A medical student can practice forever, but like any bedroom guitar hero or backyard footballer, there comes a day when it has to be done for real. This is where Griffith University depends utterly on our clinical partners.

QML Pathology have been a significant partner with Griffith School of Medicine since the school began training its first students. In an era when commercial partners have begun cutting back placements or charging for the privilege of learning, your corner pathologist has kept a steady pace of medical students, who nearly all draw their first real blood sample in a QML clinic.

Calm and positive

LyndallNurzynski did her first phlebotomy work in March at Ashmore Plaza (Gold Coast) and can’t speak highly enough of the experience.

“Not only are they extremely good at their jobs, but the lady I did my placement with, Anna Baldock was great at working with me. She made me feel calm, gave really positive feedback and after a few clients, I felt confident,” she said.

“It’s a small but really crucial part of medicine and their commitment to students really comes through in the people who run the service.”

Just a bit nervous

2nd year student Cedric Ng Liet Hing, did his placement in Labrador and it takes a bit of coaxing to get an admission of nerves at drawing his first blood sample.

“What do you say? We’ve done lots of practice to get ready, I was more excited than nervous, but yeah I suppose I was a bit nervous,” he said.

“I told the guy it was my first time and he looked a bit alarmed, but he was young, so it was pretty easy to find a vein and it all went pretty smoothly.

“You could tell the lady in charge had heaps of experience, she was really nice, so when it came time to take my first client I didn’t think about it too much, didn’t turn it into a big thing.”

Get it right and its easy

The school’s professional learning director, Associate Professor Gary Rogers can’t speak highly enough of QML Pathology.

“We often think of the big hospital internships or some remote clinical placement as a feature of studying with Griffith, but it’s businesses like the local QML Pathology which are our learning bread and butter,” he said.

“What is learnt on a placement like this is a skill perfected through basic repetition. Get it right and its easy, ignore the lesson’s these phlebotomists can teach and you will struggle to be a good doctor.”

Griffith University Queensland Conservatorium students last week were taken on a musical journey to India, experiencing the rich culture and musical wonders of a vibrant country.

 

Students were given the opportunity to practice and build on their musical skills and knowledge through project-based activities that form Queensland Conservatorium Project Week. Students worked with renowned international artists such as soprano Patricia Rozario (winner of the gold medal and Maggie Teyte Prize, London Guildhall School of Music) and granddaughter of famous composer and cricketer Sir Donald Bradman, Greta Bradman.

 

Project Week Directors Dan Bendrups and Steve Newcomb were excited to note the crossover between the much-anticipated fourth festival of the ‘Encounters’ series, Encounters: India.

“We anticipate students will gain invaluable experiences and knowledge of India’s musical culture from the program planned,” said Mr Bendrups.

 

International guests also lead students and the community on an extraordinary Indian adventure filled with traditional music, Bollywood dance, masterclasses, symposiums and daily performances.

 

“With a wide range of activities and free events, students will be able to explore and broaden their musical minds through Indian culture.”

 

Project Week suspends normal timetabled classes in order to facilitate student participation with the many activities on offer.

 

“Students are given the opportunity to embrace the incredible musical diversity on offer at their own leisure,” said Mr Newcomb.

 

“Opera singers were inspired in their masterclass by the effortless and eloquent voice of Patricia Rozario.

 

“Queensland Conservatorium is a music school that shapes not only the craft each students possess but opens their minds to the musical world,” said Mr Bendrups.

 

Conservatorium staff also assisted the week’s performances, showcasing their talents and expertise. Performances included The Drone, featuring Professor Huib Schipper (sitar), The Drum featuring Vanessa Tomlinson (director) and The Guru featuring Gregory Massingham (tenor).

 

Students were given industry knowledge in workshops and masterclasses hosted by many international guests including Rohan de Saram on cello and Ramli Ibrahim on movement.

 

Project week this semester highlighted India’s vibrant culture and the power of music connecting communities.

Providing medical treatment to an emergency patient is just a part of what is expected from Griffith medicine students as they take part in an innovative new learning experience.

Pioneered by Associate Professor Gary Rogers from Griffith’s School of Medicine, CLEIMS (Clinical Learning through Extended Immersion in Medical Simulation), takes a holistic learning approach to the patient care process by simulating the entire experience.

Small teams of year 3 and 4 Bachelor of Medicine students are required to provide medical care to an actor patient as part of a week-long simulation that sees them undertaking history taking, assessments and treatment recommendations as well as drug prescribing, ‘code blue’ emergency calls, managing urgent problems in the middle of the night and even dealing with the patient’s distraught relatives.

Described as ‘deep end therapy,’ the simulations throughout the week are backed up by additional seminars to address the new knowledge gaps identified by the students.

