “Eye care providers who see patients with developing pterygia should advise these patients of this increased risk and recommend regular skin surveillance,” they said. The findings were published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, Online First on August 26, 2017.

Another area of focus would be encouraging more people through the doors of the UWA Podiatry Clinic, Podiatric Medicine’s clinical teaching facility.

The clinic is a one-stop shop for many of its patients, assisting people with their first podiatric consultation through to orthotics and surgery if required.

Here people are able to receive top quality podiatry services for about half the cost of private practice, while students receive an invaluable opportunity to learn.

All students are directly supervised by qualified podiatrists. However, more clients are needed in order to increase activity and maximise the learning experience for students.

Mr Wilding said he was also looking to broaden placement opportunities for students beyond hospitals and private practice to ensure they were exposed to a diverse range of podiatric issues across various environments, including rehabilitation, prisons, mental health facilities and, especially, rural communities, where there is high demand but a shortage of trained podiatrists.

“There are a lot of logistics involved in that but it is something I think is essential,” he said.

Mr Wilding believes a mark of the program’s success would be to every year produce graduates who were satisfied with what they had achieved and would recommend the program to others.

“If they leave feeling they have been well trained and educated and in a positive frame of mind to take on their career ahead then it is a good starting point and I’ll be happy with that,” he said.

- by Peta Rasdien

4 | MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017

The newly-appointed Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences says one of his priorities is to build a sense of identity, shared vision and pride in the School, helping to make for a happy and productive workplace. Professor Jeffrey Keelan took over as Head of the School, which was created when the Faculty was restructured this year.

He has started to meet the staff within the School and listen to their needs and suggestions. He believes it important to address the small things, as well as the big issues, and to acknowledge his staff’s achievements and personal milestones.

“When people feel supported, encouraged and appreciated, it really makes a huge difference,” he says.

Improving communication is another priority. “I plan to hold regular School-wide meetings, issue a monthly newsletter by email, and organise School-wide seminars and functions.” He says it is important that events and achievements within the School and externally are communicated and celebrated to foster awareness and collegiality.

The School encompasses seven divisions: biomedical sciences education unit; cancer biology; cardiovascular and respiratory health (including the Institute for Respiratory Health); infection and immunity (including the Marshall Centre); genomics (encompassing the Centre for

Genetic Origins of Health and Disease); stem cell biology and regenerative biology; and pharmacology.

The diverse nature and location of the groups within the School, and their individual requirements and issues, all present specific challenges.

“I am very much in favour of removing barriers to progress and collaboration, breaking down silos and encouraging people to work together, not only within the university, but also with external institutions.”

One way of doing this is to encourage joint affiliations and appointments with other Schools, Faculties and Universities. “This would help establish collaborations, facilitate a dissemination of information, and foster research and teaching initiatives,” he says.

“If we remove artificial barriers, allow people to access resources and equipment, and promote our seminars and programs, this can have very real benefits - plus there is minimal cost.”

The new Head has assembled an executive committee composed of all the Heads of Divisions/Centres, heads of major committees and senior service delivery staff. This committee will oversee the strategic and operational functions of the School.

Delegation will be crucial because Professor Keelan only has 50% of his time allocated to the Head of School role. The other 50% is devoted to his work as a

researcher in obstetrics and gynaecology in the Medical School based at King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH), funded by the Women and Infants Research Foundation. He has special interests in pre-term birth prevention, including novel pharmacological treatment of infection and inflammation in pregnancy.

In addition, he has a significant role in clinical research ethics and governance at KEMH through the North Metropolitan Health Service. “So I actually have three jobs,” he says. “Obviously I have got to be very efficient with my time.”

At a time when he expected to be decreasing his research activities, Professor Keelan recently learnt that his research workload will be increasing. Last month he received three National Health and Medical Research Council grants, one of which is for a large clinical trial while another is for a multicentre preclinical drug evaluation study.

Aiming for a collaborative and cheerful workplace

Professor Jeffrey Keelan

Points to note

Convocation Medal A lifetime of tireless contributions both as a professional and volunteer to the University of WA, and more broadly, was recognised when Clinical Professor Lesley Cala was named this year’s recipient of the Convocation Medal.

A specialist neuro-radiologist who worked clinically at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital for nearly 40 years until 2000, she has held the title of Clinical Professor at UWA since 1991.

She has also championed women’s interests, having been a past Vice President and Health Adviser for the National Council of Women, Australia and having served on the International Council for Women where she advised on international relations and peace. Clinical Professor Cala gave 15 years to the University as a member of Senate and when her time there ran out she dedicated herself to the Convocation Council, where she has served energetically as a Councillor since 2010.

The first cohort of students in the four-year post-graduate Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree graduated this year. Their achievements were celebrated at the

combined Graduation and Dedication Ceremony on 12 December.

The Faculty held an Open House on 9 December to showcase its newly-revamped and re-named Medical and Dental Library, now known as the J. Robin Warren Library. It was re-named in honour

of Professor (John) Robin Warren who was a co-recipient, with Professor Barry J. Marshall, of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2005. The library includes a dedicated Alumni Lounge and e-learning suite. The UWA Science Library was re-named the Barry J. Marshall Library in 2015.

MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017 | 5

Rural clinical school tips the scales for the bush

Footbridge over the flooded Hotham River at Codjatotine was taken by Dr Peter Maguire, a medical co-ordinator for the RCSWA in Narrogin.

The class of 1987 got down to enjoying themselves at their 30-year reunion on 21 October at The Trustee in Perth. The reunion was convened by Dr Nadine Caunt.

because of its educational benefit (hands-on experience, close longitudinal supervision),” they stated in the journal article.

