Synapse Issue 8:Sports Medicine Special Edition - 153

S Y N A P S EMedical Students’ Society of Bond University

Issue 8 | Semester 151 | Sports Medicine Special Edition

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Created by MSSBU Communications TeamPranav Sharma Publications Officer Kelvin Lo IT Officer Amanda Liesegang Communications Director

CONTENTS

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME Doug’s welcome for Semester 151 2

MEDSOC EVENTS 3Photos of MSSBU events in Semester 151

SPORTING INJURIES TO THE KNEE 5Feature article by Dr Conor Gouk and Dr Chris Ioannou

SOMETIMES BRUTAL, ALWAYS 9REWARDING Sports doctor tells his story

RESEARCH AT MSSBU: AN UPDATE 11Raiyan Khan on research PLACEMENT REPORT 13 Natasha McNamara writes on JFPP TAKING STEPS TO THRIVE 15 Health and wellbeing for medical students CLUB AND SUB-COMMITTEE UPDATES 16 Updates from GPSN, MSSBU Physoc and MSSBU Surgsoc AMSA UPDATE 19An update from Junior AMSA Rep

GRAND ROUNDS: OSTEOPOROSIS 20Raiyan Khan on research

BUSHFIRE UPDATE 21 How to get involved and get experience

MAKING A DIFFERENCE 23MAD about global health

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FROM THE PRESIDENT Happy New Year and welcome back to semester 151! It’s another exciting year and se-mester for MSSBU which will bring a wide variety of academic, social and advocacy events for everyone’s benefit. On behalf of YOUR MedSoc, welcome to Issue 8 of the Synapse family, and the first edition for 2015!

Although it has only been 5 weeks into this semester, a number of exciting events have already occurred. The end of last year finished off with a bang, with a brand new event, MS-SBU Resuscitation. Thanks to our Community and Well Being Officer, Jasmin Alloo, and the rest of our committee, hundreds of Bondies from all across the campus were able to enjoy great music, food and of course, puppies. Afterwards, MSSBU was proud to donate $100 to the Animal Welfare League Queensland for the great work they do all across the state and their help in organising this event. The start of 2015 not only brought in new ideas, but also fresh, revamped events for everyone to enjoy.

Starting off the year was, of course, the time old tradition of MedEagle 151, where meddies from all years dawned upon Hotel CBD, as we do, every semester. MSSBU also had a record number of attendees and speakers at Electives Night 151, and this was thanks to the hard work of our Academic Director Natasha McNamara and our Clinical Vice-President Tash Olsson. Of special note, it made me very happy to see a large number of second years in attendance as well at ‘Electives Night’, demonstrating the enthusiasm of the MBBS 2014 cohort.

In terms of AMSA news, the President of AMSA, James Lawler also made a visit to our university, talking to 2nd and 3rd year students about the importance of AMSA and what they are planning to advocate for this year. With the next AMSA council coming up in a few short weeks, if you have any questions or policies you wish to present for AMSA council, please contact our AMSA Representative Alice Aitkenhead!

The rest of this semester has a large number of interesting and exciting events and advocacy projects and policies which are sure to suit all members! With the likes of Scrub Crawl 2015 (200 Bondies descending into Broadbeach and Surfers in scrubs – a number never attained before – thanks to our social team!), Research projects, Internship night, First Year Interviews, Tri-Uni tournaments and events from MSSBU SurgSoc and PhysSoc, this semester is set to be a very, very busy semester. However, it is also a semester in which we hope to deliver more, and ensure that you get the very best from YOUR MedSoc!

Until our next issue this semester, ciao!

Douglas BrownPresident - Medical Students’ Society of Bond University

electives night

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medeagle 151

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Sporting Injuries to the Knee Feature Article

By Dr Conor Gouk and Dr Chris Ioannou Orthopaedic Registrars, Gold Coast University and Robina Hospitals

The knee is one of the most common joints to ac-quire injury during sport. There have been many high profile, significant sporting knee injuries; Mi-chael Owen (soccer) (Image 1), Derek Rose (bas-ketball), Andrew Johns, Brent Tate (both NRL) and Bond Alumni Tim Horan (rugby union) (Image 2).

