November 2025

As I rouse from a sleep-in to write this I‘m hoping that my fellow graduands are also catching up on some much needed rest. That is between moving house, applying for registration, getting intern documents in, catching up with everyone that you promised to see before leaving your RCS, glowing up for grad, and squeezing in some quick adventures (and in my case having to quickly buy a new car RIP).

[tldr: IT NEVER ENDS]

To everyone else - if you’re reading this it means it has made your way onto your screen amongst a zillion black Friday targeted ads. I’m not selling anything, just trying to give out complimentary good vibes. But congratulations to all of us for getting through 2025! There are wins throughout the year that you should be proud of, no matter how big or small, and regardless of passing/failing/etc. Looking back you’ll find glimmers to treasure and lessons that were learned. Stow them away with your steth for when you need them next year (we all have low points). As you head into summer don’t forget to keep donating blood and plasma, and finding ways to volunteer for your community! But most importantly take time to rest and recoup. Please reach out to us in the future if you have any q’s about our internship locations or how we all got so successful and good at doctoring. See you all on the flip side underlings and remember- never hesitate to accept a free coffee on us, we’ll be rich.

You might be thinking to yourself, why is Heidi wrapping the year in November, surely she’s already planning the December edition of fluoro for me to enjoy?! Well dear reader, don’t worry because I do understand the Gregorian calendar (yes I know I missed October). However, as a graduand, this is my last time editing Fluoro! Can you believe that together we’ve published 31 editions? Covering everything from handcream recommendations to elective wraps to a poem espousing the virtues of a tradie roll. All favourites available for revisiting on the website… But despair not as this baby is being adopted by the absolute A-team of Jacques and Grace (and hopefully you’ll all continue to contribute 👀 ). I can’t wait to see where they take this rag! (but I won’t because I’m outta here lol).

Love and light, Madel- I mean Heidi

As always we are after contributions, including anything from research updates to summer reading recommendations. If you’re really keen and interested in joining fluoro as an editor (would love someone on the ground in Orange) please email [email protected] and I’ll pass your details on to the next editors 😚 

NOTE: if you meet anyone who is joining us as a mesher in 2026 send them this way to subscribe to fluoro for an informal pre-orientation orientation x

🧡 Hot off the Pres🧡 

Hi everyone!

My name is Harvey, am I'm your 2026 CHARMS President! I’m joined by an incredible executive team: Will Weidmann (Vice President – Clinical), Boston McLeod (Vice President – Pre-Clinical), Annie Watkins (Secretary), and Charlie Shepherd (Treasurer), and together, we’re excited to lead CHARMS into a year of stronger advocacy, smoother support, and a more connected SRM community.

I hope you’re all enjoying a well-earned break. To everyone sitting remediation or AEs, we’re thinking of you and wishing you all the best! The student body are behind you.

Looking toward 2026, CHARMS will be focusing on strengthening student voice, expanding academic and wellbeing support, and building experiences that bring our cohorts and campuses closer together. We’re committed to making CHARMS a society that feels genuinely supportive, welcoming, and reflective of the community it serves.

Below, you’ll find the full list of your 2026 CHARMS committee across their portfolios! Feel free to reach out to any of us at anytime, we're here to help you all.

Harvey ❤
CHARMS President 2026

✨ NSWMSC Callout✨

Nominations for the New South Wales Medical Students’ Council main committee are now open!

If you’re passionate about advocacy, excited to contribute to statewide initiatives, or keen to bring your skills to our events, projects, or social media platforms, we’d love to see you apply.

Nominations close 6th December, so don’t miss out!

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’

  • Apply here

• RANZCP Neuropsychiatry 2025 Conference

  • Nov 28th-30th in Sydney

  • Apply here for sponsorship

• RDN Medical Student Rural Inspiration Conference

  • Nov 29th in Sydney, at The Hilton

  • $50 for non-cadets (you’ll be joining a big csu cadet cohort in attendance)

  • Program TBC, check back 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

  • Details here

• RWAV Conference

  • March 4th-6th in Geelong

🧺 RHSV with Rh+ 🧺

Last week Rural Health Positive, a cross-campus Charles Sturt club of students from varying health degrees, travelled across the Central West of NSW to chat with budding future health professionals at various high schools in the region.

Our journey began at Orange’s very own Canobolas Hotel where we shared the first of many meals together and met the team we’d be travelling with for the next few days. We had a great range of degrees in the group including Medicine, Paramedicine, Physiotherapy, and Pharmacy, with students from Bathurst, Orange, Wagga, and Port Macquarie campuses. For us Orange campus students, it was an amusing contrast seeing the ballroom at ‘The Nob’ in broad daylight, rather than the bustling scene usually found during May Ball and Med Ball.