Associate Professor Playford told MeDeFacts that the RCSWA was probably successful for several reasons. “At the point when students are starting to think about career options, they see rural practice as being incredibly vibrant. The people who mentor them are very positive role models, they have great clinical practice, they have a wonderful, engaged personal life and they are making a difference in their community. So I think those three things all band together.”

In addition, a year-long immersion was also imperative. “We know that four weeks in rural general practice is not enough,” she said. “The exposure doesn’t translate into rural practice so it is something to do with duration.”

In the RCSWA, there was also much higher ratio of teachers to students than in urban teaching. “And because staff have contact with students during the whole year, the teacher is really in a position to be able to mentor their development whereas in the city they are going through short rotations,” Associate Professor Playford said.

The study concluded that rural clinical schools are critical to any effective strategy for increasing the proportion of local graduates participating in the rural workforce and that background, intent and RCSWA participation should all be considered if medical schools are to increase the proportion of graduates working rurally.

“So we are looking at equitable ways of increasing rural intake into RCSWA, given the known benefits of rural background,” Associate Professor Playford said.

The study was co-authored by Research Fellow and Statistician Dr Hanh Ngo, MD student Miss Surabhi Gupta, and Professor Ian Puddey, all of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at UWA.

- by Cathy Saunders

Empathy sparked by a seminar An innovative seminar is helping to significantly change the attitudes of medical students towards people with substance abuse disorder.

After the single three-hour addiction medicine seminar, which includes talking to recovering male addicts, students have reported that it helped them better understand and empathise with people who have alcohol and other drug problems.

They also reported that the seminar improved their understanding of alcohol and other drug addiction as a health problem. And they were all grateful to the men who openly talked about their personal experiences. A comment by one student that “Their stories will stick with me and help me to become a better doctor” was echoed by many other students. Another frequent theme in the comments was that the seminar was an invaluable experience.

Senior lecturer in General Practice Dr Lucy Gilkes, who runs the seminar with Professor Gary Hulse of Psychiatry, said it had a strong impact. “We are good at teaching facts, normally, but it’s very, very hard to change attitudes,” she said.

The seminar is run four times in semester 2 for Year 2 MD (Doctor of Medicine) students. Professor Hulse gives a talk to the students who then form groups to chat to the recovering addicts.

Dr Gilkes said that for each seminar, eight men travelled from a rehabilitation facility in Northam. They were recovering from addiction to methamphetamine, alcohol, or a mix of alcohol, methamphetamine and marijuana.

“Hat’s off to the men”, she said. “They really want to share the message, they really want to educate doctors.”

Dr Gilkes is very keen to increase addiction teaching across disciplines. “It affects every specialty,” she said.

Anyone who would like to learn more about the seminar can contact Professor Hulse at [email protected] or Dr Gilkes at [email protected].

Continued from page 1

6 | MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017

WITS ABOUT YOUOur medical quiz is kindly supplied by Emeritus Professor Bernard Catchpole, the second Professor of Surgery appointed to the Faculty.

1. What does “Post hoc ergo propter hoc” mean?

2. The effects of a virus infection seem to fall more heavily on the male than the female. Have any similar observations been made?

3. What does the word “ibid” convey?

4. A bygone supposition was that “tongue tie” is associated with speech defects. What treatment was advised to treat this?

5. Many mammals adopt a certain posture when eating, sleeping, resting, defaecating or even attacking prey. What is it?

(Answers page 10)

The 54th annual reunion of the class of 1963 was convened by Clinical Professor Lesley Cala and held at the University Club on 11 November. Those celebrating were, from left, front row: Bruce Connor, Flora Franzinelli, Jean Hodge, Lesley Cala, Geoffrey Clarke, Richard Vaughan, Frank Mastaglia and back row: Barrie Slinger, Neville Davis, Richard Lugg, Peter Beahan, Ian Carr, Robert Harrison, Cam Bracks, Frank Fischer.Photo courtesy of Manny Tamayo Photography.

The class of 1987 got down to enjoying themselves at their 30-year reunion on 21 October at The Trustee in Perth. The reunion was convened by Dr Nadine Caunt.

Lunch at the University Club was the go for the 50-year reunion of the class of 1967 on 28 October. The convenor was Dr Jackie Scurlock.

Following the September issue of MeDeFacts in which we featured various alumni, Dr Richard Ammon has kindly sent in a list of his graduating medical class of 1960, who were the second cohort to be awarded the MBBS from The University of WA.

The 15 students, in alphabetical order, were:• Richard Ammon - first full-time Gastroenterologist in W.A. Visiting Gastroenterologist,

Fremantle Hospital.• Neil Beck - General Practitioner.• The late John Burvill - Psychiatrist.• Richard Cawley - General Practitioner.• The late John Castledine - Psychiatrist.• The late Adrian Groessler - Australian Medical Officer and later Medical

Superintendent at hospitals in Queensland.• The late Ian Hamilton - General Practitioner.• Peter Heenan - Dermatopathologist, Clinical Professor of Pathology and Laboratory

Medicine, UWA and world authority on melanoma.• Max Kamien - first Professor of General Practice, UWA (and the first in Australia).• Robert McWilliam - Orthopaedic Surgeon.• Thomas Male - Radiologist at Fremantle Hospital.• John Masarei - Clinical Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UWA.• Douglas Meikle - General Surgeon, UK.• Barry Saker - Consultant Nephrologist and Clinical Professor at Royal Perth Hospital.• Harry Sheiner - Associate Professor of Surgery, UWA, at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

As Dr Ammon said, “Not bad, eh!”

