Welcome to Dr Mark Vella

The Department of Rural Health welcomes Dr Mark Vella as the new Sub-Dean of the Shepparton Rural Clinical School.

Although new to the Rural Clinical School, Mark has been involved in teaching medical students for the Melbourne Medical School for some time, predominantly as a tutor in Professional Practice and in mental health.  Mark has also acted in coordinator roles for the Department of Psychiatry.

Mark’s interest in education can be traced further back to his previous career as a secondary school teacher. More recently, Mark has also acted as the local Director of Psychiatry Training at Austin Health and at St Vincent’s, Melbourne.

Mark is also a consultant psychiatrist, having achieved fellowship six years ago.  He has worked in a range of services, including correctional, and drug and alcohol services, but has predominantly worked in adult community mental health.  He currently is based in the Lower Hume Community Mental Health Centre, a service of Goulburn Valley Health based in Seymour.

Mark is keen to take up the challenge of the Sub-Dean role.

“I hope to support our medical students to have a useful and enjoyable experience in Shepparton, and to develop the clinical and personal skills that everyone in the community hopes for in their doctors.  With a bit of luck, some of them will want to keep on working rurally after they graduate,” he says.

“The Rural Clinical School is such a wonderful environment to work in.  The team here is so passionate about making sure the students here get a lot out of their time with us, are well looked after, and enjoy their learning. I feel lucky to be part of it.”

Mark says his background in psychiatry will support him in this role.

“As a psychiatrist, medical student welfare is something particularly important to me.  I think my clinical work also helps me to value partnering with health service users, inclusive and empathic practice, values which I hope I can reinforce in our students.”