Twenty four secondary school students from Mildura got a taste for study and careers in health by participating in the Med-Toring program run by Monash Rural Health Mildura over the past three months.
Now in its sixth year, Med-Toring connects local Year 11 and 12 students with current Monash medical students (their MedTors) completing a placement in Mildura. Over four sessions, participants had the opportunity to explore potential careers in health by hearing from local health professionals. Participants learnt basic clinical skills, took part in simulations and attended workshops around the transition from high school to university, under the guidance of their MedTors.
Final year Monash medical student, Akhil Sahni, volunteered as a MedTor as a way to give back to the Mildura community, having spent the last three years living and studying in the region.
“I have always been really inspired by the mentors I had when I was in school and when I was a younger student. As a result, I have found myself volunteering for a lot of mentoring programs to try and give back the great experiences and learning that I got when I was younger. I wanted to try and help younger kids to get involved in the healthcare field and medicine as a whole. Trying to navigate what you want to do for the rest of your life is quite a challenging task, particularly when you’re 18. Hopefully having a good role model and good experiences can help lead them into fields that are both extremely rewarding to themselves as well as to the community.”
“Healthcare is challenging, but there is a massive need, particularly in rural and regional communities. Having kids from the area who know the culture and the people around here potentially return and stay in the area is a massive benefit.”
Program coordinator, Louise Hodgetts, says Med-Toring engages participants with a range of different courses and careers in health they may not have considered – and she’s seen the benefits first-hand.
“One of the best things about our Med-Toring program is hearing about the students who do go on to a health degree. We’ve had students study speech pathology, dentistry and paramedicine, and we’ve even got medical students on placement in Mildura at the moment who participated in Med-toring during their VCE. It’s extremely rewarding to be able to welcome back past participants and be part of the next stage of their healthcare career journey.”
The Monash Rural Health Mildura Med-Toring program will run again in 2024. To be notified when 2024 registrations open, please contact [email protected]