December 2025

Well well well... FLUORO has new parents! Guess we will have to introduce ourselves lol

Grace Ross (AKA the human embodiment of kindness) reporting from Griffith and Jacques Fletcher-Cauchi (AKA the human embodiment of a browser with 47 tabs open) from Port Macquarie reporting for duty! 😉 We are in our 5th and 4th years respectively, and are here to try and keep you all entertained for the next year! But, before we move on to our exciting news…

A BIG shoutout to our idol DOCTOR Heidi Annand, for her amazing contributions to CHARMS and to the FLUORO newsletter over the years - we will aim to do her proud. (If you don’t know who Dr Annand is, she literally invented CHARMS)

SO! It’s officially holiday mode - aka the first time any of us have breathed since exams. Our 4th years (now 5th years, slay) are celebrating by doing what they love best: somehow ending up on placement again. Iconic behaviour. Can’t wait to hear the unhinged travel stories they drag back.

But its december, and that means!!!! ⬇️ 

You may be wondering why we are doing a December edition?! Well… it has been a very eventful month and we are only into our second week of December!

1. Our inaugural 5th year medical students have graduated! (Well not yet technically, but they have provider numbers and degrees, so they’re definitely doctor enough 🩺)

2. Our medical school has officially separated from WSU, and is now a sole medical program provider!

3. The school has also received an additional 10 CSP’s from the federal government! This means our maroon army is growing!

4. It is time to send your christmas wish lists off to the north pole!

If you have a story for us and would like to contribute to the next newsletter, please reach out to either Grace or myself via messenger, or send an email: [email protected].

NOTE: if you happen to run into any of the newbies before orientation week… send them the FLUORO link, and inform them that oversharing builds character.

🧡 Hot off the Pres 🧡 (We are fangirling right now)

G’day beautiful people,

As 2025 winds to a blissful close, so too does another whirlwind year of medicine. Congratulations on getting through it all, and I hope you’re enjoying a well-earned break somewhere warm, with the people you love. This year has seen some major milestones for our medical program, and they deserve a moment of recognition.

First and foremost, thank you to the students and staff who contributed to the accreditation process, resulting in one of the longest accreditation periods granted by the Australian Medical Council. Moving into 2026, CSU will operate its own fully independent medical program. There has been an absolute mountain of work gone in to make this happen, and I for one think it’s a testament to all of you, and the little community we’ve formed (trauma bond or not).

A huge congratulations also goes to our graduating doctors, the Class of 2025, who begin their internships in the new year. You have been pioneers for this program, older siblings for those coming behind you, and examples of what rural medical education can produce. You have worked incredibly hard, and you should be deeply proud of who you have become and the clinicians you’re about to be. On behalf of the student body, congratulations, and you will all be missed next year (remember us when we need things signed).

Finally, if you’ve not yet heard, Charles Sturt will receive a 27% increase in Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) next year, bringing us to 47 CSPs! This will mean more students training as doctors in little old Orange, and more graduates staying to work in the communities we know and love. Our once little medical school is growing quickly, and none of this could happen without the tiresome efforts of students and staff.

2026 is rapidly approaching, so relax, kick back, and count down the days of freedom before you remember you have to study again. Just think, in a couple of months, we’ll have a fresh new batch of first years wandering Orange, and a tired, overworked batch of interns wandering wards and corridors. One foot in front of the other my friends, and we’ll all get there okay. Take care of yourselves, and take care of each other. Until next month.

Harvey Lew ❤
CHARMS President 2026

✨ Shower thoughts for the month✨

Okay, so I’ve had way too much time on break to ask the big questions.

Had a massive D&M with our resident illuminati theorist, edgy queen Katie Long, you know, the 4th-year who thought, “Hmm yes, exam season… perfect time to launch a business.” Honestly what a queen radiating CEO energy.

Anyway: Artificial Intelligence…
I’ve watched an unholy amount of videos, done a frankly concerning amount of reading, and now I need to know your thoughts.

Are you scared of AI?
Do you think it’s going to reshape healthcare? And if so HOW?!
Is it something we should embrace, or something we should be mildly terrified of?

Spill your thoughts. I want the chaos, the conspiracy theories, the clinical takes… all of it. And you will feature in next months news ;)

CALLOUT: New South Wales Medical Students’ Council are looking for general committee members for 2026!!!

We Want CSU students to help represent and advocate on issues that affect all of us!

Link to apply

Link for Main Committee Role Descriptions

Opportunities

• PIF Essay Comp

  • Win $1k and get published in Australasian Psychiatry

  • The topic is 'Seeing the whole person beyond the diagnosis’

  • Submissions due 19th January 2026

  • Apply here

• AMA Indigenous Medical Scholarship

  • Applications open now for this whopper scholarship of $11k per annum

  • Closes 31st Jan, more details here

• Tertiary Health Study Subsidies

  • 2026 applications open in late Jan for up to $12k if you’re considering clinical marshmallow roles with NSW Health once you’re finished studying (I didn’t read the eligibility closely don’t @me)

  • You can register to be notified when applications open here

• MedWorld Scholarship

  • This one isn’t open yet but again you can sign up to be notified when apps open here

  • Looks to me to be $10k, with open voting for recipient

• RWAV Conference

  • March 4th-6th in Geelong

  • Tickets for students: $180

  • Details here

Click the link above to be taken to Orange360, for all things happening in Orange! There are some cool events brewing about 😉 

Our Inaugural Cohort are Doctors!

Last week, our inaugural cohort of medical students headed back to home base in Orange. They celebrated an incredible milestone, completing their Doctor of Medicine degrees! Yes, that means they’re officially doctors! And sure, graduation isn’t technically here yet, but with provider numbers issued and internship contracts signed, we’re counting it!

Congratulations to our 38 older siblings on this phenomenal achievement. Here’s the link to browse the gorgeous photos of their Graduation Ball:

A special shout-out to two absolute icons of our rural program: Cameron Martin from the Hastings Macleay Clinical School, who’s heading back home to Tamworth, and Chloe Campbell from the Riverina Clinical School, who’s off to Broken Hill! They truly embody everything our rural school stands for.

And if you didn’t catch Cameron and Chloe on the news… don’t worry, we’ve dropped the link below. 😉

Until next time beautiful people!

Grace and Jacques x