Reconnect with a classmate, volunteer to mentor a student, weigh-in on important issues, and learn from world-class UWA researchers and thought leaders.

Update your details online to get event invitations, hear about volunteer and mentoring opportunities and receive Alumni Connect.

It’s easy, just visit alumni.uwa.edu.au/update and get the most out of your UWA community.

Were you there?

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Medical School

Not bad, eh!

MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017 | 7

A Raine Generation 1 participant prepares to undergo a sleep study.

this research project was to determine the proportion of adults who have disturbed sleep or a sleep disorder, and by collecting additional information, find the causes of sleep disorders and the effect these disorders have on health and wellbeing.

“The children of these parents did a sleep study at 22 years of age and we are keen to compare the sleep study results from the parents and their children to find out whether there is a genetic basis for disturbed sleep.”

Preliminary data from the Gen 1 sleep studies would not be available until the end of the year. “We suspect from studies in other populations around the world that the prevalence of sleep disorders is going to be high, given that all the data suggest that we are becoming a more obese population,” Professor Eastwood said. “Our BMI continues to increase and that is the biggest risk factor for sleep apnoea.

“Even in the 22-year-olds, preliminary analysis showed that 21% of them had sleep apnoea which is very high. Our expectation is that the prevalence in the parents will also be worryingly high.”

One of the largest prospective cohorts of pregnancy, childhood, adolescence and early adulthood to be carried out anywhere in the world is still in full swing.

The WA Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study was established in 1989 to determine how events during pregnancy and childhood influence health in later life. There were 2900 pregnant women enrolled in

the study and 2868 live births were recruited into the Raine Study cohort.

Now 27 years on, some parents are still being followed up, as is the original baby cohort, and the third generation is also the subject of study.

Generation 2 and eyes and arteriesIn a bid to learn more about myopia and its drivers, Raine researchers will put the original Raine Study cohort, now known as Generation 2, under the microscope as part of their latest follow-up.

The researchers fear that more time spent on electronic devices, an increasingly competitive educational environment and less time spent outdoors could potentially result in an epidemic of myopia in Australia.

Professor David Mackey, Managing Director of the Lions Eye Institute, has been awarded more than $800,000 by the National

Generation 1 and sleepContinued from page 1

Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for a Young Adult Myopia Study (YAMS).

His group’s previous Raine Eye Health Study of 20-year olds confirmed that major environmental risk factors for development of childhood myopia were higher levels of education and lower time outdoors. Genetic factors were also important.

“Years of study are a major risk factor,” Professor Mackey said. “But you still see myopia in young children so we have got six-year-olds who turn up short-sighted and that is a particular problem in the Asian population.”

YAMS aims to discover the drivers of progression of myopia and of later-onset myopia (in early adulthood). Myopia usually starts to manifest in the late teenage years. The researchers also hope to find the genes that interact with the known risk factors.

One, Two, Three

Once the data were crunched and the findings published, the aim was to disseminate the information to the wider public.

Professor Eastwood was recently awarded $640,210 for a National Health and Medical Research Council Research Fellowship, which will focus on research to diagnose and treat sleep disorders nationwide and will include the Raine Study.

8 | MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017

Professor Andrew Whitehouse is involved in the Raine Generation 3 research.

A Gen 2 participant undergoes an optical coherence tomography (OCT) test with Dr Hannah Forward during the Raine Eye Health Study of 20-year olds. The non-invasive imaging test uses light waves to take cross-sectional pictures of the retina.

Generation 3 and autism studyThe Raine Study is now spanning three generations, with the children of the original “Raine kids” being brought in to participate in the Generation 3 study.

To date 32 children of the original Raine Study cohort have undergone similar tests to those conducted on their parents. The aim is to recruit 200 children aged two years and above.

They will also be used as a control group against information from a group of children who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, as part of a project known as the Australian Autism Biobank run by the Autism CRC (Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism).

Professor Andrew Whitehouse, head of the Autism Research Team at the Telethon Kids Institute and chief research officer of Autism CRC, said already more than 700 children with autism had been studied as part of the Australian Autism Biobank project.

“Autism is a very complex neurological condition and the pathways to developing autism are myriad and so we need to study large numbers of kids on the spectrum,” he said. “To do that we absolutely need kids who don’t have autism and that is why we are recruiting through Raine.

“By comparing the differences and similarities in lifestyle, medical history and the genes of these two groups of children, researchers will be able to learn much more about the causes of autism.”

The real goal of his research team was to identify as early as possible children whose development was wandering off course and develop and trial new and effective interventions, he said.

By identifying molecular pathways, they may open the avenue for new treatments.

The study will involve about 1,000 Generation 2 participants and also about 800 from a Kidskin study, which was run in 1995-6 and looked at the outdoor activity of primary school children as part of a study on skin cancer prevention. Recruiting participants in the Kidskin study has involved tracking them down 20 years later, Professor Mackey said.

With regard to the environmental risk factors, a fine balance has to be struck between encouraging kids to spend time outdoors and protecting them from skin cancer. Possible strategies to reduce myopia include brightened classrooms in primary school, encouraging early morning outdoor sports, and promoting gap years with outdoor activity.

Professor Mackey said whether an epidemic occurs or not, myopia is a major health concern. It is not “just needing” to wear glasses but increases the risk of irreversible blindness from retinal detachment, myopic macular degeneration and glaucoma. About 20% of Australian adults and 15% of children in Australia have myopia.

In another arm of the age 27 Raine follow-up, the focus is on cardiovascular health, particularly vascular function. It will be conducted by Professor Eastwood in conjunction with Professor Trevor Mori and Emeritus Professor Lawrie Beilin, both of the Faculty’s Medical School, and researchers from the UWA School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health.

