>For RHC Members > Where do we start?

Where do we start?

It can initially be quite daunting when you start to organise your first RHSV – there are lots of schools out there and lots of teachers to contact! So where do you actually start? Who should you contact? Where do you find contact details? Who else can help? You will be amazed how things just fall in to place when you have a good contact person at the school which your RHC is visiting. It may take some time and persistence but you will eventually find useful contacts and help! Remember to start organising your RHSV early (at least 1 term in advance) and don’t give up too easily – just because you haven’t received any replies to your emails and phone messages, doesn’t mean the schools aren’t interested. Chances are, the right contact person hasn’t actually received your messages!

The following steps should help you start the ball rolling on your RHSV:

Initial Planning and Research

You can use the Rural High School Contacts Database when logged in to the website to research which schools you would like to visit. If you do not know your Rural Health Clubs login details please email us. Or you can use the internet to research this. Your local state or territory Government website should have a listing of schools. When deciding on which year levels that you will be presenting to, it is important to think about what kind of impact you want to have. Research has found that the most appropriate time to promote health careers to secondary students is the second half of Year 9 or the first half of Year 10. You may also want to discuss this with the school as they may be able to tell you who they think will be easiest to target at their particular school.

 i Keep in mind that parents are an important influence in career selection, so think about including them in some way in your RHSV. See Informing Adults  for further details.

You will need to think about how many RHSVs you would like to conduct throughout the year and whether you will do them all separately or whether you could do 2 or 3 schools in the one visit. You will need to work out whether it will be a day trip or a few days or even a week long trip so that you know what to advertise to your club members and that this timeline will need to be factored into the organisation of the trip, for instance accommodation, car hire, meals and resources. These things will need to be discussed with your RHC’s executive to confirm what the budget will allow for.

Contacting the School

Make initial contact with the school. You can phone the school to find out who to send an initial letter and RHSV brochure (feel free to edit this letter as you see fit before sending out) to and then send the letter out. The Careers Advisory Teacher or Deputy Principal are often good contacts in the first instance. They may then direct you to another appropriate person.

Make a note of the names and roles of the contact people you have been speaking to, including email addresses.

i Teachers are very hard to contact by phone during school hours. Letters and emails are often more effective.

Make contact with schools as early as possible in the school term to give them (and your club members) plenty of warning.

Your initial letter should include the following: An outline of what you will be offering Who will be visiting Location of proposed visit/event Range of careers to be profiled (broadly)

Ask about what has been done in the region around health careers currently and before - you don’t want to double-up on what has already been done! Also try to find out if the school has certain protocols for visitors to adhere to when at the RHSV.

Tell them the respective roles ie. you are organising it, schools support it (schools love this as the less they have to do, the better!).

Discuss timelines and practical issues: a.      Determine a date b.      Do schools need a written letter and/or confirmation? c.      Determine school's commitment to participating and likely numbers? d.      Money Matters - will there be any costs to schools? e.      Working with Children Declaration form (if applicable)

Correspondence with Divisions of General Practice

Send a courtesy letter or email to the local Divisions of General Practice where you will be conducting your RHSV. Address this to the designated Workforce Officer, Local Managers of Health Services.

• Let them know that you are planning to visit their region -   they probably will have details of key contacts within the local schools.

• They may also be able to provide financial assistance or prizes and handouts (the more freebies to give to students the better!). 

See Division of General Practice contact details and example letter. 

Correspondence with Rural Workforce Agency

Send a courtesy letter or email to your state Rural Workforce Agency.

Let them know in which location/town you are planning your RHSV -   they may have details of key contacts within that area. They may also be able to provide financial assistance or prizes and handouts (the more freebies to give to students the better!).

See contact details and example letter.  

Correspondence with local health professionals

Send a letter or email to any local health professionals that you have found out about either through the Division of General Practice, the Rural Workforce Agency or by doing an internet search.

Let them know which location you are planning to visit for your RHSV Ask them if they can provide you with any information about issues in that community in regards to health and the use of health services Ask them if they would like to participate in your visit Ask them if you can visit their health centre with the school children as a tour (make sure you talk about legal requirements with the school for such tours)

See example letter. 

Correspondence with local university

Seeing as your RHSV is in a rural area there may not be much of an opportunity for you to take the students to a university or TAFE as the closest one may be more than 100km away. Check to see if there is a university or TAFE in close proximity to the school you are visiting and try contacting someone at that university or TAFE to see if you can arrange a visit. An example letter to the university or TAFE can be found here. A permission form to send to the school that you are visiting can be found here.

RHSV Video - Central NT

Check out the NRHSN RHSV to Central NT video by clicking on the below links. This video follows a group of multi-disciplinary NRHSN members on their RHSV through Central Norther Territory, in May 2008. The NRHSN thanks Tamara Ford (WILDFIRE) for filming and editing the video, the members involved in the RHSV and General Practice Netwrok NT (GPNNT) and Melly Lewis for their support and organisation of this RHSV.
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3