When we speak of “sporting injuries”, we must dif-ferentiate the semi-professional and weekend war-rior, from the elite high demand professional athlete. Not in relation to their injuries, but in relation to their treatment options due to their functional de-mands. We find that elite athletes undergo surgical intervention much quicker given the implications to their life, than the general public. In Gold Coast University Hospital we have an “acute knee clinic”; a clinic dedicated to injury of the knee of the for-mer. The majority of injuries to the knee are what we term “soft tissue injuries”. These are injuries to the supporting structures of the knee joint. Despite this, for all knee injuries x-rays must be carried out for two reasons; though uncommon, it is of course possible to fracture the bones of the knee; the pa-tella, tibia and femur (and the nearby fibula) during sporting activities. Also when sustaining a soft tissue injury an avulsion fracture can occur at the juncture between the bony and soft tissue structures and pro-vide valuable clues to the trained clinician/surgeon.

The main soft tissue structures in the knee we talk about are: the cruciate and collateral ligaments and the menisci (Image 3), and we will touch upon the extensor mechanism and the patellar ligaments for completeness. In this article I intend to give a brief summary of the various injuries, their presentation, significance, signs and symptoms and surgical options.

Meniscal InjuriesMeniscal injuries are one of the most common of the pathologies I tend to see. The description I of-ten use when describing the menisci is that they are “the shock absorber type of cartilage in the knee” (the other kind being “Teflon type”). They can be in-jured in isolation or combination with other struc-tures. Often the patient describes either a twisting injury, or a position where the knee was forced into varus or valgus; either under the weight of the pa-tient, or more commonly following contact. The clas-sic history is immediate pain, dysfunction, inability to weightbear and gradual swelling a few hours lat-er. Often the patient can pinpoint the meniscal tear. Red flag symptoms would include clicking or locking. Image 1: Michael Owen injuring his right ACL

Image 2: Tim Horan graduating from Bond University

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Locking in particular suggests a large tear that may be flipping in and out of the knee’s hinge mechanism (Image 4). Such a significant tear warrants early ar-throscopy with a view to repair. Examination find-ings in the acute stage are often moderate effusion, joint line tenderness corresponding to the injured meniscus, limited range of motion and traditionally a positive meniscal provocation test such as McMur-ray’s or Apley’s Grind Test. However the reliability of such provocation tests is subject to scrutiny. In the younger cohort of patients (<35-40 years old) I advocate an MRI for symptoms and signs sugges-tive of possible pathology. In the older cohort, if ar-thritic change has been excluded, a diagnostic and therapeutic arthroscopy should be considered. The rationale behind this is that with the high MRI sen-sitivity, degenerative pathology will often be detect-ed, leading to the dilemma over what is significant and what is insignificant pathology seen on imaging.

In cases of meniscal pathology in the lower demand, older patients, physiotherapy is a valid treatment option, to strengthen and support the injured knee. On the background of arthritis the meniscus is cer-tain to have pathology; therefore I feel arthroscopy is not a valid treatment option. Surgical treatment options can fall into the broad categories of: open (now almost historic) or arthroscopic. These are then subdivided into meniscal repair, debridement, resection and excision. The decision as to which to perform will often only be definitively made on vi-sualising the extent and pattern of the meniscal pa-thology. Rehab ranges from 6-12 weeks. Elite athletes will have their surgery within one week of injury.

Cruciate Ligament InjuriesCruciate ligament injuries are also common. I de-scribe the cruciates as the elastic bands that restrain the knee in extremes of motion. The typical mech-anism examples for ACL rupture are; when the proximal tibia is forced backward in a rugby tack-le or when the knee experiences a sudden twisting motion such as in soccer. For the PCL; a motorcy-clist’s femur colliding with a barrier when the knee is flexed, forcing the distal femur backward (also ap-plicable to skiers). The difference between meniscal and cruciate ligament injury is usually the severity of the mechanism and the swelling. The cruciate ligaments will bleed and cause a large and immedi-ate haemarthrosis. The anterior cruciate is the more common ligament to become injured. The patient complains of instability particularly when the pain has eased. MRI can be used to aid in diagnosis, or to identified any associated injury, but many surgeons feel that history, with positive signs of instability (anterior drawer and Lachman’s and Pivot shift), is sufficient and that arthroscopy can identify con-comitant injury. Traditionally all patients could trial conservative management, but recently, to prevent future osteoarthritis in all young patients, a move toward early surgical reconstruction has occurred.

