MEDICUS MARCH 2016

D R Y E S

D r YES (Youth Education auspices of the AMA (WA) Foundation. The program sends specially trained volunteer medical and assured Sessions) is a school-based health initiative run under the

Dr YES harm minimisation messages to students who are more vulnerable and often disadvantaged by their rural location.

the team expecting to train over 150 volunteers once again. Planning of training nights is also well underway with dates finalised in March and guest speakers confirmed to present. In

The end of 2015 saw the appointment

addition, the team is working on the first rural trip for the year and looking into the possibility of running day trips to outer metropolitan areas such as the Swan Valley. Over the past few years, the Dr YES program has been embedded into the University of Western Australia’s Service Learning Unit, which is completed by

medical students into metropolitan and rural high schools to have frank, open discussions on topics concerning youth health, particularly Drugs and Alcohol, Sexual Health and Mental Health. Each year Dr YES continues to grow and demand

The Dr YES coordinators for 2016 are Brody Rampono, Ayeesha Thevar, Jennifer Alderson, Elyse Phillips and Marissa Loh (2015 Dr YES mentor).

for sessions often sees the program booked out well in advance. Last year was no exception to this with the program reaching out to more than 9,000 high school students across 102 sessions. The year started with the recruitment and training of over 150 volunteer medical and assured medical university students to deliver sessions. This large pool of volunteers enabled the program to run two rural trips and two mini-getaways to regions in the South West of Western Australia. Rural trips and mini-getaways are always highly sought after by the volunteers as it gives them the opportunity to take the

of four new coordinators as well as one of our mentors moving into a coordinator position for 2016. The Dr YES coordinators for 2016 are Jennifer Alderson, Ayeesha Thevar, Elyse Phillips, Brody Rampono and Marissa Loh (2015 Dr YES mentor). The 2016 Dr YES coordinators have already had a busy start to the year with school bookings having opened and filling up quickly – some bookings have even been confirmed for September. This time of the year also sees the coordinators recruiting new volunteers and promoting training nights. The recruitment drive has already had a positive response with

medical students. Dr YES currently has Sarah Pearce completing her Service Learning project with the program. During 2015, we worked closely with Sarah on the planning and organising of her proposed project for Dr YES. Sarah’s project will be implemented this year and aims to evaluate the Dr YES Mental Health sessions. Continual evaluation of the program is highly important and our involvement with the UWA Service Learning Unit will only enhance this process. The year ahead is going to be another busy and exciting one for the Dr YES team and we are looking forward to connecting with students across WA. ■

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