GPSN clubs continue to drive recruitment numbers through the roof, as O-week festivities around the country draw in new members to general practice.
We would like to give a special mention to the Victorian clubs of Deakin and Monash for registering over 30 new sign-ups each! A highly commendable effort that ensures the continuity of general practice and connects aspiring GPs with each other.
Here is a recap on just some of the amazing events run by GPSN clubs for O-week in 2022.
WSU
“We had an amazing time meeting all of the first years during O-Week at WSU! In our stalls we had sweets, merch, and magazines for everyone and a tendon hammer, blood pressure cuff and stethoscope to be tried out by the students.”
Flinders
“Flinders GPSN recently took part in the MD1 Prep Week Expo. Held outside, the stall provided a COVID-safe opportunity to introduce incoming students to GPSN, as well as answer questions and distribute merchandise.”
Deakin
“We ran our first O-week market stall event at the beginning of February, and it was so good to hold in-person events again! We really enjoyed discussing a shared interest in general practice with the enthusiastic first-year students.
The competition we ran helped attract several new sign-ups, as those that signed up on the day went into the running for a brand new Littmann Stethoscope! It was a great way to begin the year and we already have lots more events planned for 2022.”
UTAS
“We had plenty of action for first years at our stall this year for O-week, and our powerpoint presentation was a great success – in describing what we do as a club, what events we plan to run, and how to get involved, we drew lots of interest to the upcoming GP careers night, the GPSN National Working Group and our potential interstate collaboration with Victoria.
We also had a stall present at the welcome back BBQ for med students, where we signed up students from all year levels, gave out copies of GPfirst and distributed free merchandise and snacks!”
Macquarie
“GPSN MQ had a great orientation event. After creating interest from the display of photos from last year’s events, we introduced students to our club and the exciting opportunities/events we offer.”
Adelaide
“On Wednesday 23rd February, we held a stall for the 2022 First Year Medical Student Orientation Day. This gave the GPSN Committee the opportunity to meet the excited first-year students, advertise our future events, and distribute GPSN merchandise; the GPfirst Magazine, pen torches and hand sanitiser were especially popular.
The new students had the opportunity to win a GP Companion or a tendon hammer, which was a great incentive to join GPSN and like the GPSN Adelaide Facebook page.”
Monash
“The first in-person event of the year, our GPSN O-week stall (which featured our very own banner) was a great success and generated strong engagement from the first-year medical students. On the day, Daniel Castellana (Year 4 Rep) and Joan Cheng (Year 2 Rep) ran the stall and chatted with up to 100 medical students about what GPSN is about and how they can sign up to participate in our academic events throughout the year.
We would like to thank our major sponsor for this event, Murray City Country Coast (MCCC) GP Training, for providing us with lots of wonderful merchandise (drawstring bags, coasters, magnets, information brochures, stress balls) as part of our signup giveaways and to further promote their services to aspiring doctors.
We are also looking to incorporate more interactive games for our next event, and would love to see more committee members join us next year at the O-week med stalls.”