Cutting-edge facilities in the new Griffith Health Centre

Bachelor of Medicine student Felicity McIvor will be among the first students to undertake CLEIMS in the surroundings of the new Griffith Health Centre.

Set to open in July and located opposite the new Gold Coast University Hospital, the Griffith Health Centre will boast a wealth of cutting-edge facilities tailor-made to Griffith’s learning-based clinical skills methodology.

“I am thoroughly enjoying the medicine and surgery electives that we are currently doing during our third year and I am now really excited about how CLEIMS will be taught at the Griffith Health Centre,” Felicity said. “It will be fantastic to be able to benefit from all the new facilities and equipment.”

A first for a medical school

“This is the first time ever that a medical school has undertaken extended simulations for students over the course of a week and which have covered all aspects of the patient care process,” said Associate Professor Rogers. “The results from our trials of the initiative showed that these student groups significantly improved their acquisition of knowledge and understanding compared to the control groups who were just undertaking the standard seminars and traditional workshops.

“We found that taking responsibility for simulated patient care across a whole week created a ‘curiosity gap’ for these students that really motivated them to learn. We also found that their prescribing skills, which were developed through collaboration with Griffith Pharmacy students, and their resuscitation skills, were significantly improved.

“Additionally we asked students to keep a reflective journal of their experiences. One student’s journal said ‘I have learnt more about my own skills in this one week than in the rest of the medical program’.”

 

For more information on a career in medicine, please attend the Griffith University Pathways to Medicine Information Evening tonight:

 

Wednesday 22 May 6 – 8pm, Gold Coast campus.

To register, visitgriffith.edu.au/medicine

The Los Angeles Times reports on research by Dr Aaron Sell from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice in the article Do Obama’s small biceps explain his liberal politics?.

 

Dr Sell’s research explores the link between male upper-body strength and assertion of economic self-interest in The Ancestral Logic of Politics which was published last week in Psychological Science.

 

To read the article visit Do Obama’s small biceps explain his liberal politics?

 

The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice is offering a new course on homicide as well as a range of electives from next semester.

 

Homicide

In the new first year core course, Homicide, first year students will learn how serious violent offences are detected and investigated by police and then processed through the justice system.

 

CCJ Electives

Second and third year students can also choose from a range of new electives next semester including

– Gender, Crime and Justice
– Evolutionary Criminology
– Crime Script Analysis
– Restorative Justice Practice

Students may also be interested in the free choice elective History of Terrorism and Political Violence being offered by the School of Humanities.

 

Gender, Crime and Justice

“Despite the public’s obsession with crime, victimisation and criminal justice, despite the morbid fear that crime and victimisation arouses, despite the endless volumes written to account for offending, victimisation and criminal justice processing, gender, the most powerful social factor of all has been virtually ignored by criminologists.” (Leonard, 1982).

Women are one of the fastest growing groups being incarcerated, they are more likely than men to be victims of certain types of crime (i.e. domestic and sexual violence) and men have traditionally (although now being debated) been more likely to perpetrate violent crime. It is critically important that the issue of how gender–femininity, masculinity, and intersections with other statuses–shapes crime, victimisation and our responses to both. Drawing on national and international contexts, this course explores, and seeks to theoretically explain, the persistent and profound differences between men and women in crime rates and patterns, victimization, and criminal justice system experiences and responses. The course will also consider intersections between gender, Indigeneity, social class and sexual orientation.

– Offered internally at Mt Gravatt campus and externally
– Course code: 2015CCJ

 

Evolutionary Criminology

Life on earth is the product of natural selection. By understanding the process that created human beings and other animals, we can better explain human behaviour across many domains, including crime. This course presents the logic of Darwinian selection and how that is used by modern evolutionary biologists to explain animal conflict, mating systems, child care, cooperation and group based aggression. These theories and ways of understanding animal behaviour are applied to modern humans to allow us to understand crime in a new way: as the result of a mind designed by natural selection for an evolutionary past that no longer exists. The course will cover evolutionary explanations of status-related aggression, child abuse and neglect, sexual assault, warfare, punishment, and the origins of morality and justice.

– Offered internally at Mt Gravatt campus and externally
– Course code: 3020CCJ

 

Crime Script Analysis

In Crime Script Analysis students will have the opportunity to learn how different crimes are committed by offenders for prevention purposes.

Examining offender decision-making during crime and performing crime script analysis is fundamental to better understand crime events and guide policies and situational crime prevention efforts in preventing crime. This course covers both offender decision-making during crime and crime scripts and therefore, allows students to study crime and offender modus operandi from the offender’s perspective for prevention purposes. The theoretical and methodological background of these approaches is first presented. Then throughout the semester, various forms of crime are examined in light of these approaches. Common crimes such as auto theft, burglary and drug dealing are presented and discussed as well as more serious crimes such as sexual offending, violence and human trafficking. Empirical studies are used as examples to further help students capture the full potential of this field of research in criminology.