Surgical reconstruction can be achieved through creation of a new ACL by harvested hamstrings or through fake ligament (we use a LARS ligament) and by recreating the normal ACL’s path through surgical-ly created tibial and femoral tunnels (Image 5). PCLs are only repaired in high demand athletes or those experiencing instability. Rehab is 9 months for ACL and PCL. Treatment and timing of surgery varies in elite athletes depending on the nature of their sport. Collateral Ligament InjuriesCollateral ligaments are the extra-articular structures of the knees that stop them from buckling. They are put in danger of injury with side stepping or twist-ing injuries, or incorrect foot planting at high speed.

Image 3: Illustration of the main soft tissues of the knee

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Image 4: Illustration of a bucket handle tear and its ap-pearance arthroscopically.

The patient will complain of pain over the injured ligament, and effusion is often limited due to the extra-articular position. Palpating the line of the lig-aments helps determine medial vs lateral (however joint line tenderness can confound this). Stressing the ligaments in full extension and at 30 degrees of knee flexion can provide you with useful informa-tion as to their stability. You must compare to the patient’s contralateral side. MRI can be used to as-sess severity of injury. Treatment is often with pro-tection from further varus/valgus stress in a special brace and physiotherapy. Repair can be done in extreme cases if instability persists; either tendon or LARS ligament reconstruction. Rehab ranges from 6 weeks in brace to 6-9 months post opera-tively. Surgical repair is rare even in elite athletes.

Patella InjuriesPatella dislocation can occur with a flexed knee. This almost exclusively happens laterally. When the patel-la dislocates, often it’s ligaments designed to centre it in the trochlear groove are injured/torn. One must ensure that the patient’s patellar tendons are not also injured/ruptured, you must do this by asking them to lift their leg up straight at the knee. This confirms the extensor mechanism is functional. Should pain prevent this, a trick I use is to place a towel under the thigh to prop the leg up; this decreases the moment and lessens the force needed to achieve straighten-ing. Again dislocation happens in a twisting, flexed knee. Cause of patellar dislocation is heavily depen-dent on patient factors, much more so than the oth-er previously mentioned injuries. Bony architecture

There are many treatment options available, from physiotherapy with quadriceps strengthening, acute repair of the patellar ligaments, patellar ligament reconstruction or realignment by tibial tuberosity osteotomy. The predisposing factors, the patient’s wishes and their age must be taken into consid-eration in deciding treatment options. Rehab is wholly dependent on the many treatment options.

In conclusion, the knee is a very complicated joint, and is particularly vulnerable to injury in extremes of motion. These extremes are often tested through sporting accidents. Presentation to public and pri-vate hospitals due to injury is high. Assessment must be thorough and the treatment options tailored to the patient. Elite athletes will often receive quicker and more aggressive treatment options due to their occupations. We must not however forget the lit-tle guy; the weekend warrior or university athlete!

Corresponding author: Dr Conor GoukEmail: [email protected]

Image 5: Illustration of the ACL reconstruction and post operative x-ray

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a n o p e ni n v i t a t i o n

- f o r -s u b m i s s i o n sl i g

Synapse would love your name between these pages! Submit articles, opinions, narratives, or anything you want to get out there to:

p u b l i c a t i o n s o f f i c e r @ m s s b u . o r g . a u

and our publications team will hear your call. Get busy writing!

MSSBU

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s o m e t i m e s brutal, always rewarding

My experiences as a ringside event doctor Dr Chris Ioannou & Dr Conor Gouk

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After graduating from medical school and working as a doctor, you soon realise that payed over-time, public holidays and weekends are a thing of the past. Believe it or not however, there are ways of using your “Doctor Skills” to have some fun, watch sports and even see the world.