“We are going to make sophisticated measurements of arteries in the arm and in the brain – so brain vascular function and systemic vascular function – and see if we can detect cardiovascular disease earlier using these techniques,” Professor Eastwood said.

The study will also look at the causes and health effects of ectopic fat and, among other tests, the Gen 2’s will have an MRI scan to measure the fat around their internal organs.

MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017 | 9

International student programs are proving a two-way street, with many local host families establishing enduring friendships with the overseas students who stay with them.

The successful Winter School, which was established with the aim of attracting potential postgraduate students to a Masters or PhD at UWA, enables overseas medical, dental and health sciences students to come to Perth in August for 4-5 weeks.

This year it attracted 100 medical students and four dental students, with 102 from China and two from Vietnam. The students had specialised lectures and various placements, including in general practice, laboratory research, ophthalmology, and clinical work. All students stay with local families through a home stay program.

Professor Ming Hao Zheng, Associate Dean (International), said the positive feedback was that not only did the Winter School students have a good learning experience at UWA but home stay families also learnt about another culture. “As the result of over 500 Winter School students coming to WA in the last eight years, WA families have enhanced the interaction between cultures and have obtained great benefits from these international connections,” he said.

It was hoped that more medical and health professionals would like to participate in the home stay program for hosting international students.

Ms Leanne Hall, Faculty Senior Administrative Officer, said the placements offered were broad ranging. “It is a taster so that overseas students can come to UWA and get an idea of what studying here would be like,” she said.

Ms Mara Allan of Talkabout Tours, who organises the home stay program, said it would be wonderful if more medical families were interested in becoming hosts because of 2,500 families registered, only about 30 had a medical background.

“The main thing for hosts is that they have the time to engage with the students,” she said. “It is not just about having a boarder in the home. They are ambassadors for Perth.”

Many families developed strong bonds with the students and this year alone, eight host families from various home stay programs had gone to weddings in China.

“We have families who have been with us for 18 years,” Ms Allan said. Anyone interested in hosting can contact her at [email protected]

In the same vein, overseas elective students who visit UWA through the International Federation of Medical Students Associations’ program are hosted by local families.

Ms Jill Loh, Elective and Exchanges Officer for the WA Medical Students’ Society (WAMSS), said hosts were needed each year to provide accommodation for four weeks for about 10 medical students.

“I try to encourage local students to take them out and involve them in local medical student activities,” she said. But accommodation was an issue and it would be helpful if alumni were interested in hosting because often local medical students were renting or in a residential college and unable to help out.

Dr Linley Mitchell and her husband Dr Henry Simmons have hosted students every year since 2013, totalling about 20 students from all parts of the world. “It is a very nice thing to do,” Dr Mitchell said. “We started off because one of our son’s friends was a medical student who was organising it and said he was desperate. He had 30 to place and no-one to do it.”

She and her husband took the students out as much as possible but it would be

helpful if local medical students also took them out more, she said. Anyone interested in becoming a host can contact Ms Loh at [email protected]. Hosts in both programs receive remuneration.

Friendships sparked by hosting students

Visiting international students gather on the last day of Winter School. With them are (front centre, from left) Professor Ming Hao Zheng, Associate Dean (International), Professor Hugh Barrett, Associate Dean (Research) and Acting Executive Dean at the time, and Ms Leanne Hall, Senior Administrative Officer.

Dr Linley Mitchell and her husband Dr Henry Simmons with visiting medical student Alexander Ivanov from Ukraine at Wilyabrup Cliffs in October. Mr Ivanov did his elective in the cardiothoracic surgery department at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

Answers to the quiz on page 71. Latin meaning “After this therefore

because of this” The fallacy of assuming that if one event follows another, they are causally related.

2. Among other conditions, there seems to be a higher incidence of leukaemia and some malignancies.

3. Found in lists of references to a paper in a journal, it indicates that the next reference is from the same journal as the one on the previous line. Strictly, it means “the same place”.

4. Division of the fraenulum of the tongue.

5. A north-south orientation. Why and how they do this is unknown.* *New Scientist, Dec.17-31, 2016, pp 44-46.

10 | MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017

A new assessment system that places value on quality over quantity is driving improvements in student learning and teaching at the Dental School.

The longitudinal, competency-based clinical assessment system known as COEUS – after the ancient Greek Titan god of intelligence and far sight, and query or questioning – can provide predictive data for future clinical performance.

This is a valuable insight, particularly in dentistry where students can practise independently immediately after graduation, according to Professor Camile Farah, Dean and Head of the Dental School.

The system is an on-line database structured around core and discipline-specific competencies as they translate to clinical dental practice.

Student performance in attaining these competencies is tracked throughout the duration of the course, allowing for monitoring of progress, level of performance and its repeatability as well as the spectrum of competencies covered.

The system was developed as a joint effort between the Dental School and the School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering at UWA and supported by a Futures Observatory Scholarship to Professor Paul Ichim, of the Dental School, and Professor Farah.

“This purpose designed and built software package captures our approach to comprehensive care, prioritises what procedures and steps a student is required to undertake, gives the tutor objective measures of what is required, captures live data for immediate student feedback, but most importantly captures the competence level of a student at a very granular level,” Professor Farah said.

“It enables a more detailed analysis of a student’s clinical ability based on competency levels, not the number of procedures undertaken.” This is a departure from the traditional approach in dentistry and one for which the Dental School is providing the lead for other Australian dental schools.

Other existing clinical assessment systems use a number-based approach where it is assumed that if a task is performed a certain number of times then a student is competent undertaking them.

