Rural GP training: Equal gender split brings hope for regional health gap

Australian GP training applications now open

There’s a new wave of doctors coming to rural and remote Australia - and they are bringing immense hope for a better future for healthcare in the bush.

They are training to become Australia’s next generation of Rural Generalist doctors, and the statistics show that female doctors are just as attracted to a rural career as their male counterparts.

Many are also attracted to the GP training pathway provided by the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM).

Dr Bethany Jibson and Dr Lachlan Mackinnon are undertaking GP training in very different settings - Bethany on Palm Island (an Aboriginal community off the Queensland coast) and Lachlan in the inland South Australian town of Loxton.

Both are stand-out examples of what is attracting the next generation of doctors to rural medicine.

Raised in rural Queensland, Bethany had a father who was an aeronautical engineer and a mother who taught Japanese.

“I wanted a job that would challenge me, make a difference, and provide as much diversity as I’d experienced in my youth” she says. “Rural medicine was an obvious choice.”

She hasn’t been disappointed. As a junior doctor, she has trained and worked in hospitals and general practices across rural and coastal Queensland, as well as in rural Uganda (where she met her Ugandan husband, Denis, now a doctor in Mackay).

While on the path to attaining Fellowship of ACRRM (a ‘FACRRM’) - one of only two specialist General Practice qualifications in Australia - she has undertaken additional study years in Paediatrics and Mental Health.

Lachlan, who is also undertaking GP training through ACRRM, jokes that he was “doomed from the start” to become a Rural Generalist doctor - raised in rural South Australia, his father was a country doctor and his mother was a midwife.

But he says the variety of rural medicine sealed the deal for him. His plan is to work as a Rural Generalist with General Practice, Anaesthetics and Emergency Medicine in his practice mix. He will undertake a year’s training in Anaesthetics in 2019.

Bethany agrees that the variety of rural medicine is central to its appeal.

“To paraphrase Forrest Gump, ‘Rural medicine is like a box of chocolates’, with new and interesting surprises every day.

“It’s not in many places you have a protocol for Irukandji jellyfish stings that you refer to regularly, or you’re treating people who have fallen off horses at the beach!

“I came into Medicine to be practical and useful. I didn’t want to be a doctor who couldn’t deliver a baby, or couldn’t help somebody if they were having a heart attack.

“I’ve been able to do so much more in my rural placements through ACRRM - like completing large skin excisions that, in major centres, would only be done by a surgeon.”

Lachlan agrees that rural GP training provides wider scope for hands-on experience.

“In a rural Emergency Department (ED), you’re dealing with anything that walks in the door. You are well supported by your supervisor and the retrieval services, but you really are in the front seat.

“ACRRM understands the rural context, the flexibility it requires, and the training needed to get a well-rounded rural GP.”

For Bethany, the availability of good support is a real strength of rural training.

“In many rural locations now you’re not the only doctor there - others are working alongside you. And often in your hospital’s ED you will have a distant specialist supporting you via video-link.

“I also have enormous respect for the Rural Generalists who have overseen my training, including my current supervisor, Dr Margaret Fielding. I’m really proud to be part of her team.”

Bethany has also appreciated the warm welcome she has received from the Palm Island community - she was given original ‘coconut cream buns’ for Easter (made from local coconut palms) - and she is enjoying the availability of fresh seafood.

“I’m betting there are not a lot of hospitals in Australia where you can buy mud crabs while doing your ward rounds!” she laughs.

Lachlan agrees that the supportive nature of country doctors makes rural training special.

“I can’t think of any bullying I’ve seen in rural hospitals or practices. Your colleagues want you to stay in their town, so they have a real interest in ensuring you are happy and well supported.”

He adds that rural medicine also offers a great work-life balance.

“Work is less than five minutes from home, you can provide a great service to your community, and you also have the flexibility to go fishing or watch your kids playing sport.”

Bethany and Lachlan are both keen participants in the social life of their communities.

Lachlan is playing in the local hockey competition, while Bethany is excited about starting up a ukulele group for kids on the Island.

Outside the ED, she’s also in high demand for a different type of stitching work.

“I really like sewing and I’m a material hoarder, so I’ve become the Island’s unofficial tailor - the locals have been bringing me all their clothes to mend, so that’s been fun as well!”

The application period for Australian General Practice Training (2019 intake) is open from 26 March to 30 April 2018. To find out more about undertaking GP training via the ACRRM training pathway visit acrrm.org.au/agpt.

Both Dr Bethany Jibson and Dr Lachlan Mackinnon are undertaking their ACRRM training as part of the Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) program.

Dr Jibson’s training is delivered by the Generalist Medical Training program (James Cook University’s training program in the medical specialty of General Practice).

Dr Mackinnon’s training is delivered by GPEx, the South Australian Training Organisation delivering training to doctors selected to specialise in General Practice in Australia.