I have spent the last few weeks in Glasgow and in eastern Europe catching up with colleagues and having an "Easter break ' with family. I spoke at the Medical School in Budapest and visited the historical library there, seeing original volumes of Vesalius' anatomical drawing from the early 16th century. The Hungarians all learnt latin at school until 1956, so they would have had no problems with the translation of the motto in the History of Medicine library - HIC MORTUI VIVUNT MUTI MAGISTRI LOQUUNTER - literally "HERE THE DEAD ARE ALIVE AND THE MASTER SPEAKS AGAIN".
Budapest is a wonderfully vibrant city full of magnificent buildings and yet with tragic history of war and political turmoil until very recently. It is also one of the Spa centres in Europe and so anyone interested in musculoskeletal medicine and health could gain fascinating clinical experiences working in some of the Rehabilitation Centres here.
NEWS
Key staff changes
There have been some staff changes in the Faculty recently. Greg Seymour has been appointed as Dean of Dentistry at the University of Otago in Dunedin and will be taking up this important position in July. Greg has played a very important role in shaping the School of Dentistry, particularily in developing the new Dental 1:3:1 program and was also the Faculty's first Director of Research. We wish him well with his new challenge.
I have also appointed Andrew Wilson as Director of Research and also to a new position as Deputy Executive Dean. (Professor Konrad Jamrozik will replace Andrew as Head of the Division of Health Systems, Policy and Practice.)
The Faculty has grown significantly and I believe it important that we expand our senior management team so we can capitalise on all the new opportunities that are presenting themselves to us. Over the next few months Andrew and I will be sorting out our specific portfolios and I hope that this new position will improve access of all members of Faculty to this office and impress on all of you the importance of an expanding research agenda for all of us.
Claire Jackson joins the Faculty as newly appointed Chair in General Practice & Primary Health Care. Claire will significantly add to the Faculty's development of multiprofessionalism in health education and research, as well as enhancing University leadership in health workforce change. (Claire is profiled in this issue. See the AND YOU ARE?... section below.)
Allied Health Industrial Action
Many of you will be aware that industrial action by Queensland Health staff is unfortunately impacting on our clinical attachment programs, particularily in physiotherapy and the other allied health programs. Part of being a member of a 'health profession ' has been the fact that you do take on a responsibility to teach the next generation and I believe this is still something we should all aim for. I want to thank all staff who have put on extra learning sessions for students so that the impact of this action can be reduced as much as possible. It will mean that our teaching will have to be different in the future and that is a new challenge we have to rise to.
Workshop highlights rural clinical teaching commitment
In contrast, a regional workshop, held last month in Toowoomba has highlighted the commitment of rural health professionals to clinical supervision. The Rural Clinical Division SWQ hosted the interdisciplinary workshop on clinical supervision at the Toowoomba Hospital campus.
The workshop was facilitated by Yvonne Thomas, Occupational Therapist of James Cook University; Anne Hill, Speech Pathologist from UQ and Megan Dalton, Physiotherapist of Griffith University. The interdisciplinary theme of the day was in keeping with the Faculty's commitment to developing multidisciplinary education. The workshop was attended by registrants from nine different health professions and resulted in the decision to form a working party to facilitate closer collaboration between professions in student clinical supervision. A videoconference was also held, which targeted rural health professions and the benefits and challenges of having students in rural settings.
Grant successes
Researchers in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences were successful in obtaining three of the six CONROD Collaborative Research Grants awarded for 2005. Congratulations to the following research teams:
Dr Brooke-Mai Whelan, Professor Bruce Murdoch, Dr Kimberley Docking, Professor Nicholas Bellamy - "Examining brain recovery mechanisms across the life span: A longitudinal, behavioural and neurophysiological investigation of cognitive-linguistic function following mild and severe brain trauma in children and adults" - $134,817.
Professor Bruce Murdoch, Dr Justine Goozee, Dr Deborah Falla, Dr Julie Cichero, Professor Nicholas Bellamy - "Pharyngeal electromyography and electromagnetic articulography in the diagnosis of swallowing dysfunction in adults post-traumatic brain injury" - $77,038.
Dr Tamara Ownsworth, Dr Jenny Fleming, Dr David Shum, Dr Pim Kuipers, Professor Jenny Strong - "A RCT of metacognitive contextual interventions for individuals with acquired brain injury in the community" - $54,890.
Teaching award nominations close May 20
Nominations close May 20 for the University's Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Awards for the Enhancement of Student Learning. Details of the selection process are available online or from Jenny Bjarnesen (ext 532-6, email j.bjarnesen@admin.uq.edu.au).
Herston Student Centre closes
Due to a very low number of enquiries at the Herston Student Centre it is no longer viable to operate the centre as a staffed facility. The Student Centre will be trialling a new model for servicing students based at this campus.
The students at Herston will be served through a "self-help zone" in the canteen and bookshop area at the Medical school. There will be a PC set up with access to the intranet and an internal phone with direct access to a Student Centre contact number. Currently the Ipswich Student Centre team members are answering student enquiries and emails from these students. Student Support Service appointments will be made via the St Lucia Campus number - 3365 1704.
As an interim measure, students and staff who require a new ID Card and are unable to attend St Lucia Campus can contact Unicard on 336 51350 and arrangements will be made. In the coming weeks, the production of ID cards will be from 2-4pm every second Wednesday at the Herston site.