“In such systems the focus is on quantity rather than quality, is time-bound and does not provide enough information to easily identify areas requiring improvement,” Professor Farah said.

“Our program allows for performance to be monitored longitudinally with a bias for quality using specific clinical dental criterion-referenced assessment rubrics.”

The collected data is available in real-time individually to the students and to the staff using a simple web browser.

The student has the benefit of receiving objective feedback that tracks their own progress and identifies precisely the core competencies that need improvement.

Staff are also able to monitor more efficiently the clinical performance of the students, either individually or as a group.

Professor Farah said although the platform was developed for dental training, it could be translated and customised to any other course that was competency-based and which used criterion-referenced assessment.

“We have showcased our system at UWA’s Centre for Education Futures where it was well received and generated interest from other health disciplines who expressed interest in adopting it,” he said. “The system is modifiable and can be updated. We are already making tweaks to the weightings within the system to better reflect the level of competency we wish students to achieve, having run the system for a whole academic year.”

This project is being spearheaded by Dr Michelle Huang, a Dental School Coordinator, who will be undertaking a PhD in dental education looking at this system as one of her research studies.

-by Peta Rasdien

A student and tutor check out COEUS.

Vale Christine McMenaminProfessor Christine McMenamin, who was Associate Professor of General Practice in the Faculty from 2003 to 2010, passed away on 5 October in Melbourne.

The Faculty sent a letter of condolence to her husband, Professor Paul McMenamin, who is a former Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning in the Faculty and former Professor of Anatomy and Human Biology at The University of WA.

Faculty Executive Dean Professor Wendy Erber said Christine McMenamin had made a valued contribution to UWA, the medical profession and the wider community of WA. She was a highly respected and gifted teacher and led the development of education in general practice with enthusiasm and intelligence. Her research into the factors that lead students to choose a career pathway as a GP had influenced curriculum design.

“Her classmates were the eager recipients of her keen wit and also her wisdom, especially in the Immunology domain; her enthusiasm for the mast cell will unlikely be seen again,” Professor Erber said.

An article on her featured in the Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/admired-leader-in-medical-education-20171012-gyzcuf.html

Professor Christine McMenamin

Fresh approach to dental assessment

MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017 | 11

Master of Pharmacy students are experiencing life as a pharmacist in a rural setting without the burden of financial pressures, thanks to an innovative program.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s Rural Pharmacy Student Placement Allowance is an incentive program for country clinical placements. It is an initiative of the Rural Pharmacy Workforce Program (RPWP), whose goal is to strengthen the rural pharmacy workforce and in turn provide an increased quality of health services to these regions.

The allowance has been available to students in the Master of Pharmacy course for the past three years during which time

students have travelled all over WA for their clinical placements.

Ms Amanda Mannolini, associate lecturer in the Pharmacy Practice program, said the incentive program provided funding for students to cover their accommodation and travel expenses. “It allows students to appreciate the challenges and rewards a rural pharmacist has and is designed to inspire them to think of a career beyond the city limits.” Early this year a first year student spent five weeks up north (see below).

Eye-opening experience in the Kimberley By Mr Jack Clement

This year for my placement I was given the opportunity - with funding from the Pharmacy Guild of Australia - to travel

to the Kimberley region to learn how a pharmacy operates in a rural setting. I worked closely with Kimberley Pharmacy Services to see how they provide quality health services over a vast and remote area.

I worked in several community and hospital pharmacies throughout Broome, Derby and Fitzroy Crossing and spent some time at the Derby Aboriginal health services and a remote health clinic just outside Fitzroy. This experience gave me insight into Aboriginal health, in particular the extremely high prevalence of diabetes, renal failure, cardiac and communicable diseases. This was a fantastic opportunity to learn about the role of the pharmacist in bridging the gap of education and availability of medicines.

It was an eye-opening experience that highlighted the disparity of serious medical conditions affecting the Indigenous population. It also taught me a lot about taking into account the patients’ cultural and spiritual beliefs when providing counselling.

A rural placement allowed me to apply the knowledge and skills I have learnt at UWA to a real world setting vastly contrasting with my own.

My favourite part was the day I spent at a local clinic near Fitzroy Crossing where I worked with Aboriginal health nurses to help organise local Webster packs. The roads were almost completely flooded and it was inspiring to see what lengths the health professionals would go to in order to help out the community.

Incentive to head for the bush

An aerial view from a small plane chartered from Fitzroy Crossing to reach a local clinic. The roads had been closed because of excessive flooding.

Babies and boomerangs all part of the tripThe rural community of Narrogin was host to four medical students from Galway in Ireland earlier this year. The enthusiastic medical students put their hands to helping out in the emergency department, suturing wounds, throwing boomerangs and playing the didgeridoo as part of a visit to the Rural Clinical School of WA site.

Ms Maria McWalter, Ms Marize Bakhet, Ms Megan Conneely and Mr Finbar Murphy spent three weeks in July in Narrogin and three weeks prior to that at the Fiona

Irish medical students (from left) Ms Maria McWalter, Ms Marize Bakhet, Mr Finbar Murphy and Ms Megan Conneely on their first day at the Narrogin Regional Hospital.

Stanley Hospital in Perth. They are in the fourth year of their five-year degree at the National University of Ireland Galway.

They spent time at the Narrogin Regional Hospital, where they worked hands-on in the emergency department and maternity wing, and also visited the Earl Street Surgery and John Parry Medical Centre general practices where they were able to observe consultations.

A visit to the Narrogin Men’s Shed, a local Indigenous cultural tour, and trips to Margaret River and Albany were also on their agenda.