I am currently working as an Orthopaedic PHO at the Gold Coast University Hospi-tal and regularly use my knowledge of acute management, emergency skills and sporting injuries in my day to day work environment. Fortunately in the last few years I have also been able to use this experience in a number of events and sporting teams as a doctor and as a player.

In 2014, I was the team doctor for the Bond University Breakers attending all home matches for the Premiers and Colts. Rugby union is a sport for the boys and with it comes plenty of injuries. Each match day involved regular checks for concussion, knee / ankle injuries and multiple stitch-es. One Sunday of note was the final match for the day and for premier grade. In the first 10 minutes of the game a try-saving tackle saw an opposition player injured. A call from the running medic to myself in-dicated that something serious had occurred. Staring down a grossly deformed fracture dislocation of the ankle, it was my job to co-ordi-nate the player from the field on a stretcher while supporting his leg. Unfortunately while treating the patient, the assistant coach from the sideline collapsed with a possible cardiac event. With two am-bulances called, oxygen and recovery position sorted, and having reduced a pulseless ankle in the medical room, I am happy to say that all recovered well after a visit to hospital and surgery for the young player. This doesn’t happen with every event you attend but you have to be ready for anything. Special mention must go to the physio’s, medics and teammates for their assistance on the day and throughout the season.

As well as rugby union, I have also been part of the Rugby League Queensland Super Cup, attending and treating players at matches for Easts. Boxing, UFC and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) tournaments have also kept me busy. Knowing that you have the ability to stop a fight at any time can sometimes be a bit scary especially after chatting to these fighters for their pre-fight checks. Placing me cag-eside with the cliché “blood spatter” and sitting next to the ring girls, I would occasionally have to enter to Octagon. I’m sure I could hold my own in there but this would usually be to assess cuts or to even maintain the airway of an unconscious fighter.

So to those interested in taking up some extra-curricular activities, I would highly recommend these sometimes brutal but always rewarding experiences. Get involved with your local communities and use your “free time” and skills as a doctor to help others rather than an extra shift to fill out med charts. Every event doesn’t get you a pay day but usually it leads to something greater if not just the experience itself.

Dr Chris Ioannou & Dr Conor GoukOrthopaedics PHO - Gold Coast University Hospital

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researchat MSSBU: An Update

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What role will MSSBU play in research?Established in 2014, MSSBU recognises that research continues to play in integral role in the skill set of medical professionals. As the workforce changes and the demand for training positions increase, an active involvement in research is fast becoming an industry standard. My role as the student research liaison is to ensure that students in the MBBS program are able to explore and be involved in projects across a number of disciplines.

How does MSSBU get hold of projects?The MSSBU is fortunate to be assisted by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. In particular, Associate Professor Donna Sellers has ensured that MSSBU research maximises the opportunity for students to be involved in projects. Projects are received from within our faculty and allied health dis-ciplines as well as adjunct teaching staff at Bond. We are currently in the middle of integrating further within the faculty and have held meetings with a number of faculty executives who have given us en-couraging signs and backing. Increasing our awareness amongst faculty and project supervisors is one of our main goals for 2015.

What does research as a medical student actually involve?Student research work varies and tasks are at the supervisor’s discretion. As an example, students in the past have been involved in managing data sets in a study or assisting in writing case reports – there is no definitive role. It is important to ask your supervisor what the extent of your role will be before deciding to commit. Many students relay concerns about managing progression through the MBBS program and concurrently working on a project over a period of time. This is a prudent concern when considering how challenging the normal workload of an MBBS course can be. Fortunately, supervisors usually recognise this commitment and have, in the past, been able to make concessions. Many projects are completed over months (sometimes years) and this tends to work out in the student’s favour.

What if I miss out on a project?Students may be concerned that involvement in research is an absolute necessity or that a lack of expe-rience in medical school may place them behind others. Whilst we encourage students to be involved in research, there is plenty of opportunity beyond medical school that will allow you to get involved. Students should be mindful that their priority is getting through medical school. We also encourage students to be discerning in their choice of project involvement. Research should be done primarily because you are interested in that field of study. In the context of professional development and career progression, it’s unlikely that ‘research for the sake of research’ will help you gain an advantage.