After a cozy sleep in the upstairs accommodation, it was off to Gulgong on Monday morning to visit our first school. A beautiful drive on winding country roads took us to the Centennial Hotel (or “The Cenny” if you’re a local) in Gulgong’s main street to fuel up before our first session with the students at Gulgong high school where we presented to about 30 year tens and elevens. We began with our Kahoot (always a hit with teenagers), where we chatted about applying to university and different scholarship opportunities, as well as some trivia to test students’ knowledge on different health professions. The kids did surprisingly well with the medical terminology question – “What does the word ‘epistaxis’ mean?” (I don’t even think I knew this one until 3rd year!), and there were many great prizes won by the top three finishers.

We then ran through five stations which correlated with each of the health degrees. Our two paramedicine stations were a DRSABCD station with our CPR dummies, and a snake bite first aid station (fun fact: the Inland Taipan is the most deadly snake in the world and is endemic to Australia!). Our physiotherapy station involved mimicking mobility impairments (such as those seen in movement disorders or arthropathies) by getting the students to transfer M&Ms from one cup to another using chopsticks. To add further difficulty, the students wore glasses that simulated vision impairment from conditions including glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy, and explained how professionals, like physiotherapists and occupational therapists, can help people with these types of disabilities. Our pharmacy station had students learn about common medications and the conditions they can treat and were able to practice dispensing drugs (a.k.a skittles) for a patient’s weekly medication regimen. Lastly, our medicine station taught students about vital signs and how they might change in conditions like shock. They got to take their blood pressure, oxygen saturations, and listen to their heart sounds with stethoscopes. The most popular part of this station seemed to be the pen torches and tendon hammers (I think the students enjoyed being allowed to hit each other!) Our first session was a great success and the kids really enjoyed themselves, with a few even considering health careers after our presentation!

Next on the agenda was a well-deserved lounge by the hotel pool and exploring the main street of Gulgong, followed by dinner at the Prince of Wales Hotel, next door to Gulgong’s claim to fame; the oldest still-operating opera house in the southern hemisphere, the Prince of Wales Opera House, built in 1871.

On Tuesday, we were off to Kandos for the next leg of our journey. We had a big morning presenting to all students from year seven to eleven at Kandos high school, where the most popular career choice amongst the students was “Grease Monkeys” (which we learned meant mechanic!), though we did manage to turn a few heads toward considering health careers, including a few students super keen on paramedicine! We then headed to The Globe Hotel in Ryelstone for lunch and a trot around the main street before heading off to Oberon for our next stop at the Big Trout Motel. Our Oberon local, Annabel from year 3 medicine, very kindly hosted all of us for a barbeque dinner at her home that night – a nice break from pub dinners! Our last full day of the trip brought a beautiful sunny Wednesday morning where, after breakfast, we strolled around Oberon, exploring the shops and parks on offer, including a giant human-sized hamster wheel at one of the playgrounds in town. With such a warm and sunny morning, we headed off to ‘Flat Rock’ on the Fish River for a swim before driving back into town for our final presentation at Oberon high school.  Again, we had various students interested in hearing more about health careers after our time with them! We had a beautiful lunch at the Mayfield Gardens, just outside of Oberon and then headed back towards Orange for our final stop at Lucknow, though not before a cheeky stop at Renzaglia winery for a tasting on the way. The orange wine liqueur was a crowd favourite!

We finished off with a final meal together at the Lucknow Tavern and headed off to our best accommodation yet at the beautiful Turner’s Vineyard, between Lucknow and Orange. After a much needed sleep, we awoke to the most beautiful view of the sun shining over the vineyard and rolling hills in the distance, a great finish to an amazing journey. We had so much fun getting to meet students from other courses and campuses and were sad the trip had come to an end, but it was so amazing to have made a difference in the lives of young people who may not have otherwise had the opportunity to consider a career in the health industry, and we were so grateful to have the chance to inspire future generations of health professionals!

Also a HUGE shout out to Medicine’s own Sophie Lotz and Tabitha Taberner for organising this trip, a mammoth effort that all went so smoothly!

If you’re interested in hosting a similar event at your alma mater or want to get involved with future events, make sure to reach out to Rural Health Positive!
Message and follow their facebook here.

-Kaitlyn H, MDIII

🌊 RMA In Boorloo 🌊