“Take your partner by the hand…” A very lively and enjoyable evening was had by Australian National University first year medical and psychology students at an old-fashioned bush dance at Kameruka Hall on 18th March. The Rotary Club of Bega has had a long and productive association with the ANU Rural Clinical School, as part of an annual program of student experience in Bega. This year 23 students spent four days in the Bega Valley to give the students firsthand experience of a rural lifestyle and encouraging them to consider employment in the area once they are qualified.
This event was also for GPs who are new to the area, local medical staff, fourth year medical students and students on longer placements in our area. Bega Rotary supported the event by providing the BBQ for a total of 100 people and were ably assisted by hospitality students from the Sapphire Coast Anglican College. The next day Bega Rotary also supported the medical students who were offering free blood pressure tests in Bega.Deborah Ferguson, Administration Officer at the Rural Clinical School Bega said “we had glowing feedback from the visiting students for both events, which was a lovely reflection of the ties between the medical, volunteer and broader community. We started with a cohort, many of whom were a bit ambivalent about rural medicine and were able to send almost all of them back to Canberra with some myths busted, wanting to apply for a rural year in Bega!