What can I do to get involved?The MSSBU research initiative is in its infancy and therefore most projects will be aimed at senior MBBS cohorts. Year 1 and 2 students are encouraged to focus their efforts on the MBBS program so that in future years they are able to demonstrate an academic record that places them eligible to apply for projects. Projects are uploaded on the MSSBU website and on iLearn. Students are able to apply by sending an expression of interest to the student research liaison, myself, who will forward requests on to both faculty and supervisors. The selection of students is based on academic standing, a cover letter and short interview with the supervisor (subject to appropriateness for the project).

Please don’t hesitate to drop me an e-mail ([email protected]) for any queries or further information. I wish you all the best in your research endeavours!

Raiyan KhanStudent Research Liaison - MSSBU

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Date: 1/01/2015- 17/01/2015Mentor: Dr Vinothan Paramanathan

Community Contact: Jo Nicolle

Having never been to Chinchilla before or even on a GP placement, I was a little appre-hensive about what to expect (but excited at the same time). Five hours after setting off from the Gold Coast I arrived to be greet-ed by my lovely mentor Jo, who took me on a tour of the little town, two other JFPP stu-dents and I affectionately, nicknamed “The Chinch.” Arriving on New Years Day the town was very quiet, as all of the shops were closed. Luckily, Domino’s was still open giving me a hearty meal before my first day at the practice.

The Practice I was fortunate enough to be placed with an excellent mentor, Dr. Vinothan, at the Chin-chilla Medical Practice (CMP). Being the only practice servicing Chinchilla and its surround-ing areas, CMP has a vast range of medical equipment not usually found in urban gen-eral practice, including a new CR X-Ray room, Sonosite M-Turbo Ultrasound and an op-

Natasha’s experience as a John Flynn scholar

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erating theatre. In addition, they take their own pathology specimens. This gave me the opportunity to experience a broad range of medical cases that would usually be referred to specialists on the Gold Coast. I could not ask for a better mentor for my placement. Dr Vinothan provided me with my own room where I would see his patients first and take their history. We would then proceed into his office where I shadowed the remainder of the consultation. Not only did this immense-ly improve my confidence and history tak-ing skills but it allowed me to really connect with the patients. In addition to being placed at the practice I also had several days at the other health services offered in Chinchilla including rural ultrasound, the fly in obste-trician and gynaecologist, the Chinchilla am-bulance, and the Chinchilla District Hospital.

The HospitalAt the Chinchilla District Hospital, I was ex-posed to things I hadn’t even dreamed of see-ing so early on in my medical degree. I was fortunate enough to be able to assist in a de-livery. This was very exciting as it was not only

PLACEMENT REPORTJOHN FLYNN PLACEMENT PROGRAM

Photo (this page, from top): Dr. Vinothan Para-manathan; Community Fire Truck; Fellow JFPP

student

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Chinchilla’s first baby of the year but my first delivery ever, even landing a mention in the local newspaper. My week of firsts continued as I was given the opportunity to administer my first injection, first cannulation, first ve-nepuncture and I even got to suture for the first time. Even though I was slightly nervous for my first placement in a hospital the amaz-ing staff made me feel at home and like one of the team.

The CommunityWhen I was not at the practice or hospital, two fellow John Flynn students and I spent our free time exploring the town and surrounding areas. In our two weeks we managed to cram in a visit to the local dam, the neighbouring town Miles and its legendary historical village (which included a vast array of retired medical equipment including an iron lung), The Cac-toblastis (supposedly the only museum in the southern hemisphere dedicated to a moth, which in reality is actually just a hall, but none the less still worth a visit) and the Chinchilla Museum.

Overall, Chinchilla was an amazing experience and I would highly recommend the John Flynn Placement Program to everyone. This place-ment really was the whole package allowing me to improve my clinical and communica-tion skills immensely, whilst also enabling me to foster life long friendships. I definitely look forward to returning for my next placement!

