Two bursaries for Tim McArdle fund
Two Monash University students received the Tim McArdle memorial bursary at a presentation at the Warragul Country Club last week.
The bursary is made available annually by a local committee to students studying health/science degrees at Monash University in memory of local doctor Tim McArdle who was killed while riding his bicycle in Warragul in 2002.
Bursaries were presented to Katlin Wright from Drouin who is studying a bachelor of health science and Jaslyn Streeter-Gillard from Nar Nar Goon who is studying a bachelor of occupational therapy. Each bursary was $3000.
The event was attended by representatives of the McArdle family, the local committee which oversees the awards, and Monash University.
Committee chairman Cleo Sahhar said the bursary had been established soon after Tim’s death and raised close to $90.000.
This year celebrated the 15th year of bursary presentations.
Dr Sahhar said the bursary was the brainchild of Mavis Gallienne who became the chairman of a small committee established to administer it.
He said Mavis facilitated the bursary to make some sense of Tim’s such a tragic loss and to be a lasting legacy.
He said it was appropriate that the bursary had been so successful and assisted so many students since it was first awarded in 2004.
Dr Sahhar said Tim had loved rural medicine after taking up a position at the West Gippsland Medical Centre.
“He loved rural medicine, he loved the rural life and the people here loved him,” he said.
“He had talent and skills most of us can only dream about.
He made many friends here and had that way of making people feel at home,” he said.
Dr Sahhar said Tim had many hobbies including, following Hawthorn Football Club, tennis, skiing, running, playing the piano, travelling and meeting people. “He loved children and children loved him.” Dr Sahhar said one of the biggest impacts Tim had on the local community was his weekly medical column on The Gazette aptly titled Dr Kev.
“Tim wrote this anonymously and was often amused when patients would attend at the clinic with a column cut out and want to discuss aspects of it with him.
“He simply addressed their issues and never admitted that he had written it.
“We have been blessed with the presence he had on our lives,” he said.
Monash University school of rural health deputy director Cathy Haigh said Dr McArdle was well known at Monash as an excellent community doctor and someone who was always keen to mentor students.
She said the bursary was a tremendous legacy.
She said Monash operated two rural health sites in Gippsland with one at Warragul and the other at Traralgon, which encouraged students to experience rural medicine.
A new centre is currently being built within the grounds of West Gippsland Hospital. “These are great places to train students. “With appropriate supervision we hope to provide well educated safe and efficient doctors who hopefully want to live and work here,” she said.
Dr Haigh said it was appropriate that there was a photograph of Tim at West Gippsland Hospital’s midwifery department with a baby he had delivered.
A highlight of the evening was an address by 2012 bursary recipient Jennifer Burr.
Jennifer studied a bachelor of nursing with honours studying the impact of intellectual disability in health.
She said she had been invited to undertake honours but had deferred because her husband was ill. She completed her honour5s last year. She said 2.9 per cent of the Australian population had an intellectual disability, a figure which surprised many people.
“For those it is impairment from birth, but if it acquired over the age of 18 it is considered an acquired brain injury, with varying degrees including mild, moderate, severe and profound.”
She said deaths in both categories were often avoidable.
She said it was often a case of understanding the implications of disability and understanding individual rights.
Jennifer said her studies had identified enormous holes in the health system and she wanted to raise awareness.
She said aiming to become a nurse had always been a passion for her and receiving the Tim McArdle bursary had been a highlight.
“It wasn’t so much receiving the funds but it was more that people had a belief in me. This committee had a belief and faith in me,” she said.
The bursaries were presented by Tim’s mother Patricia Wilson.
She congratulated each of the recipients and wished them well with their studies.
Jaslyn said she was grateful for the bursary and after her studiesshe would be keen to practice in a rural region.
Katlin said she was keen to finish her studies and grateful that the bursary would assist her to do so.
Members of the McArdle family who attended the presentation were Mrs Wilson, Tim’s brothers Patrick and Stephen and sister Mary Castellani.
Bursary committee members are Dr Sahhar, secretary Des Williams, Mavis Gallienne, Dr Cathy Haigh representing Monash University, Carolyn Turner, Ken Thomas, Nasia Sahhar, Chris Fogarty and Brett Forge.