For the first time, occupational therapy students have undertaken a placement in primary schools in Mooroopna as part of a program to encourage more health professionals to consider working in regional Victoria.
The University of Melbourne's Going Rural Health initiative, which is funded by the Australian government, supports nursing, allied health, and other health students from universities across Australia while they undertake placements in the regions.
Monash University occupational therapy students Jacinta Chan and Jameson Stewart have been working with students in Mooroopna Primary School and Mooroopna North Primary School in Greater Shepparton as part of the program.
Ms Chan, who grew up in Melbourne, said it had been an eye-opening experience.
"It was exciting because I've never been to a regional area, never lived out of the home, so it's been a big experience for me," she said.
For both Ms Chan and Mr Stewart, this is their first placement working with children.
"The challenge coming into paediatrics was investigating what the barriers to children's performance issues are and implementing strategies so we can achieve goals," Mr Stewart said.
"It's very different to my previous experiences.
"It has opened my eyes to the role of occupational therapy paired with education."
Ms Chan and Mr Stewart have been working with the students to improve fine and gross motor skills as well as emotional regulation, but they said their biggest challenge had been explaining an occupational therapist's job.
"A lot of them asked what OT was, and it was quite hard to explain. Even trying to explain it to an adult it was hard to do it without the terminology," Ms Chan said.
"We would try to explain it as, 'We're doing activities to help you with learning in class.'"
Ground-breaking program for region
Mooroopna Primary School acting principal Carla May said having the occupational therapy students had been a great extension of their speech pathology program at the school.
"It has totally revolutionised what we are doing in our school from an intervention perspective.
"Between both programs, we are providing, only dreamt of support for our students.
"Take us back five years ago, we would have been dreaming of this."
Ms May said while it was early days of the occupational therapy program, they were already anticipating great results for both the university and primary school students.
She said bringing more placements like this in schools was a vital step to early intervention.
Ms May said she often asked the university students before they finished their placements if they would work in schools.
"I do have students saying yes, that they might have had the mindset to do that before their placement," she said.
"But some didn't, and we've actually converted that, and it's become an aspirational goal.
"It would be great to have an elaboration of these programs where to me, you have speech and OT in every school."
Benefits of going rural
The Going Rural Health program has also provided University of Melbourne audiology students to Mooroopna schools, kindergartens, and the new Mooroopna Family and Children's Centre co-located at Mooroopna Primary School.
University of Melbourne's associate lecturer in Interprofessional Rural Education Kimberley Ackland said placements like this gave a unique experience to students that they would not normally get.
"For the students, it's a really great opportunity to branch out and see a different perspective on health services," she said.
"Working in the country is very different from working in metropolitan areas."
Mr Stewart, who grew up in Swan Hill and now lives in Echuca, does not need to be sold on the idea of working in regional areas, but he can understand why it can be a hard sell for others.
"For some people, it can be quite a battle convincing them and highlighting the merits of working in the country," he said.
"But the thing I always come back to is the sense of community, particularly in schools, and just that rapport can build with not only the children that you're working with but also the staff."
Ms Chan said she was keeping her options open, but the placement had given her a new perspective.
"It has been an invaluable experience," she said.
"I think I want to get into paediatrics further down my career, which wasn't something I was certain about prior to placement."
