La Trobe University nursing students offer free health check-ups to the Kyabram community from December 2 to 20 out of 152 Allan St. Pictured are nursing students Abby Whitehorn and Hollie Johnston consulting with Brad Hodge.
Photo by
Jemma Jones
If you’ve been wondering why there has been a large presence of black and red scrubs bounding up and down Allan St in the past week, you only have to go as far as the old bank building to discover the answer.
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Since Monday, December 2, La Trobe University’s first-year nursing students have been offering reliable, free, health check-ups to the Kyabram community from the conveniently-located old bank building on Allan St's west end.
Dubbed “Healthy Ky”, this initiative is a boon for everyone involved.
Residents receive peace of mind through thorough, well-explained health consultations, while students gain hands-on experience and a taste of Kyabram's welcoming community spirit.
Brad Hodge, the head of the Healthy Ky project, said students had provided more than 350 consultations across four days, with each new patient providing insight and experience to each student.
“The community have really been benefiting from it, but I would also argue over 70 per cent of the community that are coming in are coming in to help these students out,” Dr Hodge said.
He noted the students’ remarkable boost in confidence, blossoming as they interact with community members of diverse health conditions, outlooks and age groups.
These budding healthcare professionals, mostly hailing from Shepparton, are getting a valuable glimpse into the rewarding world of regional healthcare as they serve the Kyabram community.
La Trobe University nursing students Hollie Johnston and Abby Whitehorn with Brad Hodge offering free health check-ups to the Kyabram community.
Photo by
Jemma Jones
Students Hollie Johnston and Abby Whitehorn said they had loved mingling with the people from Kyabram who have come in for health check-ups, but they had also loved being able to learn from them about their health and being able to help them.
“I think a huge thing is communication … we’ve realised how important communication is for people, like, half the time people come in just wanting to chat,” Hollie said.
“And because you’re in a small town, it’s not fast-paced or anything and you’re able to just sit down and talk to them about what’s going on in their life,” Abby said.
Both agreed that the best experience they have gained was being able to practice their nursing skills on real people, rather than trying to learn with fake scenarios or memorise theory.
“Rural health is so important because you need to make those community connections, so that when the community do come in you can be there to serve them – I think this experience has been really great to get a feel for that side of health,” Abby said.
The program will run from December 2 to 20 with free bookings available at https://www.kclc.com.au/healthykyor walk-ins welcome at the clinic at 152 Allan St.
The Healthy Ky initiative will extend its services to Lockington (December 3, Plumbers Shed), Rushworth (December 10, Maxes Maze) and Rochester (December 17, shire hall), ensuring wider community access.