Natasha McNamaraThird Year Medical Student - Bond University

School of Medicine

TAKING STEPS TO THRIVE (or two, or three)...

Is the most exercise you get on a Saturday night at Sin City? Do you live at Varsity Shores but still justify driving to uni? Do you guiltily take the lift to the second floor of the med building? Do you still think that horizontal running is an actual thing? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above ques-tions, you should probably keep reading.

You most likely don’t need me to tell you about the benefits of exercise on cardiovascular health, bone density, muscle strength, chances of develop-ing diabetes etc. etc. etc. Don’t get me wrong, these are all very important! But there is something that implicates us far more as students – the pos-itive influence that exercise has on our mental health.

Something you may or may not be aware of is that medical students tend to suffer from distress secondary to anxiety and depres-sion at far greater rates than the rest of the population. This point has recently hit home amongst the medical community following the sudden deaths of four young doctors ear-lier this year. The events leading up to these tragic deaths were complex and unique but the thing they have in common is that they highlight the need for more support and awareness of mental distress amongst med-

ical students and doctors. As we encounter various stressors throughout our careers we will subsequently develop our own strategies to deal with these. In saying this, there are a number of simple lifestyle techniques that we can adopt to help us improve our over-

all mood and general wellbeing. This, my friends, is where ex-ercise comes in, with (literally) breathtaking potential to re-duce symptoms of depression and anxiety on a daily basis. With positive effects on ener-gy levels, sleep patterns, sense of control and self-esteem it’s undisputable that it’s some-thing we should all be doing. After all, it seems only appro-priate that we put into action the same advice that we will be dishing out to patients in the

future.

What might surprise you the most is that it doesn’t have to be a horrible experience! Find a time that works for you, find something that you enjoy and make it a part of your everyday routine. So are you ready to embrace the sep-aration anxiety from leaving the library for 30 minutes a day? Off you go. Get a little tachy-cardic and get those muscle fibres twitching!

Jasmin AllooCommunity and Wellbeing Officer - MSSBU

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It’s impossible to make your eyes twinkle if you’re not

feeling twinkly

yourself!- Roald Dahl

GENERAL STUDENTS

The General Practise Students Network (GPSN) is a club for medical students run by students not only studying at Bond University but also other medical schools around Australia. GPSN creates opportunities for students to network and socialise by organising events to improve their clinical skills and provide information about the rewards associated with general practice. You do not have to have a specific interest in becoming a GP to benefit from being a part of GPSN.

The GPSN team are most excited to hold events this year. We are looking forward to our usu-al clinical skills day, suturing night and career’s night. However, we have some exciting new opportunities this year including a Take-a-Break event to speak about mental health in more depth. More information about this initiative will be available later in the year.

All students are invited to the Future of General Practice conference on the 22nd to the 24th of April. This will bring together not only medical students but also junior doctors and registrars from all around Australia. Speakers will educate students on many fields of practice but also challenge views of patient care. It is being held in the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre with a cocktail party being held at River’s Edge Events on the 23rd of April. Register now at: fgp.org.au

If there are any events that you as students would like to consider, please feel free to email us on: [email protected].

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PRACTICE NETWORK

Physicians Society Internal Medicine Mentorship ProgramCalling applicants to apply for the 2015 Internal Medicine Mentorship Programs. The program aims to enable you to develop a professional relationship with a leader in the field of internal medicine. Not only will it give you an opportunity to interact with senior colleagues, but a mentor will help to inspire you, reinforce learning outcomes, intro-duce you to a specialty field in medicine and give you some hands on skills! Applications close Sunday 22nd February. Head to the Physicians’ Society webpage for more info www.bups.org.au/mentoring/

Arrive at hospital; make rounds in special care nursery, obstet-rics and gynecology ward, then to the pediatric ward.

Arrive at the office to start the office day. Tend to questions like, “The schedule is full already, where do you want to add sick pa-tients?”.

Start seeing the morning patients. Generally see an average of 1-3 patients per hour, depending on the type of visits. Along the way, you will have the great privilege of conversing and playing with lots of fun little kids while making the best medical deci-sions that can be made for them. The relationship with the kids and their parents is what makes all the other hassles worthwhile.

