5 June 2008
The Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon has officially opened Monash University's new A$10 million Gippsland Medical School.
The School, now in its first year of operation, has enrolled 59 students into the graduate-entry Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) course and is based at purpose-built facilities at Monash University's Gippsland campus.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins said the opening of the school was the latest achievement in the University's long tradition of excellence in medical and allied health teaching and research.
"Monash University is proud of the fact we have been fostering our best and brightest in the health professions since 1961 and have trained doctors, nurses and allied health professionals who now work throughout Australia and around the world," Professor Larkins said.
"We are delighted that Minister Roxon is opening this state-of-the-art facility which will focus on training future generations of doctors for rural and regional Australia."
All student teaching and clinical placements throughout Gippsland. Students will predominantly spend the first year in the purpose-built Gippsland facility and undertake clinical rotations at hospitals, community health centres and general practices over the four years of the course.
Placements take place across Gippsland, from areas bordering suburban Melbourne to the NSW border and from the alps to the sea.
Head of the Gippsland Medical School, Professor Chris Browne said the graduate-entry MBBS course built on Monash University 's wide experience in undergraduate medical education and on the strengths of the University's medical programs at the Clayton and Malaysian campuses.
"The graduate-entry program offers an innovative integrated curriculum and works in partnership with a number of other Monash schools and departments including the well-established regional clinical schools located in Traralgon and Bairnsdale," Professor Browne said.
"Students of the Gippsland Medical School will be immersed in the important medical and population health issues facing the people of the Gippsland region.
"Students will have a unique opportunity to learn medicine in a rural setting, working with rural practitioners, in both general and specialist settings. These skills and knowledge will allow them to take up a career anywhere in Australia," Professor Browne said.
He said the new School would also having a positive impact on the health services provided to the Gippsland community, with some practitioners showing greater interest in working in the region and partnering with Monash University.
Professor Browne said the facilities at the Gippsland campus had been designed to provide the best possible hi-tech learning environment for the students, with internal observation and consultation rooms which feature interactive simulation manikins and video capture of student performance to aid learning.
The latest Information Technology has been extensively used throughout the building and incorporated into teaching and learning practices, particularly in the areas of microscopy and pathology.
Monash University is Australia's largest and most international research-intensive University, with more than 55,000 students and 7000 staff who come from 130 countries across the world.
Now marking its 50th year, Monash University has six campuses across Victoria, and an international footprint on four continents, with campuses in Malaysia and South Africa and a centre in Italy. Monash University also has partnerships with universities in China and India.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Tim Mitchell, Media and Communications on: 0437 457 780.
| 