Ms Joanne Potts, Administrative Officer at the RCSWA in Narrogin, said the students were extremely enthusiastic and professional. “They got to see how Australian medical practice works and meet other students,” she said. “They also had exposure to Indigenous culture and they were fascinated with it.”

The RCSWA medical co-ordinators Dr Peter Maguire, Dr Megan Hardie and Dr Peter Smith gave a lot of their time to help the visiting students.

for pharmacy

12 | MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017

Pharmacy students drawn back to their placementExperiencing community as well as hospital pharmacy during their internship at a well-respected local hospital pharmacy department is among the factors drawing pharmacy students back to work there.

Five of nine Master of Pharmacy students at The University of WA who completed their internships at St John of God Subiaco Hospital (SJGSH) are now employed there as registered pharmacists and another graduate is completing his internship there this year.

“Over the years we have developed a wonderful collaboration with the Pharmacy Department at SJGSH,” said Assistant Professor Liza Seubert, Head of the Division of Pharmacy in the School of Allied Health.

The hospital’s Chief Pharmacist Mr Peter Custance said they had been in partnership with UWA for provision of clinical placements for final year students of the graduate entry Master of Pharmacy program since its inception.

“We host them for their clinical rotations and that’s when we showcase what we offer here,” he said.

Five Master of Pharmacy graduates who were interns at St John of God Subiaco Hospital are now working there as registered pharmacists and another, Mr Christopher Kleemann, has been an intern there this year and will register early next year.Back row, from left: Ms Jayde Roberts (2016 intern), Ms Kimberley Painter (2011/2012 intern), Mrs Brooke Weeks (nee Buckingham, 2013/2014 intern) and Ms Janine Long (2010/2011 intern). Front row, from left: Mr Christopher Kleemann (2017 intern) and Mr Ashley Crouch (2012/2013 intern).

Dental School research receives supportResearch at the Dental School is being supported by three research grants generously provided by the Australian Dental Association (WA Branch).

The initiative, the first of its kind, was proposed by the Dean and Head of School, Professor Camile Farah, and was taken up by the ADAWA Executive with support from Council.

“No other ADA branch supports their local dental school in this fashion,” Professor Farah said. “The move has been welcomed by the Australian Dental Research Foundation (ADRF) as a possible model for enhanced interaction, support and engagement between the dental profession and staff and students undertaking research across the nation.”

The inaugural research grants were all awarded to students supervised by Associate Professor Robert Anthonappa, Research Lead of the School’s Paediatric Oral Health Research Group, in collaboration with colleagues Professor Nigel King and Professor Paul Ichim.

Associate Professor Anthonappa said he was very grateful to the ADAWA and ADRF for the fantastic opportunity provided by the grants. “The financial support provided to our student research projects has certainly enhanced student engagement, learning, and research achievements,” he said.

Student recipients included Chaturi Neboda, Sara Chiam, Jason Cheong, Eleanor Kim, Yu-Meng Choong, and Lisa Bowdin, all working on projects related to tooth mineralisation and biocompatibility of novel dental restorative materials.

Dental School student Miss Sara Chiam undertaking analysis of 3D micro-CT images as part of her study.

“We are one of four foundation hospitals participating in the program. From our perspective, the clinical pharmacists assigned to mentor the students gain benefit from teaching the students and as a result benefit from further professional development.

“Hosting the students provides us with an improved insight to the students when we have to consider applications from the many highly regarded students who apply to undertake their internship year at our hospital. It is always a challenging task for us when we have only one or two intern positions available each year.”

A unique feature of their internship - not provided by any other hospital to the best of his knowledge – is the opportunity to spend time in a community pharmacy in a four-week placement, according to Mr Custance.

The first UWA graduate to undertake an internship at SJGSH was in 2007/2008 - the first year of graduates. The 2016 intern, Ms Jayde Roberts, said the internship initially appealed because of the diverse opportunities to work in different areas including wards, dispensary, aseptic and the cancer centre, as well as the community placement offered. “I had also heard very positive feedback from past interns about their intern year.” And during the clinical placement, everyone in the department was very welcoming, she said.

Mr Custance said they had employed one intern from every UWA graduating Master of Pharmacy cohort and they were justifiably proud of their retention record. “We’re so nice to them, they just want to stay,” he added with a laugh.

- by Cathy Saunders

MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017 | 13

Scholarship sustains studiesFor the six years of her MBBS degree, Dr Anni Phan was able to focus on her studies and experience placement opportunities, thanks to the financial freedom of a generous scholarship.

Dr Phan, who graduated at the end of last year, was granted the Mary Horsfall Outer Metropolitan Scholarship in Medicine in 2011, awarded on the basis of financial need and academic achievement. She was one of the top students at Lumen Christi College in Gosnells and achieved an outstanding ATAR. She is now an intern at Royal Perth Hospital.

The scholarship gave her $5000 a year. “It helped towards textbooks and being able to do day-to-day things without having to worry too much about putting time aside for part-time work,” she said. Although she did some part-time work at a pharmacy, she was able to cut back at exam time.

For the first five years of her degree, country and interstate placements were available during the holidays and she was able to take some of them up. Living at home also helped, she said.

“Quite a few of my friends who had moved out of home had to spend the holidays working because throughout the year they would have exams and couldn’t commit to regular hours,” she explained. “I had a lot more freedom to work as little as four hours a week during the year and then at the end of the year go on these placements.”

At the end of fifth year, she went to the UK for her international elective. “I was able to look at pretty much anywhere in the world knowing that I had some financial freedom without applying for loans,” she said.

Mary Agnes Horsfall, whose three step-daughters graduated from UWA, bequeathed part of her estate of nearly $450,000 to the Medical School and five scholarships were established in her memory.