The PC, phone, brochures and signage will be completed in the coming weeks. Please contact Kate Heffernan, Student Centre Manager with any queries on 336 55161.
QUOTE OF THE ISSUE
"I'm not telling you it is going to be easy - I'm telling you it's going to be worth it"
-- Art Williams
AND YOU ARE?...
Newly appointed Chair in General Practice & Primary Health Care, Professor Claire Jackson has a vision for the future of general practice. In simple terms, it involves a primary care "one stop shop" that co-ordinates care and promotes patient self management to effectively treat an increasingly chronically ill Australian population.
Claire is enthusiastic about the opportunity her new role offers to promote this vision for a more integrated health service. She also knows the reality is not as simple as it sounds and that this healthcare system of the future relies on teamwork supported by appropriate human resources, administration, IT and training systems.
As a health services researcher, medical educator of 20 years experience and general practitioner, her assessment of current services is that patients receive high quality health care "in pockets".
"This level of service is not well integrated. Patients with a chronic disease, such as diabetes, are sometimes required to see eight different health professionals. We need much better linkages between clinicians, integrated clinical pathways and better use of technology for information sharing.
"Health professionals need to work closely as part of a multidisciplinary team to develop the patient's treatment program. Easy electronic retrieval of patient information and decision support is essential to ensure doctors have the latest patient information, and ongoing communication is needed to enable the team to jointly monitor progress," she said.
Claire's satellite clinic model relies on much more patient involvement, supported by increased access to health information and professional support. She said her new role at UQ would be focused on moving health services towards this model through continued health service research, involvement in multiprofessional education, and working with specialist colleges to promote a futurist postgraduate training approach.
Supporting professional development via College involvement has been a long held priority for Claire, who also manages to combine her demanding professional life with an equally busy family life. Claire and husband Dr Bill Glasson (ophthalmologist and federal AMA president) have three teenage children ? Gemma, 19, Nicola, 15 and William, 13. While her days of coaching Gemma and Nicola's netball teams are over, sport continues to be a high priority for the family. Claire and Bill enjoy tennis, running, going to the gym, and attending their children's sporting events ? "doing lots of watching and cheering".
"We spend every spare minute with the family and as a family. We also have a close extended family and enjoy much of our scarce spare time with them and close friends," she said.
EVENTS
Patient Care in Chronic Illness -Social & Psychological Aspects - 13 April
The Wesley Research Institute will hold this free symposium for Specialists, General Practitioners, Nurses and Health Care Workers at 6.30pm. Topics will include the Wellbeing of older carers, Quality of life following a diagnosis of colorectal cancer, Causative and preventative factors for social isolation among older people ? A cross-government project and Concepts of recovery and empowerment in chronic disorder. (More details) There is no charge to attend - but RSVP is essential. All interested persons are welcome ? RSVP by April 8, 2005 either phone Sarah on 3232 7264 or email research@wesley.com.au
Uniquest Research Commercialisation Workshop - April 14 -15
Researchers - Are you interested in finding out about where your research can lead you? Would you like to understand more about commercialising your research? UQ's main technology transfer company, UniQuest, is running a complimentary two-day Research Commercialisation Workshop for UQ PhD students and "Postdocs".
You'll find out more about:
· Taking your research to the market
· Attracting funding from industry and investors
· Career options and
· UQ researchers who've successfully commercialised their research.
Guest speakers are drawn from industry, start-up companies and venture capitalists. Places on this workshop are limited and selection is not guaranteed. To apply, visit uniquest.com.au/ , click on the workshop link and fill out the application form.
Meeting Mental Health Needs - July 5-7
This meeting of the World Psychiatric Association's Epidemiology and Public Health Section will focus on "The Evidence from Epidemiology, Economics and Evaluation" . It will be held at the Hilton Brisbane Hotel. Organisers are Professors Harvey Whiteford and Philip Burgess from the Policy and Economics Group, at the Centre for Mental Health Research. The object of the meeting is to bring together and promote partnerships among three key disciplines - psychiatric epidemiology, health economics and mental health services research. The meeting is an opportunity to share and debate "evidence" and "gaps" from a diversity of perspectives and enrich understanding of how mental health outcomes can be enhanced.
Early registration deadline is 30 May. Register online at www.icms.com.au/ephm2005 .
Call for Extracts ERA 2005 ? November 8
The Australasian Centre on Ageing is pleased to invite PhD students to participate in the 4th Emerging Researchers in Ageing (ERA) Conference to be held in Brisbane. The theme of the conference will be "The Diversity of Ageing: Pooling the Evidence". This year's keynote speaker is Professor Hal Kendig, Research Professor of Ageing and Health at the University of Sydney, National Convener of the ARC-NHMRC Research Network on Ageing Well and Chair of the College Research Program in Ageing and Health.
Previous conferences have put the work of emerging researchers on the radar of national policy makers. ERA 2005 is a chance to become involved in developing the growing profile of this important area, while taking advantage of the professional networking opportunities offered by a conference of this calibre.
ACA will offer a prize and award to a student in recognition of their work. The ACA prize sub-committee will be involved in making the final choice and a presentation will take place as part of the day's proceedings.
For further conference details and to submit an abstract, please visit: http://www.uq.edu.au/aca or contact (07) 3346 9084.