UQ MD Personal Advisor Network

The Personal Advisor Network (PAN) is an integral part of the Medical Student Aspirations and Support Strategy 2024-2026 and provides targeted and individualised support for medical students to help foster a spirit of community and connectedness. Each student entering the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program is invited to join the PAN and be assigned a personal advisor, who plays a valuable role in guiding and shaping the experience of medical students.

The Personal Advisor Rural Network (PARN) is a subset of the PAN. The PARN has been established with the specific purpose of encouraging students with a rural perspective and supporting rural origin students or those interested in pursuing a medical career in rural and remote communities.

Testimonials from students

I really enjoyed being part of the PAN this year and feel that it was an extremely valuable experience. I would highly recommend it to other MD students.
- Year 1 MD student, 2021
It has been excellent to meet an early-career doctor and gain their insights on medical school, training and balancing work/study/personal commitments/hobbies etc. My personal advisor did an excellent job at checking in on how I was coping (both academically and outside of medicine), and how my mental health and involvement in non-med activities was going. I've been really lucky to have my personal advisor’s insights this year and look forward to keeping in touch in years to come!
- Year 1 MD student, 2021

The role of your personal advisor

Your personal advisor is a key point of contact and support. They are experienced, approachable clinicians, academics or researchers who have volunteered their time to provide assistance to help you adjust to life at UQ, feel a sense of belonging, access other support services where required, transition into the clinical environment, and prepare for employment i.e. internship/residency.

The key roles of your personal advisor in supporting you are to:

Encourage an appropriate work-life balance, healthy behaviours and extra-curricular activities;
Meet with you at regular intervals to “check in” regarding your academic progress and wellbeing;
Offer positive support and encouragement;
Provide guidance and advice to help you adjust to life as a medical student; and
Recommend input or support services should difficulties arise.

Please note, the role of your personal advisor does not extend to providing:

Clinical or research experience or specific career guidance;
Counselling or medical diagnosis/advice;
Detailed course related advice or reviewing student work;
Specialist advice about accommodation or finance.

If you are unsure about how to access this specialist help, please ask your personal advisor to help refer you to the appropriate service.

The intention is for you to develop a longitudinal partnership with your personal advisor that has continuity over the duration of your MD program (four years). If you are a UQ-Ochsner student, the intention is for you to develop a partnership with your personal advisor that has continuity over the duration of the first two years of your MD program, while you are in Brisbane. After this time, support will be provided by your allocated Ochsner Clinical School Medical Society.

Conversations with your personal advisor are confidential, except of course if they have significant concerns about your wellbeing that prompts action based on duty of care.

If you believe you have a conflict of interest with the personal advisor you have been assigned, please contact the PAN Support Team.

Learning Communities

Learning Communities are clusters of health care providers that comprise the students and staff based in the facilities. They provide a platform where medical students can flourish in a mutually supportive environment and form relationships with their peers as well as professional, academic and clinical staff.

From 2023, Year 1 students will be allocated a personal advisor from their Learning Community with the aim of further facilitating and supporting these community connections and sense of belonging.

Student and personal advisor contact

In response to feedback we will no longer be actively scheduling or managing contact points. Students and personal advisors are encouraged to continue to keep in contact via Chronus or another communication channel such as email and meet at times that are suitable for them. We recommend that students and personal advisors meet around three times each year.

It will continue to be the student's responsibility to initiate and maintain contact with their personal advisor throughout the year. If we receive a message from your personal advisor letting us know that you have not been in contact, you will be removed from the PAN. Should you wish to rejoin the PAN at any time, please contact the PAN Support Team and request to be reconnected with a personal advisor.

Chronus

You will be connected with your personal advisor via Chronus. Chronus is a cloud-based software program that allows us to manage the PAN and track student and personal advisor connections. Chronus provides a communication platform for you to stay connected with your personal advisor, enables a more streamlined sign-up process and guided experience, and offers the convenience of anytime, anywhere access to the network with a consistent user experience across all devices.

Please view the Chronus User Guide for instructions on how to login, send a message to your personal advisor, schedule meetings and download the Chronus app on your mobile device. The Chronus User Guide is also readily available on the Help Resources page in Chronus.

If you are participating in the PAN, you can login to Chronus here.

Participation

PAN Support Team and additional support

Students can contact the PAN Support Team by emailing med.pansupport@uq.edu.au.

Students are also encouraged to contact the following services for additional support.

Service	Contact
Medical School Student Support Team	med.mss@uq.edu.au
Academic Guidance Leads	medical-school.uq.edu.au/current-students/doctor-medicine-students/doctor-medicine-student-support/academic-guidance
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs (Ochsner Clinical School)	med.ocsStudentAdmin@enquire.uq.edu.au
UQ Student Services	my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/student-support