Dr Anni Phan on Saddle Hill near Broome.Photo by Dr Erin Bock.

Allied Health seminar a successThe exciting and wide-ranging research being conducted in the new School of Allied Health was showcased at its inaugural research seminar in University Hall in August.

Almost 50 people attended, including School staff, students and invited guests from the Faculty and beyond.

The seminar included findings from studies being undertaken by researchers and research students in the School’s four Divisions – Health Professions Education, Pharmacy, Podiatric Medicine and Surgery, and Social Work and Social Policy.

Topics ranged from Methotrexate in seriously sick kids: the MISSK study by PhD student Mr Zeyad Ibrahim; and Debriefing practices of rural medical educators: a mixed methods study by MHPEd student Ms Kirsty Freeman; to Podiatrist practices and perceptions of referral for foot and ankle surgery: a cross-sectional survey of Australian podiatrists by DClinPod graduate Mr Ned Buckley, and An investigation into the mental health and wellbeing of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers by Social Work lecturers Ms Susan Crock and Ms Julie Loveny.

Dr Susan Young, Chair of the School’s Research Committee, coordinated the event. Head of School Professor Rhonda Clifford said the seminar was a resounding success and would become a regular event.

(from left) Assistant Professor Liza Seubert, Mrs Melinda Boss, Dr Kim Watkins and Ms Natalia Popowicz at the inaugural Research Seminar of the School of Allied Health.

Pub’s out,sundowners are inWith the disappearance of the pub culture where dentistry students chatted to staff dentists on a Friday afternoon over a drink, the Dental Alumni Society plans to run more “meet and greet” gatherings to fill the gap.

Acting President Dr Gwen Chin, who completed her UWA dentistry degree in 1999, said that when she was a student, her fellow students would all catch up at the end of the week and the dentists would go down to the pub to meet them.

“We learnt so much from those dentists,” she said. “Demonstrators would come down and have a chat to us in an informal setting. You actually absorb a lot more because there is no stress of performance.”

The society’s plan next year is to hold some “meet and greet” gatherings such as informal sundowner evenings to give dentistry students a chance to meet alumni who are practising dentists.

“It is for the students to have a chat to us, see what it is like out there just being a normal dentist and not a student, and for them to know there are people out here they can contact,” Dr Chin said.

The society would also look into the possibility of alumni getting together at the Alumni Lounge in the newly refurbished Medical and Dental Library.

Anyone interested in more information about the society can contact: Dr Chin at [email protected].

14 | MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017

MeDeFacts

MeDeFactshttp://cms.meddent.uwa.edu.au/ volume 13 number 2 june 2007

MeDeFacts

A FULL COLOUR VERSION OF MEDEFACTS CAN BE VIEWED AT WWW.MEDDENT.UWA.EDU.AU

continued page 5

continued page 2

The graduation ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the Medical School year was an exceptional night for many reasons, one being that 18 doctors who completed their medical degrees in 1957 and 1958 were admitted ad eundem gradum to the MBBS degree.

See story page 4

After the graduation ceremony: (front row from left) mace bearer Joel Tuckwell,

UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson, Emeritus Professor Lou Landau,

UWA Chancellor Dr Michael Chaney, Dr Carlo Bellini, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Dean

Professor Ian Puddey, (second row from left) Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research

and Innovation) Professor Douglas McEachern, Senior Deputy Vice-

Chancellor Professor Margaret Seares and the ad eundem gradum graduates.

(Photo by kind permission of Ian Phillips of Phillips & Father)

A $230 million super-centre in WA with two hubs for medical research is expected to attract world-class researchers, clinical trials and investment

from pharmaceutical companies.The new Western Australian Institutes for Health, which will bring together 24 research organisations that carry out 95 per cent of medical research in WA, will be the biggest investment in medical research in the history of WA. The super-centre will include the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR), the Lions Eye Institute (LEI), the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research (TICHR), researchers from The University of Western Australia (UWA), smaller specialised research teams and hospital clinicians.There will be two state-of-the-art research hubs, with a northern campus based at the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, and a southern campus at the Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch.They have been funded by $100 million from the Federal Government, $80 million from the State Government and $50 million from UWA.

A Centre of Excellence for research, teaching and clinical care in occupational and environmental medicine is on the drawing-board for the

Faculty.The plan, which has the approval of the UWA Vice-Chancellor and the support of Faculty Dean Professor Ian Puddey, was mooted by WA occupational physicians Dr John Suthers and Dr Peter Connaughton.“We need an academic and research input into occupational and environmental medicine,” Dr Connaughton, chair of the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s WA regional committee, said.“Occupational medicine is an area in Australia which has grown in very significant ways in the last 20 years.” The approach had changed from often being adversarial to one of improving health and safety in workplaces and rehabilitating injured workers, he said.But a big remaining gap was an academic approach to the various issues.

WORLD CLASS RESEARCH

SUPER-CENTRE FOR WA

BOOST FOR OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE

Farewellfrom Cathy Saunders,

Editor and Writer, MeDeFacts

Back in the mists of time, there was a Faculty publication that was fairly sporadic. It was called simply “Newsletter”, was put out when staff had the time and the two copies I was given are dated December 1998 and November 2000 although there were intervening issues.

It is a huge thanks to the then Executive Dean, Professor Lou Landau, who 16 years ago agreed to let me make it a regular offering. He was enormously supportive, gave me free rein – and even took it in good part when I turned parts of his editorials into front page news stories!

