Move to train physios for Goulburn Valley children

[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 3, No. 1  14 April - 12 May 2008 ]

A pilot project to train much-needed paediatric physiotherapists for rural Victoria has been launched by the University of Melbourne’s School of Physiotherapy and Goulburn Valley Health.

The first students in the 12-month full time Goulburn valley-based training program are University of Melbourne postgraduate physiotherapy students Courtney Baxter and Jo Vickery.

While working at Goulburn Valley Health, Courtney and Jo are completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Physiotherapy (Paediatrics) at the University and the Royal Children’s Hospital.

They also receive professional supervision and mentoring from their Goulburn Valley colleagues, and ­attend clinics and school and infant-based settings in the community.

Courtney and Jo have worked in rural and regional Australia and know the difficulties that rural families experience to access physiotherapy for their infants and children close to home.

The aim of the pilot is to develop a model that will address recruitment and retention of paediatric physiotherapists in rural Victoria.

The initiative has been named the Malcolm Menelaus Rural Paediatric Physiotherapy Project in honour of the late Malcolm Menelaus, an eminent and respected paediatric orthopaedic surgeon noted for his mentoring of orthopaedic and physiotherapy colleagues.

Support for the project has come from the Hugh D.T. Williamson Foundation and the Goulburn Valley Hospital Foundation.

The project partners are Goulburn Valley Health; Royal Children’s Hospital; the University of Melbourne School of Physiotherapy and School of Rural Health (Shepparton); SCOPE Vic Ltd; the departments of Human Services and Education and Early Childhood Development; and Kyabram and district community and parent representatives of the Goulburn Valley Support Group for children with special needs.