2024 Council #2 – Melbourne Naarm
Laura Dunlop – Medical Officer
In early September, NRHSN held its second council in Melbourne on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong Boon Wurrung Peoples of the Eastern Kulin.
The weekend was stacked with inspirational speakers, workshops, and networking with other rural health club leaders from across Australia.
The theme for council 2 was Sustainable Leadership, with our speakers each providing their perspective on strategies to maintain longevity within rural health leadership.
We were privileged to be joined by Professor Jenny May, the incoming National Rural Health Commissioner. Building on our First Nations focus for 2024, we heard from proud Wangkumara and Barkindji woman Gabrielle Ebsworth, who shared her inspirational journey and her passion for empowering Indigenous people. Our other fantastic speakers included Dr Sophie Graham, an obstetrics and gynaecology registrar, and Mardi O’Keefe, a senior career management and organisation development professional currently working for AMA Victoria.
Over the weekend, the NRHSN team along with Sam and Chris from RDN ran workshops for our participants, focussing on event organisation and succession planning.
Each club was also invited to share a slide highlighting the amazing events they have held throughout 2024. Council was wrapped up with a ‘life as a student leader’ panel, featuring Boots to Scrubs representative Ulyana Kondratova and AURHA president Constance McIntosh, as well as NRHSN’s own Pippa Kensit and Cameron Powers.
NRHSN would like to extend a huge thank you to our sponsors who supported the success of our second council.
Thank you to:
- Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)
- Australasian College of Paramedicine (ACP)
- Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA)
- Rural Workforce Agency Victoria