JCU Medicine 25 year Anniversary Celebration
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JCU Medicine 25 year Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate 25years of Medicine at JCU
Location: Townsville
Dates: 9 - 10 May 2025
For the past quarter century, we have been preparing students for their careers in medicine and have taken great pride in the collective impact our graduates have made. To celebrate our progress and people, we are inviting those connected with JCU medicine to join us for an Anniversary Celebration weekend.
This momentous occasion is an opportunity for our valued alumni, esteemed colleagues and supporters to reconnect, reflect on the remarkable achievements of the past, and be inspired by the future of medical excellence.
This event is sponsored by North Queensland Regional Training Hubs and Private Emergency Health Australia, Mater, IPN Medical Centres, Aurora Healthcare, AVANT and RACGP.
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14th April 2025
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: Celebrating 25 Years of JCU Medicine
Northern Queensland Regional Training Hubs (NQRTH) is proud to sponsor a milestone symposium, bringing together delegates from across the region and beyond to reflect on the experiences and achievements of James Cook University’s Medical School since its inception. From its humble beginnings to today’s innovations and the College’s ambitious vision for the future, the symposium will provide a platform for insightful discussions and reflections. The event will open with a keynote address by Dr Prue Wallin, a distinguished Rural Generalist with advanced skills in anaesthetics. Dr Wallin has dedicated her career to rural and remote medicine, with experience in Cooktown and Badu Island in the Torres Strait. She now continues her leadership journey from the Sunshine Coast hinterland and was recently appointed Medical Director of the Queensland Rural Generalist Pathway (QRGP). A panel of esteemed medical experts, including Professor Tarun Sen Gupta, Head of the Townsville Clinical School, and Professor Richard Hays, JCU Medicine’s founding dean, will explore key lessons from the past 25 years and discuss the role of the alumni community in shaping the College’s future. Professor Brad Murphy OAM, a proud Kamilaroi man and fellow keynote speaker, will present on the theme "Underserved, Not Undeserved: Giving Back to the Community." A graduate of JCU Medicine’s inaugural cohort in 2005, Dr. Murphy has dedicated his career to serving the North Burnett region as a Rural Generalist and has played a pivotal role in advancing community health initiatives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The symposium will conclude with a student-focused session led by the JCUMSA and RHINO executive teams, followed by an educational workshop on training pathway development in northern Queensland. This session will highlight NQRTH’s efforts in connecting medical students, interns, and junior doctors with essential resources and opportunities to pursue specialist training in the region.
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8th April 2025
Dr Prue Wallin: A Passion for Rural Medicine
For Dr Prue Wallin, medicine has always been about connection—caring for patients holistically and understanding the broader community context. A graduate of James Cook University’s second cohort of medical students in 2006, she has spent the past 19 years forging a career in rural and remote medicine across Queensland. Prue, who is a keynote speaker at JCU Medicine 25-year Anniversary Celebration symposium, was recently announced the Queensland Rural Generalist Pathway Medical Director. This pathway provides doctors with the advanced training, skills and support needed to look after the health needs of rural communities. Prue has been a Rural Generalist Training Advisor since 2016 and is a QRGP alumna. A Pathway to Rural Medicine Prue says she was drawn to the then new JCU Medicine program, with its hands-on, practical approach to medical education and its focus on rural and remote health. “I could enrol from undergraduate, which really appealed to me,” she says. “JCU was still being built when I started, and I had a moment when I turned up for my interview of thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I doing?’ It certainly looked different to the Sandstone buildings of UQ. But as soon as I accepted the position, I was glad I chose JCU. It was collegiate, supportive and hands-on with a focus on rural exposure. Serendipitously all that rural time helped reinforce my future career path and that this is where I’m best suited.” With a Queensland Health scholarship, she became one of the inaugural rural generalist pathway trainees, completing her internship in Cairns, advanced skills training in anaesthetics in Ipswich, and working as a Senior Medical Officer (SMO) in Cooktown for several years. She recently worked for three years as the sole medical officer on Badu Island in the Outer Torres Straits, which she describes as the ‘job of a lifetime’. Recently she has relocated with her young family to the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
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1st April 2025
PEHA: leaders in patient-focused emergency care
We are thrilled to welcome Private Emergency Health Australia (PEHA) as the Gold Sponsor for the JCU Medicine 25 Year Anniversary Celebration this May! Founded on the vision of revolutionising emergency care, PEHA is dedicated to delivering high-quality, patient-focused emergency services across both public and private sectors. With a mission to provide expert care, short wait times and a superior emergency experience, PEHA continues to make a profound impact on healthcare across Australia. For Dr Philip Gaudin, founding director of PEHA and JCU medicine graduate, supporting this milestone celebration was a natural choice. "The success of our company has been harvested from the education myself and my co-founder received at JCU and the support of so many friends and colleagues from JCU. A priority of the company has always been to ‘give-back’ and support the community, so the opportunity to 'give-back’ to JCU was a very easy decision for myself and the team. " With 9 emergency departments across Australia and more on the horizon, Dr Gaudin says PEHA is committed to expanding access to high-quality emergency care where it's needed most."Our company’s purpose is to improve health care for all, particularly for those in rural and remote parts of Australia. We want patients to feel welcome and cared for when they come to an Emergency Department, and in particular, we don’t think patient’s should have a long wait to receive emergency care." A huge thank you to PEHA for their generous support and commitment to advancing healthcare! To find out more about PEHA, please visit their website: www.peha.com.au
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28th March 2025
How JCU Medicine paved a rural and regional path for Dr Girgenti
Having grown up in Ingham with a passion for improving outcomes for rural and regional Queenslanders, JCU’s fledgling Medicine program was the perfect fit for Dr Kaylene Girgenti. As part of JCU’s first ever Medicine cohort, Dr Girgenti has since carved herself a dynamic career, spanning General Practice, emergency medicine, and women’s health. From Townsville to Magnetic Island and up to Karumba, Dr Girgenti’s work is diverse and challenging – just the way she likes it. “We were a small cohort being the first intake, which meant that we were all very close and forged lifelong bonds that have stood the test of time. Not only were we close with fellow students, but we also had great relationships with our faculty staff, and I have such great respect for what they all did for us,” Dr Girgenti says, reflecting on the education and unique experiences during her time at JCU. JCU’s emphasis on adaptability and innovation was evident from day one, she says, with the students quickly jumping on board, learning to navigate challenges with resilience. “With no official buildings and a curriculum that was being tested on the fly, we learned to be flexible, to accommodate, and to innovate—hopefully, those traits have stuck with us over the years,” she says. “We learned that leadership is about teamwork and supporting one another. I hope that I have been a worthy mentor to the younger generations of medical students and trainees in the years since I graduated.” JCU Medicine was founded with a mission to train doctors dedicated to serving rural and regional communities—a vision that resonated deeply with Dr Girgenti, who had always envisioned a future in rural medicine, with JCU only reinforcing that commitment. “Attending JCU further cemented the decision and allowed for some really positive placements in some amazing locations,” she says.
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NQRTH is an initiative of the Australian Government's Integrated Rural Training Pipeline (IRTP) and is facilitated by James Cook University in partnership with public and private hospitals, Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC), health services, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) and GP clinics.
Cairns region
(07) 4226 7138
Central West region
(07) 4764 1547
Mackay region
(07) 4885 7122
North West region
(07) 4764 1547
Torres and Cape region
(07) 4095 6103
Townsville region
(07) 4781 3424