It was his four years of voluntary work with Médecins Sans Frontières on the Iranian-Afghan border that made Iranian-born doctor Hadi Nojoumian aware of the difficulties in providing high-quality health care to people in rural, remote, and disadvantaged areas. Now, after establishing his career as a cardiologist in Sydney, he has moved to Armidale – drawn by the reputation of the regionally-based Joint Medical Program (JMP), which includes a School of Rural Medicine at the University of New England.

“When I found out about this program I was very excited,” Dr Nojoumian said. “It’s enabling medical students to receive top-class training in a country area – making it more likely that they will go on to practice in the country.”

“At the same time, I found out that there was a need for a cardiology physician in Armidale,” he said. Hence his arrival in Armidale last month as a Senior Lecturer at UNE’s School of Rural Medicine and a Visiting Medical Officer (as cardiologist and physician) at Armidale Hospital for Hunter New England Health – a Local Health District that is also a partner in the JMP. The Joint Medical Program is an expansion of the highly successful University of Newcastle medical program in partnership with the University of New England, Hunter New England Health and Central Coast Health.

Dr Nojoumian has enjoyed working with junior medical staff at Armidale Hospital over the past month, and is looking forward to meeting his UNE students next year. “I’ll be working with fourth and fifth-year medical students training at the hospital,” he said, “and participating in third-year students’ problem-based learning at the University.”

Professor Peter McKeown, Head of UNE’s School of Rural Medicine, said he was proud to be able to add Dr Nojoumian to the growing list of clinical specialists on the staff of UNE. “He brings to the community a very high level of clinical expertise that was not previously available in the New England region,” Professor McKeown said, “and combines that with a commitment to undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. Dr Nojoumian is a key member of the growing UNE specialist medical group providing services to the community.”

Hunter New England Health Chief Executive Michael DiRienzo said the appointment of Dr Nojoumian would further strengthen both Armidale’s specialist medical services and the Joint Medical Program.

“Our commitment to the Joint Medical Program allows us to both enhance medical services at Armidale Hospital and enrich the teaching environment Armidale Hospital provides to doctors in training,” Mr DiRienzo said. “Building strong services in the Armidale community is a priority for Hunter New England Health, so we are pleased our partnership with UNE’s School of Rural Medicine (within the Joint Medical Program) is allowing us to consistently attract high-calibre staff to the region.”

Born and brought up in Iran, where he completed his undergraduate medical training at Mashad University, Dr Nojoumian migrated to Australia in 2000. After working for a year as a lecturer in anatomy at the University of Sydney’s medical school, he moved to Grafton where, over the next two years, he gained experience as a regionally-based GP. For the following seven years he worked at Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital, where he completed his cardiology training, and then spent a year at the St George Hospital in Sydney as an Interventional Cardiology Fellow before his move to Armidale.

That move will be complete when his wife and two daughters, aged eleven and seven, travel from Sydney to join him within the next few weeks.

Media contact: Leon Braun (UNE public relations) on (02) 6773 3771.

Fifty doctors, nurses and students met at the University of New England on Saturday to discuss the latest developments in the treatment of people with heart failure, cancer, and mental illness.

With participants from around the New England and North West regions of NSW as well as from Newcastle, the third annual Armidale Medical Conference (AMCON) had an appropriately “rural medicine” focus.

The incoming Head of UNE’s School of Rural Medicine, Professor Peter McKeown, introduced the conference. Professor McKeown, who takes up his position at UNE in September, said during his visit to the University last week that his vision for the School of Rural Medicine was for it to be not only an educator of first-rate doctors, but also a catalyst for the development of Armidale as a “centre of clinical excellence”.

Professor McKeown said that the AMCON conference was an example of the kind of ongoing education for rural practitioners that he envisaged as an important function of such a “centre of excellence”.

The presenters at the conference included the specialist physician Dr John Flynn and the psychiatrist Dr Saroja Krishnaswami from Armidale Hospital, the interventional cardiologist Dr Hadi Najoumian who will soon move to Armidale Hospital from Sydney, the oncologist Dr Matthew George from Tamworth, and the Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney’s Concord Clinical School, Dr Timothy Lambert.

Dr Flynn talked about managing ischaemic heart disease in rural communities, Dr Najoumian about the causes of sudden death in young people, and Dr George about common cancers and new developments in their treatment. Dr Lambert presented information on the use of drugs in the treatment of mental illness, and Dr Krishnaswami presented a paper on “social capital in mental health”.

Fiona Ord, a social worker in oncology at Armidale Hospital, and Greg Moin, an Armidale solicitor, talked about a framework for advanced care planning they have developed that covers both the health and legal ramifications of end-of-life decision making.

The program included hands-on sessions with sophisticated simulation equipment to practise the management of critical care situations. And about 20 GPs took the opportunity to undertake – during the day – an accredited two-hour course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

“The third Armidale Medical Conference was a great success,” said its convener, Dr Maree Puxty, Clinical Dean of the Tablelands Clinical School. “The attendees were able to participate in simulation exercises, CPR, and lectures on cardiology, psychiatry and oncology. We all look forward to AMCON 2012, which will be even bigger and better.”

UNE was a major beneficiary of $4.8 million in Commonwealth funding for a major project to benefit rural health just announced.

The funding, which will be administered by UNE, makes a substantial contribution to a $7 million rural mental health project. It is part of a total of $61.5 million in Collaborative Research Network (CRN) funding announced by the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Senator the Hon Kim Carr.

The Collaborative Research Network for Mental Health and Wellbeing in Rural Regions will be led by the University of New England, which will work with five partners – Universities of NSW, Sydney, Newcastle, and La Trobe, and Hunter New England Area Health Service – to expand rural health strengths, and feed into the education of thousands of health professionals and better rural mental health services. CRN activities will build links with rural communities and health providers in NSW and Victoria, with a focus on investigating and improving mental health and wellbeing.

UNE Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Annabelle Duncan celebrated the awarding of CRN funding as a win for the University and for rural communities.

“This is a significant recognition of UNE and its partner institutions as having a major research strength in rural health”, Professor Duncan said.

“More importantly, it gives us and our partners a big leg up in delivering better health through research and extension activities. This will mean better health outcomes across a range of areas, and with a particular focus on rural mental health – a public health issue of great significance in our rural communities”.

Studies find that people living in rural regions and remote areas tend to be in poorer health than those in urban areas. There is excessive mortality in rural areas related to mental health disorders, and differences in morbidity rates are linked to access to services and quality of life for those suffering from mental health disorders.

“This funding gives us the capacity to link experts in a range of areas and to build on the collective strengths of a range of institutions through collaboration”, Professor Duncan said. “The whole research and innovation system will benefit”.

For further information contact

Professor Annabelle Duncan 02 6773 5050

David Ayres 0429 556 882