Lunch “hour”, which is usually less than 30 minutes and is spent reviewing labs, returning phone calls, and signing forms while shoveling in whatever I happen to have available for lunch that day.

See more patients.

Finish seeing patients somewhere between 5:00 and 7:00, de-pending on the time of year and day of the week. Once all pa-tients have left the office, another hour or two finishing will gen-erally have to be spent in the office completing documentation and making phone calls. If someone has been admitted to the hospital dictations of admission notes and follow up on admis-sion orders will have to be completed. Home time!

A day in the Life of a PediatricianAn excerpt from a blog entitled “Survivor: Pediatrics” written by Dr. Sprayberry a practicing

pediatrician.

0700 - 0800 :

0900 - 1000 :

1005 :

1330 :

1400 :

1700 - 1900 :

2030 :

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Sub-CommitteeMSSBU Physicians’ Society

The MSSBU Surgical Interest Group’s inaugural ‘Succeeding in Surgery’ information evening was held on Tuesday, 10th February 2015. The event was intended to provide third and fourth year MBBS students with an introduction to their upcoming fourth year surgical rotation.

Current fifth year students, Az Toodayan and Will Yaxley, shared their experiences of the fourth year surgical rotation at the Wesley Hospital in Brisbane.

Dr Jessica Ng, graduate from Bond Univer-sity MBBS Class of 2014 and current intern on the Gold Coast, provided very practical and tailored advice to our students, even re-minding us what coloured pen to write with! Dr Morvarid Ashtari, who is a current intern at Robina Hospital and GCUH, discussed her expe-riences in a wide range of surgical specialities, in-cluding general, urology, ENT and vascular surgery. Finally, Dr Stephanie Tan, a maxillofacial registrar, explained how she became interested in pursuing a career in surgery, and her time working with sur-geons on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane.Thank you to all of our fantastic speakers, and we hope the event was enjoyed by all!If you missed out on attending, we will be holding a wide range of events throughout 2015, including:

• The Great Debate - 18th March (Week 9)• Bioethics Grand Round on Surgical Ethics

(152)• Networking Night (152)• Surgical Skills Workshop (152)• ‘A Surgical Future’ Conference (153)

Additionally, there are several ways for students to be involved in surgery, such as:

• Australasian Students’ Surgical Conference, held on 2-3 May in Perth

• Developing a Career in Academic Surgery Conference, held on 4th May in Perth

• International Association of Student Surgical Societies (IASSS) symposium, held in July in Brisbane

For more information and further updates, please like our Facebook page www.facebook.com/MSSBUSIG

UpdatesMSSBU Surgical Interest Group

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amsa

lowdown

Recently, AMSA President, James Lawler, vis-ited Bond. During his visit, he reinforced AM-SA’s desire to work with Bond Uni MedSoc this year, to achieve our MedSoc’s goals.

During James’ visit, he spoke of the Federal government’s controversial actions earlier this year. In January, the federal government froze planned cuts to general practitioners. The Federal Health Minister, Sussan Ley, said she wished to consult the wider health profession, before cuts were made.

The Australian Medical Association is holding GP forums nationwide to garner the opinions of the health profession. AMSA is promoting student attendance, given that medical students – US! are the future health professionals of Australia. Whilst there has already been one round of forums, there is the possibility of further forums in the near future. Attending will be a great opportunity to contribute to the ongoing discussion regarding health funding in Australia and meet others who are passionate about ac-cessible health care. For more information, visit the AMA GP Forum Facebook page. Additionally, during James’ stay, he mentioned the importance of medical schools to highlight mental health awareness. He made reference to the recent deaths of

four junior doctors, suggesting that despite AMSA initia-tives like their National Wellbeing Campaign, which in-cludes, ‘Keeping Your Grass Greener,’ “youth mental health is an area where there is significant progress to be made.” AMSA suggests medical student mental health issues of-ten arise in the clinical learning setting and have profound implications for student wellbeing and learning and ulti-mately have long term implications for subsequent career progression. This year in AMSA’s mental health campaign, they are aiming to cut the stigma of mental health and asks us, as medical students, to recognise distress in ourselves and our peers and to seek help. For more information on this important issue, visit the beyondblue Doctors’ Mental Health Program webpage.

