March 2026

What a month. In case you missed it: there’s another war overseas, fuel prices are climbing, a manosphere documentary has reminded us (again) that toxic masculinity is alive and well, and placement poverty continues to hit every med school cohort harder each year. Cute.

On a more serious note, these pressures are very real, and they’re making an already demanding degree even harder to manage. If we want things to change, we need to be heard. Fill in your surveys, speak up, and make some noise.

On a brighter note, it’s been incredibly encouraging to see our Vice-Chancellor at CSU speaking up for medical students on the topic of placement poverty. We know that CSU goes above and beyond to support us, particularly with accommodation, and consistently works to make sure students are looked after. But when so many of us are still living paycheck to paycheck, whether that’s relying on Centrelink or juggling work alongside medicine, it highlights just how vulnerable the system is, and why meaningful change is still needed.

But enough about the doom and gloom of 2026! We have an exciting March newsletter for all you autumn lovers out there 😉 (And winter lovers… considering some parts of NSW have HAD SNOW!?)

You will find the following stories!

• President Address from our incredible Harvey Lew

• A Swan Hill Update from the wonderful Zoe Steicke in 3rd year!

• AMSA QueerCon Wrap Up from the lovely Mavs <3

• Exciting events from CHARMS and the other medical student teams!!!!

If you have a story for us and would like to contribute to the next newsletter, please reach out to either of us (Grace Ross) or (Jacques Fletcher-Cauchi) via messenger, or send an email:

[email protected] 

[email protected]

NOTE: Sign up to receive FLUORO in your email! Also please send us stories of how you are going, we love to see and hear it all.

CHARMS President Address - Harvey Lew

G’day beautiful people,

We’re well and truly into the swing of the year now, and I hope everyone is settling into the pace of study and placement. It still very much feels like summer here in Griffith, which I’m not complaining about, but I suspect some of you are starting to feel those cooler mornings creeping in elsewhere.

A few key updates for March. Medicine Ball tickets are not far off being released, with the event set for August as previously shared. Keep an eye out, as we’ll have more details coming very soon!

We also have Wellbeing Weeks coming up, and I’d strongly encourage everyone to get involved where you can. These are always a good chance to step back a little, spend time with each other, and make use of the support and activities on offer. Clinical students, we haven’t forgotten about you! The RCS SODA representatives are all in the process of getting something organised for you all!

There are also early discussions underway for a halfway celebration for our third-year cohort, which is a really exciting milestone. It’s a nice opportunity to recognise just how far you’ve (we’ve) all come, and we’re looking forward to seeing what comes together.

The AMC survey has now concluded. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to complete it, it genuinely does make a difference. A complete report will be made available for students to read by the end of April, with a lot of work by our Executive team happening in the background.

Good luck to our year 2 students who are gearing up for their second clinical placement in April! Best of luck in your respective locations, and don’t forget to dive in headfirst for opportunities and chances to enhance your clinical knowledge! Y3-5, please make them feel welcome!

That’s all for now. As always, take care of yourselves, and take care of each other. Please don’t hesitate to reach out or seek support where you need it.

Chat soon,

H <3

Mavs’ Recap of QueerCon 2026!

The Australian Medical Student’s Association has been busy, with AMSA’s Queer Convention being held in Sydney on March 6-8^th . The student run, volunteer committee, created a 3-day program including academic speakers from a variety of specialties and research areas.

It’s difficult to pick out individual presentations when the program was full of gems, personal favorites and highlights following the theme of “Our Legacy, Our Future: Queer Healthcare in Australia” were; Psychiatrist and PhD candidate Dr Dan Furlanetto’s insightful journey through queer history with focus on how medicine and science responded to queer people; and EJ Heine, Project Manager for LGBTQI+ and Men’s Health for Sydney LHD,  inspiring us all with their enthusiastic advocacy work to support and enmesh inclusive practice in whatever field of healthcare work we join.

We were motivated by presentations from Greens MP and GP Dr Amanda Cohn, about advocacy and the importance of representation within the many intersecting spaces our careers might cross, and Dr Belinda Poon, senior GP at Kaleidoscope Health, who spoke about providing gender affirming care and hormonal health with really practical, supportive primary care and the importance of seeing our patients as whole humans rather than just transition related health concerns.

We even had our own CSU representation, with 4^th Year Liam Devlin and CSU Researcher Rachel Rossiter presenting a discussion of his MD research project, which was well received and left a really positive impression on our city counterparts – both with Liam’s important research in a largely unexamined area of trans men’s mental health and Rachel’s obvious warmth and delight in being involved in the qualitative research interviews, and the care she took to ensure participants felt respected and heard.

Overall, it was a successful but tiring weekend, with the committee very glad to return to “med school as usual” stress instead of “convention wrangling and med school” stress. The swag bags were full, the stickers were plentiful, new and future colleagues were added to social media networks.

