Issue 43 - 29 November 2000

Active learning focus in medicine

From left to right: the five-year curriculum project team Ms Helen Pattison, Associate Professor Chris Browne, Ms Elaine Halley, Ms Maureen Kutner and Ms Christine Tasker.

The new five-year curriculum in the Faculty of Medicine, to begin in 2002, will focus on training medical students to become active learners.

Associate Professor Chris Browne said the new course was responding to the worldwide move away from traditional teaching methods, such as lecturing, to more active student participation in learning.

"We will still use these methods, but we're now moving to a point where students are encouraged to engage with the material, and to become active rather than passive learners," he said.

Improving opportunities to develop practical skills such as taking blood and suturing is also emphasised in the new course.

"We will establish clinical skills laboratories where students can practise their skills on models and on each other, before they need to use them with patients," he said.

Other components of the course will examine a range of community health issues, including the health problems of Indigenous and ethnic communities.

"Another innovation is that in their second year, students will undertake a community service attachment in some sector of community health, so they can begin to understand the way that social differences impact on health."

Monash, which already has a good track record in attracting students from rural areas, will focus further on giving students rural experience in Traralgon, Bendigo and Mildura.

A funding application has been made to the Federal Government to expand the Centre for Rural Health in Traralgon into a rural clinical school to provide Monash students with more experience in the area of rural health.

Dr Browne explained that the new curriculum had been shortened from six to five years in response to the growing demands of the health care system.

"Most medical students who graduate from now on will do one year as an intern and then three to eight years of postgraduate study before they are formally recognised for independent practice in the public health system," he said.

Previously, doctors could practise medicine after one year of supervised postgraduate experience.

"Many medical schools have not acknowledged this, but we've decided to rationalise what students need from medical school," he said.

"We will cut out what we know they'll cover during their internship and focus on preparing them for the transition into the intern year.

"The concept of continuing study is a key feature of the new curriculum. Doctors have to buy into the notion that they are learning for life.

"We have to give them the basic medical knowledge they need but also teach them how to find and gain knowledge, because medical knowledge is always expanding and it's now available in so many different forms."

IT talent and research on show Information Technology dean Professor John Rosenberg and School of Computer Science and Software Engineering senior lecturer Dr Ann Nicholson view one of the exhibits. The Faculty of Information Technology last week hosted an exhibition of its latest research at the Museum of Victoria. Titled Innovate 2000, the exhibition highlighted the IT research and industry projects of individual research students and groups of the faculty. Information Technology dean Professor John Rosenberg said the exhibit showed the "incredible range of talent and research" carried out at Monash in conjunction with many national and international companies. "We hope that one of the results of the Innovate exhibition is further links with the industry," he said. "This could come in a variety of ways, such as support with funding, the establishment of cooperative research centres and other joint ventures with the university." Former Monash head of Computer Science and Software Engineering Professor Les Goldschlager spoke at the exhibition launch about IT research in Australia. Professor Goldschlager is now executive director of Sofcom, one of Australia's first internet companies, which provides content to clients such as AOL,C&W Optus, Excite and Yahoo. He said that despite the need to forge links between academia and industry, it was still possible for individuals to make contributions to information technology, citing several examples of successful internet startups. Innovate 2000 included a demonstration of the WAP (wireless application protocol) industrial project, which allowed Monash students to access their results from a mobile phone. Other exhibits demonstrated the use of the award-winning BlueJ system, an application used to teach Java, and how to use a colour-based image retrieval system. Other honours projects related to debugging, security issues, e-commerce applications and graphics.

Visual Arts student Mr Shane McFaydyen.

Gippsland final-year exhibition

The themes of body and mapping are the focus of an exhibition from final-year students at the Gippsland Centre for Art and Design.

Painting lecturer Mr Rodney Forbes said the two concepts combined to evoke reflections on physical, intellectual and spiritual boundaries.

"The show illustrates how fine art differs from advertising. Where the latter often violates boundaries and sows self-doubt to sell products, the former stretches our boundaries to enlarge us as people and as a community - it offers you yourself," he said.

He said the show also reflected a strong sense of community and a robust individualism - qualities the centre had always tried to foster in its graduates.

The exhibition is running at the Switchback Gallery, Gippsland campus, until 31 January. For further details, contact extn 26261.

