Students take closer look at rural health

Five medical students gained some first-hand experience of the real-life working environment for health professionals, during a four-week placement with the Centre of Excellence in Wellsford last month.

The University of Auckland and AUT students worked with physiotherapy, practice and community nurses, doctors, pharmacists and occupational therapists in the Wellsford area.

They are in their final stages of study in nursing, medicine and occupational therapy, and their placement was a collaborative programme run by Coast to Coast PHO and Waitemata District Health Board.

One of the participants, former Mahurangi College student James Johnston, described the experience as “amazing”.

“Wellsford has a great community feeling and I wish I could have been here longer,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot about what other (health) roles do. The community experience has been invaluable”.

As part of the students’ assessment, they had to put together a well-researched presentation on a health related topic. They chose Youth Violence and Management within a Rural Setting, and looked at the links between health and violence, both at school and at home.

Their research showed that learning disabilities and language problems were linked with anger, frustration and fear, which could then manifest as violence.

Their presentation offered a partial solution to this cycle of violence by creating more awareness among teachers and students aged nine and over. They suggested making a tool kit of activities which would be school-based to alert them to the behaviours that lead to violence, in the belief that early intervention could help address the problem.

These five students so enjoyed their stay in the Wellsford community that they wished to put something back and suggested that school visits to do role-plays around health issues and connect with the children should become a regular part of their course at the Centre of Excellence.

Medical students from Auckland were given a taste of life in the country during their four-week sabbatical in Wellsford. In front is former Mahurangi College student James Johnston.