If you get the chance to attend I would highly recommend Queer Con as both an educational and community building experience – our attendees spanned multiple countries, from Universities of Queensland, Melbourne, Sydney, New England, University of NSW, Flinders’ and Bond friends Universities – brought together to chat about our respective schools, share clinical experiences and build networks as we move towards clinical and post grad years.

While we were few in number – this was only the second ever Queer Con to run - we made up for it in yapping – asking questions and engaging with presentations, eating many snacks, trading stickers and swag bag loot – because your penlight and carabiner should match, naturally.  

Update from the Mallee Region - Zoey Steicke

So far, my third-year placement in Swan Hill has been an incredibly rewarding and hands-on experience. One of the highlights has been the opportunity to take part in parallel consulting in general practice. This has given me a level of independence that I hadn’t fully experienced before. I’ve been able to interview patients, perform focused examinations, and begin formulating management plans.

I’ve also become familiar with using the Best Practice software, including documenting
consultations and preparing pathology and imaging request forms prior to presenting cases to the supervising GP. Being able to contribute in a practical way to patient care and then hand over to the GP for feedback has been a really valuable learning process, helping to build both clinical reasoning and confidence.

In addition to GP, I’ve spent time in surgery where I’ve observed a range of procedures,
particularly endoscopic scopes and laparoscopic surgeries. Seeing these procedures up close has been a great way to consolidate anatomy and better understand the clinical
management of surgical conditions.

Outside of placement, Swan Hill has also given me the opportunity to find a really nice
balance between study and life. I’ve been able to travel and visit friends in my year, and also make time for family and friends back home. Having that flexibility has made the experience even more enjoyable and sustainable.

Overall, I’ve been having a great time in Swan Hill. The senior students have been incredibly supportive and always willing to offer guidance, which has made settling in much easier. I’m also placed alongside Monash medical students, who have definitely added some personality to the experience - interesting, to say the least, but it’s been fun getting to know everyone.

Looking forward to what the rest of the year brings!

CHARMS Events

The organisation of the CHARMS Medicine Ball 2026 is well underway!

Date set: 1st August 2026

NEW VENUE: Orange Ex Services’ Club - Coral Sea Room

Theme: Elegant Evening Attire - A Night of Fantasia

Wellbeing Week Semester 1 - Orange, NSW (4th of May - 8th of May)

Clinical Students! - Reach out to your SODA Rep’s! CHARMS have given each RCS money ;)

AMSA Events!

Rural Health Symposium - Armidale: https://amsa.org.au/calendar/rural-health-summit-2026/

AMSA National Convention 26’ - https://adl26.adl26.org.au/adl26-australian-registration/

NSWMSC Events!

International Internship Night - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSexZoytYHEu8Te05DS17ClxhU-iOqusDHr0FtjSjcRuN5KoTQ/viewform

EMC/Sports Day (Get prepped for AMSA Convention) - 20th June - Get keen, we need to sort out team’s to show the metro med students what rural kids are all about! A great event to test your EMC skills before the AMSA finale during National Convention and the chance to meet med students from other universities in NSW/ACT!

Follow their socials to stay up to date for when tickets go live!

Instagram: @nswmsc

Facebook: NSW Medical Students’ Council

What is Happening in the Regions?!

There are some pretty cool events on in all areas so check out yours below ;)

ORANGE

• https://www.orange360.com.au/Events

BATHURST

• https://www.bathurstregion.com.au/events/photo/page/5/

PARKES

• https://www.parkes.nsw.gov.au/Community/Events-and-Festivals

COFFS HARBOUR

• https://www.coffscoast.com/events/

PORT MACQUARIE

• https://www.portmacquarieinfo.com.au/whats-on/events

WAGGA WAGGA

• https://visitwagga.com/calendar

GRIFFITH

• https://visitgriffith.com.au/festivals-and-events/whats-on/

ALBURY/WODONGA

• https://www.visitalburywodonga.com/whats-on/

SWAN HILL

• https://www.visitswanhill.com.au/whats-on/

Some events require tickets, so make sure you double-check before accidentally donating your money to something you didn’t plan on attending.

Rural Doctors Network Conferences and Events for 2026!

Here is the link for RDNs website! Highly recommend signing up to their newsletter: https://www.ruraldoctors.org/site/index.cfm?module=news&pagemode=indiv&page_id=4432295

Events for 2026

1. GP VMO Conference - 2-3 May, Canowindra

2. Breakfast with Gary Webinar - 14 May, online

3. PESCI Preparation Workshop - 14 May*, Sydney

4. ADHD Masterclass - 28 May, Sydney

5. Obstetrics Procedural Conference - 29-30 May, RDN Office & Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards

6. ALS 1 - 17 June*, Batemans Bay

7. New GP Orientation Workshop - 18-19 June*, Batemans Bay

8. Rural Allied Health Conference - 27 November*, Sydney and online

9. ALS 2 - 25-26 November, Sydney

10. Rural GPs Conference - 26-28 November, Sydney

11. Medical Student Rural Inspiration Conference - 28 November, Sydney

*Date subject to confirmation

Opportunities

• 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

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

Until next time beautiful people!

Grace and Jacques x