During April, Huon Valley Council hosted 30 medical students from the University of Tasmania as part of the University’s Rural Week.
As the southernmost council in Australia, Huon Valley Council covers just under 5,500 square kilometres and has a population of 14,500 people.
It encompasses the town of Huonville, on the Huon River, some surrounding towns, and many protected areas and forestry plantations.
Held for the first time this year, Rural Week was designed to enable students to learn more about existing health services in the Huon Valley and gain an understanding of how the services affect the lives of people who live there.
It provides medical students with firsthand experience of rural medicine.
Huon Valley Council’s Rural Heath Coordinator, Julie Gordon, worked closely with the University to coordinate the visit and was directly involved in programming some of the week’s activities.
She said that by exposing rural practice and rural communities, Council hoped to provide a positive experience that will encourage the young doctors to practise in a rural area when they graduate.
“It is hoped some might choose to practise in the Huon Valley, and there is the possibility that this and other rural locations will attract more doctors in the longer term,” Julie Gordon said.
“At the end of the week, the medical students had a better understanding of how the healthcare system works; the role of the doctor in rural communities; local healthcare networks; and the impact of rural life on access and provision of healthcare.”
The students were welcomed at the beginning of the week with a function hosted by Council.
They were then broken into three groups to spend time with local doctors at either the Huon Doctors Surgery, the Huon Valley Health Centre, or the Geeveston Medical Centre.
During the week, students met with various community volunteers, groups and organisations involved in the delivery of a range of services to the community.
This assisted them to understand the role of organisations like Meals on Wheels, the State Emergency Service, Huon Eldercare and others in the Huon Valley healthcare network.
The medical students also visited local primary and high schools to talk to students about life at university and career options available to them.
However, it was not a case of all work and no play for the students.
Visits to the Tahune Airwalk, Hastings Caves, bushwalking in the Hartz Mountains and sailing ensured they experienced what it is like to work and play in the Huon Valley.