It is also due to his successor as Dean, Professor Ian Puddey, who had my back throughout his tenure and for which I am extremely grateful, and to Acting Dean Professor Geoff Riley who has been an awesome help throughout my journalistic career, and to current Executive Dean Professor Wendy Erber, who is leading the Faculty superbly through turbulent times, that MeDeFacts has continued as a quarterly since the end of 2001. Heartfelt thanks to you all.

There are so many others to thank but before that, here is what happened with the Newsletter. That name would not do, so Lou agreed to running a competition to find a title and two of my friends kindly offered a free meal at their gorgeous restaurant as a prize. As it was then the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, the name MeDeFacts was chosen from the entries as it signified Me(dicine), De(ntistry) and Fac(ulty) – but I fear the clever combo has been lost in translation on occasions as I have seen it called Medifax and other variations on the theme.

It started out as black, white and Faculty maroon in colour but steadily progressed to full colour for the whole 16 pages. The Faculty name on the masthead has also

changed, transitioning from the original to Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and now the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.

But to have a newsy publication, you need to hear about the news – and Faculty staff, clinicians, academics, researchers and alumni have been exceptional in sending me story ideas – thank you everyone! Past Faculty Manager Mrs Sue Henshall and her successor Dr Jan Dunphy have been extraordinary pillars of support and wisdom, and all with great good humour. Also, past Executive Officer to the Dean Mrs Betty Hart and current Executive Assistant Ms Mandy Robinson have responded to every request, almost before I pressed “Send”.

The Deputy Deans, Associate Deans and Heads of the various Schools have all kept MeDeFacts in mind over the years and suggested wonderful stories and I am indebted to you all.

Then there are docs such as Emeritus Professor Bernard Catchpole, who out of the blue in 2005 sent me some brilliant quizzes that he devised – and he has kept me supplied and readers on their mettle ever since.

And UniPrint – the team there led by Mr Craig Mackenzie is professional, helpful and incredibly nice and turn out beautiful publications. I also want to acknowledge the creative artistry of graphic designer Miss Jacinta Gall, a freelancer with flair and a great sense of fun.

It is an invidious task to try to acknowledge individuals, as one invariably inadvertently forgets someone. But huge thanks to all of you who have sent in story ideas, given up your time to be interviewed, found photographs, written occasional articles, and been so incredibly nice to interact with – including many students. I have loved writing and producing MeDeFacts.

One of my most poignant memories is the spontaneous hug given to Ian by his daughter when her name was called out as a medical graduand as he sat on the Winthrop Hall stage as Dean during the 2012 Dedication Ceremony. The most humbling moments were those when I spoke to the numerous doctors, dentists and other health professionals who give so generously of their time to volunteer to help others here and overseas in so many capacities. But the happiest memory is that of writing an article about the university’s body bequest program and, as a result, discovering after 45 years the final resting place of my father, a donor back in 1971.

Ah, but I failed to mention – the reason for this piece is that I turned 65 in October and after 45 years in journalism, mostly as a medical writer for specialist publications including Australian Doctor for more than 20 years but also as a mainstream health writer, I am happily retiring. There is a pool of projects on my “yet to do” list that I want to jump into – and my decision to retire was cemented when I read that Australia is a procrasti-nation, with more than half a million of us having things on our

Retirement means more of this?

to-do lists for more than a decade. Time to tackle the list!

The Faculty’s Newsletter in December 1998.

The first issue of the newsletter with its new name, MeDeFacts, in March 2002.

MeDeFacts comes out in full colour in June 2007.

MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017 | 15

Contact us

Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesThe University of Western AustraliaM500, 35 Stirling HighwayCrawley WA 6009 AustraliaTel: +61 8 6457 3928Email: [email protected]

Executive Dean: Professor Wendy ErberHead of Service Delivery: Dr Jan DunphyEditor/Writer: Cathy Saunders

CRICOS Provider Code: 00126G

Eye-opener for volunteer dentistry students

Almost 40 University of WA dentistry students who gave up their time to help out at a dental expo witnessed a vast range of dental problems common in the community.

They were volunteers at the Perth Pregnancy, Babies and Children’s Expo held over three days in August at the Claremont Showgrounds.

Associate Professor Lena Lejmanoski of the School of Dentistry, who has organised a stand for the Australian Dental Association WA for several years, said about 750 children received a dental screening and many more people sought advice.

The dentistry students, who came from all years of the course, saw ulcers, early eruption, delayed eruption, rampant caries, the marked effects of dummies and thumb-sucking, and lip and tongue tie.

“We saw children who had sustained trauma and we sent them to PMH (Princess Margaret Hospital for Children), we found little ones who had abscesses, we found different anomalies and encouraged the parents to seek

Associate Professor Lena Lejmanoski conducts a dental screening of a baby at the expo.

UWA dentistry students cheerily volunteer to help at the dental expo.

treatment,” Associate Professor Lejmanoski said.

Other volunteers from UWA included paediatric postgraduates and staff who are dental practitioners.

Although the dental screenings of the visitors to the expo were conducted by qualified dentists, the students lent a hand by gathering the appropriate literature for each parent and giving other information.

“It has proved an amazing experience,” Associate Professor Lejmanoski said. “It engages the students. It is a sense of giving back to the community. And it is incorporating the knowledge they have learnt because they have to be well versed in what they are telling the public. Being able to speak to so many of the public is an absolute eye-opener for them.”

She aimed to make the stand informative and fun and filled it with colourful balloons, displays and numerous fact sheets. Feedback from the parents and carers of the screened children was extremely positive and revealed that they had learnt a lot about oral health care.

Autism Australia, St John of God Outreach Services, and child care centre representatives all visited the stand to ask for advice on implementation of oral health programs within their organisations and information on where to access resources.

16 | MeDeFacts | Volume 23 Number 4 | December 2017