Auburn Clinical Sub-School offers invaluable experience to Notre Dame medicine students

The University of Notre Dame Australia’s School of Medicine Sydney students were welcomed to Auburn Hospital as the first group of students attending the Auburn Hospital Clinical Sub-School.The new School is part of an innovative partnership between the University and Sydney West Area Health Service to provide education and training for the medical students.The 24 third year students are entering the clinical stage of the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery. They will spend the next 12 months at Auburn Hospital gaining vital clinical experience.All Notre Dame medical students spend their final two years of the course at clinical sub-schools. Other sites include Melbourne, Hawkesbury and St Vincents Mater Hospital, Sydney. Students also spend a minimum of 4 weeks in rural sites, including Wagga Wagga, Ballarat and Lithgow.Member for Auburn, Barbara Perry, attended the welcoming function and commended the School’s establishment.“The establishment of the Auburn Hospital Clinical School will provide more local training places for doctors and will help ensure that qualified doctor numbers keep pace with the demands of a growing population,” said Ms Perry.Head of the Auburn Sub-School, Associate Professor Hadia Haikal-Mukhtar, said part of the School’s mission is to prepare doctors for different areas of health care and provide them with excellent community experience. “Our students have completed two pre-clinical years of the graduate course at Notre Dame. They are enthusiastic, keen and committed to learning and being involved with the local community.“This cohort includes a number of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, with some of them being multilingual – a true reflection of the local Sydney West Area and broader Australian community. This experience will provide them with a sound understanding of the needs of the local community,” said Professor Haikal-Mukhtar.Student, Katherine Witheridge, is looking forward to her term at Auburn Hospital and gaining further practical experience in dealing with patients.“This year promises to be a very exciting one. The Auburn Hospital Clinical School offers the kind of integrated theory and clinical practice approach that the University’s School of Medicine, Sydney has emphasised. It has always been the University’s intention that we have lots of practical opportunities,” said Ms Witheridge. Media contact: Moira Saunders 02 8204 440