– Offered internally at Mt Gravatt campus and externally
– Course code: 3021CCJ

 

Restorative Justice Practice

Restorative Justice Practice gives students the practical skills necessary to effectively facilitate restorative justice processes. Students will complete the restorative justice convenor training program and learn about the historical and theoretical development of restorative justice in Australia and overseas. Students will also critically assess the contemporary empirical research literature on restorative justice to determine the extent to which restorative justice processes have a positive impact on participants.

– Offered internally at Mt Gravatt campus
– Course code: 3022CCJ

 

Other electives: History of Terrorism and Political Violence

In today’s world, terrorism is one of the inescapable worldwide forces that defines, shapes and reshapes our age. This course will put terrorism and political violence into broad historical context, exploring the experiences of terrorism through the ages and how societies responded to the threats of political violence. From antiquity, through the Middle Ages to the global terrorism of today, this course will unravel the meaning of terrorism and how it was experienced throughout history.

– Offered at Gold Coast and Nathan campuses
– Course code: 2055HUM

 

Related information

Electives website

Jock McIlwain is passionate about encouraging young people to study science and engineering.

Now retired, the 87 year old one-time engineer and major developer on the Gold Coast has already donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Griffith University.

In his latest act of generosity Jock presented a cheque for $25,000 toPro Vice Chancellor of SEET, Professor Debra Henly.

A former member of the Gold Coast City Council, Jock was one of the first people to push for the establishment of a local university.

“I was the alderman in 1969 who got up in Council and said we need a university on the Gold Coast and the wheels started turning from there on,” Jock said.

Jock’s latest donation will go towards the ‘Science on the Go’ Project, which encourages school students to set their sights on studying maths and science at Griffith.

Professor Debra Henly said the project is all about engaging young children and teenagers and really trying to excite them about studying science, engineering and technology.

“It shows them that it’s fun, that it’s interesting, that there are good jobs at the end of it, and that there is a demand for people with these skills sets,” Professor Henly said.

This ‘Science on the Go’ outreach program has been running for a number of years, but as part of the New Griffith a major expansion of science teaching isunder wayon the Gold Coast campus.

In 2014 a comprehensive Bachelor of Science degree will be introduced; a first for the region.

“For the first time students on the Gold Coast have had the opportunity to study a fully-fledged science degree without having to go up the road to Brisbane,” Professor Henly said.

“We see this as being fundamental to the future of the Gold Coast in producing graduates who have a skills set that this economy really needs.”

Jock is hoping his enthusiasm is infectious and others will step up.. as he has.

“I’m really hoping that as a result of my donation to the university, more business people will be encouraged to do the same thing.”

“If they’ve a got a desire to help the youth of the Gold Coast achieve and aspire then I hope they will do it. ”

Jock McIlwain has also generously agreed to be the Patron of the Griffith University Science and Engineering Challenge in August.

 

Chief Executive Officer of Carnival Australia, Ann Sherry AO, will deliver the 2013 Griffith Lecture at the Queensland Conservatorium in South Bank on May 28.

Ms Sherry’s presentation will discuss the world’s fastest growing cruise market, which is now comprised across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

Carnival Australia is the largest cruise ship operator in Australasia and a division of Carnival Corporation. It is the world’s largest cruise ship operator and owner of the iconic brands P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Aida, Cunard, Holland America and Seabourn.

The Griffith Lecture, a prestigious biennial event, takes place from 6.30pm to 7.45pm at the Ian Hanger Recital Hall.

Ann Sherry has transformed the cruise industry, and growth has been double digit each year since 2007, with a rising contribution to national and regional economies.

One million Australians a year are expected to be cruising by 2020, if not sooner.

With such strong industry growth, Carnival Australia is also focused on how island communities in particular are benefitting from the expansion of cruising.

Carnival Australia is working at a number of levels to ensure this happens, encouraging the growth of tourism related ventures and participating in a direct community partnership to support projects that improve health and education opportunities.

Ann Sherry is also a member of the global leadership team at Carnival Corporation and is involved in the development of regulation, training and improved practices on ships globally.

She was previously with Westpac for 12 years and was Chief Executive Officer, Westpac New Zealand; CEO, Bank of Melbourne; and Group Executive, People & Performance. She was a driver of cultural change, community engagement and customer focus in commercial and retail banking.

Before joining Westpac, Ann was First Assistant Secretary of the Office of the Status of Women in Canberra, advising the Prime Minister on policies and programs to improve the status of women and was Australia’s representative to the United Nations forum on human rights and women’s rights.

In 2001, Ann was awarded a Centenary Medal by the Australian Government for her work on providing banking services to disadvantaged communities. In 2004, Ann was awarded an Order of Australia for her contribution to the Australian community through the promotion of corporate management policies and practices that embrace gender equity, social justice and work and family partnerships.

