PENINSULA ONLINE

Issue 5
Monday, 15 June 2009

OT students connect with the community

A number of community organisations have benefited from the work and expertise of Monash Occupational Therapy students who have recently completed a range of year long projects as part of their course.

Forty OT students in their third and fourth years of study have been undertaking the Participatory Community Practice units 1 and 2 with a range of sponsor agencies.

This first part of the project, which commenced in second semester last year, involved students choosing a project from an issue identified by their sponsoring agency. They were then required to liaise with a variety of stakeholders and develop a project proposal to meet the needs and aims of the agency.The second part of the project saw the students as project managers, implementing the goals set out in the planning phase.

Unit coordinator Ms Lisa Knightbridge explains that while the aim of this project was educational, the sponsors gained significant benefits from working with the students.

"This project really enabled our students to get hands on understanding of the primary health care concepts consistent with the occupational therapy outcomes particularly the ways in which the health and wellbeing of communities may be impacted by social, political and organisational factors," she said.

"However, the sponsoring agencies also received some tangible results such as booklets, calendars and newsletters that many plan to utilise as part of their own communication and implementation strategies," Lisa said.

A secondary benefit to sponsors, explains Lisa, was the opportunity to network at the poster launch, which was held at the culmination of the project with the students presenting their projects in poster format.

"Current sponsors were able to meet sponsors from the next round of projects, giving them the opportunity to connect on a professional level with each other."

Lisa added that the professionalism of the students and the quality of the work was outstanding.

Projects were undertaken for a range of organisations including Casey Kidz Klub, Frankston City Council Metro Access, Mornington Peninsula Shire, Peninsula Health, Noah's Ark, Central Bayside Community Health Services, Peninsula Campus Management and Baptcare.

The newsletter developed for Peninsula Campus Management by OT students Michael Harris and Nicole McLeod about accessibility at the cmapus can be viewed online.

One Wheel, One World

Sport and Outdoor Recreation student Sid Rajan has cycled 994 km in a couple of weeks. A fairly impressive feat one might think, more so that he has done it on one wheel but the clincher is that he has another 5006 km to go to  reach his destination.

Sid is riding his unicycle across Australia starting in Perth and finishing in Sydney. While many may find this trip challenging in the comfort of a car, there is something about Sid that makes you think that this kind of challenge is quite normal.

This is not the first adventure that Sid and his unicycle have undertaken. In 2007 he undertook a ride for peace from Delhi in India to Lahore in Pakistan - a lazy 537 km. His ride for peace required the intervention of the Indian Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs and the Pakistani Foreign Minister to get a Visa. But nothing deters Sid not even going head-to-head with Delhi traffic on one wheel.

The trip will be undertaken in two parts with the first finishing in Adelaide and including the 1300 km stretch some of Australia's harshest terrain, the Nullarbor. His second leg will commence in November, and will cover Adelaide to Sydney via Melbourne and Canberra.

This current ride will raise funds for two charities The Clown Doctors and the Ved Vigyan Maha Vidya Peeth, an organisation that provides free education to children in rural India. He will also use his experience as the basis for his thesis.

You can keep track of Sid's journey online.

Japanese Cultural day

Students from the English Language Centre presented a range of activities at their recent Japanese Cultural Fair in the George Jenkins Theatre lounge.

The students organised a range of demonstrations including origami, calligraphy, flower arranging and a traditional tea ceremony.

The fair gave the students the opportunity to engage with the campus community as well as practice their English conversational skills.

Understanding the law and nursing

The School of Nursing and Midwifery is holding a short course for practising professionals on 'Understanding the law and nursing - lets get real!' on Wednesday 15 July at the Peninsula campus.

The course will be presented by Dr Debra Griffiths. Debra worked as a nurse and midwife for more than a decade in Australia and England before commencing studies in Arts & Law.

Debra is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences where she teaches health law issues. She is particularly interested in legal education of health professionals and the application of legal principles into daily clinical practice. She is also the co-author ofEssentials of Law forHealth Professionals.

For further information contact Sue Ballinger-Doran on extn 44018 or visit the School of Nursing and Midwifery's shorts course web page.

Advertising events on campus

Many staff at the campus have interesting and exciting events happening on and off campus.

ITS have recently taken over the management of the plasma that sits on the wall as you enter the cafeteria area and can now provide the opportunity to advertise events on this screen .

Staff and students wishing to include details about events and activities should provide it in powerpoint format  to Mark Gay at ITS.

Also remember to include event details in the online campus calendar.

Health prizes

Two scholarships are available to students at Peninsula studying a health related discipline.

A $500 essay prizes is open to any undergraduate health student at Peninsula. >more

A $1000 Research Study Scholarship for a Masters student in a health discipline at Peninsula. >more