RURAL ALLIED HEALTH MENTORSHIP PROGRAM CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS AND PRACTICE Gen Health Hamilton accepting students from University campuses across Victoria and South Australia
With
Melanie Roll, Physiotherapist & Director
Gen Health Hamilton, Victoria
Ruby Sulicich, Physiotherapist &
Former Gen Health Hamilton Mentorship Program participant
Gen Health Hamilton, Victoria
AUSTRALIAN HEALTH JOURNAL SEGMENT
Filmed in Hamilton, Victoria | August 2025
Gen Health Hamilton was established in 2015 in regional and rural Victoria. The practice offers a range of services including physiotherapy, podiatry, occupational therapy, exercise science, and group classes such as clinical reformer therapy and clinical Pilates in Hamilton, which has a population of around 10,000. The clinic also serves a wider community within 100 kilometre, reaching rural residents and local industries.
Melanie Roll, a director and physiotherapist at Gen Health, is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of allied health professionals. Gen Health’s support begins with a work experience program for local secondary school students, where they can observe a variety of health services and participate in an annual careers night to explore allied health career pathways.
Upon moving to tertiary education, students are offered placements through a five-week program designed to transition them from observation to supervised practice and ultimately to seeing their own patients. In their final study year, they can apply for the mentorship program, which aids the transition into private practice.
One of these students, now a physiotherapist at Gen Health is Ruby Sulicich, who participated in the Gen Health Mentorship Program. Ms Sulicich shares her experience in the program when she spoke with Australian Health Journal.
For new graduates, Gen Health has created a thorough 12-month program focused on professional development, mentoring, and hands-on learning. Ms Roll spoke to Australian Health Journal on how this pathway has, to date, successfully onboarded seven employees.
The mentorship program also addresses the common concern among university students about the lack of confidence when starting private practice careers. It includes monthly interactive webinars covering clinical management and career preparedness.
Feedback indicates that mentorship students feel significantly more confident about entering the workforce as graduate physiotherapists or podiatrists. This initiative not only fosters student growth but also helps Gen Health attract new talent, showcasing the rewards of a career in rural private practice.
Source: Written by AUDIENCED from transcript
Filming credit: The Social Connection
You Might also like
-
Unleashing the potential of Paramedic skills and knowledge
According to a prominent paramedicine academic and researcher, paramedics have the potential to provide much-needed care in the community, changing the traditional healthcare model. Research points to paramedics having a wider healthcare workforce impact based on their ability to identify and fix problems 24/7.
Dr. Brendan Shannon is Head of Postgraduate Programs in the Department of Paramedicine at Monash University and a member of The Australasian College of Paramedicine. His interests including refining healthcare models, to ensure underserved communities receive requisite care. These alternative care pathways, like outreach programs, can work out of hospitals to provide care in underserved communities with social and complex chronic conditions.
-
Landmark brain shape study
For over a century, researchers have thought that the patterns of brain activity that define our experiences, hopes and dreams are determined by how different brain regions communicate with each other through a complex web of trillions of cellular connections.
Now, a Monash University Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health-led study has examined more than 10,000 different maps of human brain activity and found that the overall shape of a person’s brain exerts a far greater influence on how we think, feel and behave than its intricate neuronal connectivity.
-
Pharmacist Prescribing Model gets further support from state health
A full scope pharmacist prescriber model allows pharmacists to independently prescribe medicines within their professional competence, without requiring prior doctor authorisation. It extends pharmacists’ role beyond dispensing to include assessment, diagnosis of minor and chronic conditions, initiation and modification of therapy, and ongoing patient monitoring. This model integrates pharmacists into primary care teams, aiming to improve timely access to treatment, reduce pressure on general practitioners, and enhance continuity of care. Pharmacists use their clinical knowledge, patient records, and collaborative pathways to ensure safe prescribing. The model emphasises training, regulation, and accountability to maintain high standards of patient safety.