In 2011, Ann was listed in the FTSE 100 Women in Leadership, and in 2013, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters by Macquarie University for her contribution to business and civil society.

Griffith Lecture registrations essential by Friday, May 24.

Griffith University’s Eskitis Institute and the Sun Yat-sen University’s Laboratory of Cancer and Stem Cell Biology have formed a joint research facility.

Director of the Eskitis Institute, Professor Ron Quinn AM, travelled to China for the official opening of the GU-SYSU Joint Laboratory for Drug Discovery.

The academic collaboration will foster new research into the chemical biology of cancer stem cells and the development of drugs based on naturally occurring compounds.

Professor Quinn said he was looking forward to working with Professor Yan Zhang and her team.

“Through this collaboration we will see the expansion of the use of our Nature Bank collections and the potential to discover new drugs to combat cancer,” Professor Quinn said.

Griffith’s Nature Bank is a unique drug discovery resource based on natural products found in Australia, China and Papua New Guinea. It comprises more than 45,000 samples of plants and marine invertebrates, 200,000 semi-purified fractions, 3,250 pure compounds and over 400 naturally-occurring fragments.

A key focus of this joint research effort will be targeting oral cancer; one of the most common forms of cancer in China and which afflicts largely young people

“Cancer stem cells (CSC) are suspected to be the cause of cancer relapse in patients who have been undergone chemotherapy or other treatments,” Professor Quinn said.

“These CSC can lie quasi-dormant in patients during treatment and remerge as a source of tumour cells later on if a patient relapses.

“Typically these second generation cancer cells are more aggressive and resistant to anti-cancer drugs.

Professor Zhang has already successfully developed techniques to grow oral cancer cells in 3D tissue culture in the laboratory. It will now be possible to test compounds from the Eskitis Institute’s Nature Bank on these cells to in the hope of being able to develop powerful new anti-cancer therapies.

Close ties between Sun Yat-sen University and teaching hospitals will provide the opportunity for efficient progress for research outcomes.

“The synergy between the Eskitis Institute at Griffith and Sun Yat-sen Universities allows a pipeline from drug discovery, to cell testing and animal validation with the power to commercialise outcomes and move them to the bedside,” Professor Yan Zhang said.

There will also be the opportunity for student and researcher exchanges between the two universities.

 

The Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP) has called for a better understanding of rural cultures and how they might affect suicidal behaviours. The findings, in a recently released book by the Griffith University-based institute make clear the importance of understanding rural Australia better in order to find more effective prevention strategies.

“There is also a great need to better understand the relationship between access to appropriate and high-quality physical and mental healthcare in rural areas,” said lead researcher Dr Kairi Kolves.

“There is no doubt that great effort is being made to help rural communities; however, there is a need for better evaluation of these strategies in order to ensure their efficacy and validity, as well as to ensure there are no regions or groups overlooked.”

Dr Kolves team identified five key areas of concern with potential strategies to address them;

“This may include ‘upskilling’ key members of the community to provide treatment and/or referral services,” said Dr Kolves.

Suicide is a significant problem in rural Australia, mostly associated with men, but exacerbated by weather cycles and events more significantly affecting people’s mental health.

With mental health services more likely to be thin on the ground in rural areas, AISRAP believe established social services and clubs, such as sporting clubs, CWA etc should be trained to look for the early signs mental health difficulties before they get out of hand.

 

Two doctors and a final year medical student all with shared interest in rural medicine have returned from Papua New Guinea after exploring a new frontier in medical education.

Griffith University Professor Scott Kitchener and Dr Andrew Ready from Queensland Rural Medical Education (QRME) and Brodie Quinn, a Griffith medicine graduate, went in search of learning opportunities that would not only benefit the students, but add to the health care of the people of PNG.

North of the Fly River

They travelled to clinics in Kiunga and Rumginae at the north end of the Fly River to meet with local doctors and health care professionals.

“When I asked them, ‘do you think you could have medical students here on placement?’ their response was ‘how many do you think you can send?’” said Dr Quinn

The remote clinics offer a dramatically different experience from the medical student-flooded hospitals and clinics in Australia today.

Safe

“The two clinics are remote by any standards, the only way in is by air. Like most rural communities both Rumginae and Kiunga are safe, friendly and very welcoming of people from the health care profession.”

The clinics, although medium size, had a turn over like that of most regional hospitals in Australia with wards including high level obstetrics, paediatrics, surgery and infectious disease.

Griffith and QRME hope to have final year medical students at both clinics for the second half of 2013.

A unique experience is assured, with a student’s presence also increasing the value of the services provided by the local health district.

The PNG clinics offer students a genuine opportunity to be of value to the services they learn in and expand their own horizon.