Rural Medical Family Network
The Rural Medical Family Network (RMFN) is a network of spouses of rural doctors and is funded and supported by RWAV and the Department of Human Services. The aim of RMFN is to provide information and support to rural medical spouses and their families at the grass roots level.
RMFN encourages constructive approaches to making changes and organises activities to facilitate supportive relationships that will help enhance the life of the partner and families of the rural GP. In this way it contributes to encouraging more people to embrace the rural way of life and rural work, which have many challenges and opportunities for personal fulfilment.
For more information visit the RMFN website on www.rmfn-vic.com.
Spouse/Partner Education and Training Bursary
Bursaries are available to assist rural or remote medical spouses or partners wishing to undertake further education or training.
RMFN and RWAV recognise the personal and professional development needs of rural and remote spouses/partners. The Education and Training Bursary is intended to enhance the quality of life and/or career opportunities for individual applicants and to aid in the ongoing support of the medical family in the rural/remote setting.
Any spouse or partner of a doctor living in a rural or remote area of Victoria located within RRMA 4 to 7 may be eligible to apply. Applicants can apply for a bursary to assist them to undertake any course of study delivered by an accredited training organisation or qualified private provider. The bursaries are valued at up to $1,000 per applicant, per year.
For details on the next round of bursaries applications, contact the RMFN Program Development Officer at RWAV on (03) 9349 7800.
Career Counselling Service
This service is available to the families of general practitioners working in rural Victoria. Secondary students, tertiary students and mature age people are eligible to have consultations with a careers counsellor by telephone, over the internet or in person. The service is provided by a career counsellor from Box Hill Institute (BHI) in Melbourne.
If you would like to access the career counselling service, please contact the RMFN Program Development Officer at RWAV on (03) 9349 7800 to obtain an identification number and contact details.
Telephone Counselling Service
Meridian Life Development Consultants provide a professional telephone counselling service suitable for rural medical families to access when needed.
Telephone counselling is not just suited to those geographically isolated from specialist services, but may also be useful for those unable to travel to a counsellor's office (due to disability or time constraints) and for those living in smaller communities, who may be concerned that seeking counselling closer to home might not offer the privacy with which they would feel comfortable.
Rural GPs and their families are able to access Meridian's counsellors, free of charge, for up to the first two sessions. After that, the counsellor will explore and suggest appropriate referral options, including continuing sessions at your own expense.
To access the service call 1 800 333 621.
Meet and Greet Program
The aim of this program is to meet and greet all newly arrived GPs, their partners and families in rural Victoria, and to provide information about the community as well as inform them about RMFN and the local Division of General Practice.
The program is a collaboration between RWAV, RMFN and the relevant rural Division of General Practice.
| 