Following James’ visit, on the 14-16th of March, some of your MedSoc will travel to Sydney to discuss AMSA’s political advocacy. AMSA Council, which meets three times a year, gives our MedSoc an opportunity to bring more opportunities to Bond’s medical program and its students.

facebook.com/yourAMSA

twitter.com/yourAMSA instagram.com/yourAMSA19

Kate SmithJunior AMSA Representative

“youth mental health is an area where there is significant progress to be made”

Grand RoundsCase 1: Osteoporosis

Robyn, an otherwise well, active 61-year old woman, presents to discuss her risk of osteoporosis. Her mother, aged 83 years, has just sustained a fracture to her neck of femur and has been diagnosed with osteoporosis. Robyn’s last period was about 13 years ago and she used hormone replacement ther-apy until July 2002 when the results of the Women’s Health Initiative trial were published.

There is no family history of breast cancer, she smokes five cigarettes a day, drinks two glasses of wine a day and is not on regular medications. Her main sources of dietary calcium are milk on her breakfast cereal and ‘some’ cheese about three times a week.

Robyn is 161 cm tall and weighs 53 kg. Robyn has two children, but lives by herself.

What risk factors for osteoporosis does Robyn have?

What investigations would you order?

What medications would you commence?

What lifestyle changes would you suggest?

~ Discussion of answers to be published next issue ~

© 2010, National Presecribing Service Limited. From “Case Study 25: Managing osteoporosis”.

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As Bond University’s Society of Health for Indigenous and Rural Experience (BUSHFIRE), we ad-vocate for you- which means op-portunities for you to experience vibrant Indigenous cultures and rural communities around Austra-lia through attending Indigenous festivals and rural highschool vis-its, attend conferences, improve your clinical skills through work-shops, learn about opportunities for scholarships and much more.

Even if you are not keen on the country, there is a lot to gain from what Bushfire has to offer.

For updates, stay tuned to our important announcements!

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BUSHFIRE Bond University Rural Health Club

If you are a student who thrives off real experience...

Bushfire is your club!

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The end of 2014 saw us welcoming a new executive committee and it is with much pleasure that we can announce the following:President: Maya CherianVice-President of Projects: Tash MoudgilVice-President of Events: Tracey TranAMSA Global Health Representative: Arjun KhariaTreasurer: Valli AnandSecretary: Anthea BachCommunications Director: Lan Nguygen

CLUB

“When it comes to global health, there is no ‘them’…only ‘us’”

– Global Health Council

Very poignant words for a society where we have so much, and yet seem to keep so much to ourselves. It can be so easy to become so focussed on the next PBL case, our next piece of assessment or our next day off that we often forget that we are part of a bigger picture. As health care professionals we will play an ever-increas-ing role in that picture.

Bond University’s Global Health group, Making A Difference (aka MAD), is dedicat-ed to establishing a global society where there is equality in the standard and pro-vision of medical care. We want to em-power every student with the knowledge, compassion, and inspiration necessary to move towards this vision.

The main project we are running this se-mester is Teddy Bear Hospital – a program where Bond students visit primary school children and teach them about health-care. The aim of TBH is to reduce ‘white coat syndrome’ in children with the friend-ly help of teddy bears! We currently have a few local schools keen to get involved and are looking for volunteers to run this pro-gram. It is a great opportunity to have an impact outside of university.

As always we ran our Valentine’s Day stall earlier this semester, providing the univer-sity with roses and romance. We will also be continuing with Birthing Better Health, and Healthy Start, a workshop aimed at educating refugees on Australian health-care.

If you would like to get involved with MAD like our Facebook page for updates or contact one of the committee members and we can let you know what you can do to help.

Anthea BachSecretary - Making A Difference

Making A Difference

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Official magazine of the Medical Students’ Society of Bond University