$54K raised for cancer research Thirty-two teams raised $54,000 for cancer research at the inaugural Relay for Life event coordinated by MONSU and the Peninsula campus. About 60 cancer survivors and carers walked the first lap of the relay, held at Ballam Park Athletics Track in Frankston from noon on Saturday 18 November to noon on Sunday 19 November. Patron Ms Debbie Flintoff-King and Frankston Mayor Cr Mark Conroy officially opened the event. The highest team fundraiser award went to the Cornish Pasties from St Leonard's College, who raised $4875.90. The highest individual fundraiser award went to Ms Joanne Munger and Mr Colin Armitt, both from the Hospice Heroes, who raised $1000 each.

		Serving the community Monash University Malaysia's M3Care student group has reached out to the community by developing websites for two non-profit organisations. M3Care is a student-based committee made up of representatives from the Malaysian campus, Monash University Student Association and the Monash Unix Group. The group designed websites for Rumah Harapan, a day-care centre run by Malaysia Care, and the National Council of the Blind in Malaysia (NCBM). Rumah Harapan offers support and counselling services to the families of mentally ill people while NCBM runs education and rehabilitation programs to assist the visually impaired.
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Alexander Downer speaking last week at a public forum at Parliament House hosted by the new Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. Mr Downer spoke on 'Making a difference to human rights'.

Women in computing

More women should be involved in the technical side of computing, according to Associate Professor Christine Mingins from the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering.

Dr Mingins will join Professor Nell Dale from the University of Texas in presenting discussions on the topic at the Women in Computing (WIC7) forum on 3 December.

The one-day forum, titled 'Career planning and management for women in academic computing', will be held at Mannix College.

Dr Mingins, who was recently involved in Microsoft's common language run-time research, said women needed to make a commitment with both their time and money to keep re-skilling in an industry constantly affected by technological change.

Women in Computing comprises representatives from universities, TAFE colleges and industry.

For further details and registration forms, visit www.sd.monash.edu.au/~jsheard/wic7/index.html

Asian perspective

A review committee has recommended that the Monash Asia Institute should be retained as a focal point for the university's studies and activities relating to Asia.

Deputy vice-chancellor (Research and Development) Professor Peter Darvall said MAI would continue its role in promoting Monash's profile of expertise on Asia, facilitating cross-faculty cooperation and incorporating an Asian perspective across the curriculum.

"We reconfirm our commitment to the study of Asia and to scholarship on Asian matters, which is crucial considering Australia's place in the world both geographically and with regard to trade," he said.

Professor Darvall said a distinguished scholar and leader in Asian studies would be sought as the institute's director.

The centre will retain the name of the Monash Asia Institute with a number of sub-centres.

The institute will report to Arts faculty dean Professor Homer Le Grand.

Flexible work practices in action

A collaborative approach between managers and staff was needed to ensure the success of Monash's Work, Life and Family Strategy, according to deputy vice-chancellor (Resources) Ms Alison Crook.

About 100 people attended the launch of the strategy, which aims to improve awareness and access among management and staff of Monash's flexible work options.

The strategy was developed as a result of the Work Family Project, which involved establishing focus groups as well as a major survey of supervisors to examine current practice in accessing flexible work options.

Ms Crook said the biggest challenge now was to put the policy into practice.

"This will clearly involve support and modelling from managers and staff from all faculties and departments. There needs to be a collaborative approach in the workplace for people to work things through for mutual benefit," she said.

Speaking at the launch, Equal Opportunity Commission sex discrimination commissioner Ms Susan Halliday encouraged staff to make use of flexible work options available at Monash.

She said there still existed in the workforce the idea that employers saw workers who made use of flexible work options, such as parental leave, as not committed to their jobs.

"You can have flexible work policies in place but there's still a feeling around that using them is career suicide," she said.

Flexible work options at the university include flexible working hours, working shorter hours prior to retirement, parental leave, utilising the voluntary 48/52 weeks per year scheme and other special leave options.

Achievements of the strategy to date include the development of a web page outlining flexible work options and a manager's kit as well as the introduction of salary packaging for child care.

Future steps include appointing a work, life and family coordinator, implementing a home-based work policy, and incorporating flexible work options into management training.

A briefing session will be held on the survey results early next year. For further information, contact Ms Michelle Waters on extn 54635 or visit www.monash.edu.au/personnel/sss/polcon/worklife/worklife.htm

Sex discrimination commisioner Ms Susan Halliday and deputy vice-chancellor (Resources) Ms Alison Crook at the launch.

	Contact Monash Memo	Return to Monash University Publications
Copyright © Monash University - All rights reserved - Disclaimer		Maintained by webmaster@adm