Hughenden — My Medical Rural and Remote Placement, Queensland, Australia.
Introduction
Sorry guys, I know this video and blog are super late!
This video is about my rural and remote medical placement experience as a medical student in Hughenden, Queensland, Australia. In context, every two years of my degree, we have a rural/remote focus placement (2nd year 4 weeks, 4th year 6 weeks, and 6th year 10 weeks). In my 4th year, I decided to go on a solo placement to Hughenden.
One of the reasons I chose to go solo was that I could be greedy and get more opportunities. There are pros and cons of going solo on a placement; for example, my biggest struggle was to find out if I was on track with my peers, and another reason is some people might get lonely.
Personally, I enjoy solo placement as I thrive, and I have a lot of fun. As usual, I took videos with a lot of cringes, but it's my cringe.
More about Hughenden
Let's start with where Hughenden is and what is a Hughenden. Hughenden is a rural town situated in the Flinders Shire, Queensland, Australia. Located about 376 kilometres west of Townsville and 1,400 kilometres northwest of Brisbane. The region around Hughenden is a significant centre for sheep and cattle grazing.
Hughenden's history starts far back, at least 11 000 years ago, with the Yirandhali people. Fast forward, 1861 British occupation began, sheep station, post office, schools badabim badaboom a town is born. Climate-wise, it's hot, hence why I went in the winter.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics of 2021, about 1113 people live in Hughenden, fluctuating between seasons and the grey nomads.
A brief demographic:
Male: 48.8%
Female: 51.2%
Median age: 42
Median weekly household income: $1,306
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: 150, representing 13.5%
When discussing a town in Australia, it is essential to classify its ruralness. That way, we get a better picture of its economy, population distribution and services, etc. The Modified Monash Model (MMM) describes how remote a place is. For example, 1 is a city, and 7 is very remote. As you can guess by looking at Hughenden, it is very remote. Again, the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure also rates Hughenden as 5, which means very remote. The reason for these classifications is to identify lawmakers and make policies about a region, thus deciding the funding, the services, etc.
Photo gallery
Here are some of my favourite photos at Hughenden. I am blessed to have been part of this town for a few weeks!
Published 10th February 2023. Last reviewed 10th February 2023.
Reference
Hughenden: 2021 Census All persons QuickStats. Australian Bureau of Statistics website. https://abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/SAL31369. Released 2021. Accessed January 6th, 2023.
Hughenden, Queensland. Wikipedia website. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughenden,_Queensland. Reviewed August 8th, 2022. Accessed January 6th, 2023.
Modified Monash Model. Health government website. https://www.health.gov.au/topics/rural-health-workforce/classifications/mmm. Updated December 14th 2021. Accessed January 6th, 2023.
Remoteness Structure. Australian Bureau of Statistics website. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/statistical-geography/remoteness-structure. Accessed January 6th, 2023.
