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When Rex Pais Prabhu moved from metropolitan Sydney to Swan Hill for career progression, he had never imagined that it would lead to an ACRRM Distinguished Service Award for 2023.
But Rex’s commitment to rural generalism as the Executive Medical Director Services at Swan Hill has changed the training landscape for the next generation of Rural Generalists.
This award recognises his skills in rural medical leadership, rural medical education, and rural service provision.
Arriving in Swan Hill to a workforce of 18 locum doctors, Rex has since built a team of 24 employed medical practitioners, enticing them to a well-supported community that offers diversity of practice, a positive culture, and career progression.
He has developed a pathway for all training, starting with the establishment of a full medical school program with Charles Sturt University this year. It enables medical students to undertake all clinical training in Swan Hill through to internship and then onto GP Fellowship in a single location, and includes a broad scope of options for Advanced Specialist Training, including emergency, obstetrics, anesthetics, Indigenous health and more.
“It was a huge learning curve for me to move from metropolitan New South Wales to rural Victoria,” Rex says.
“The community is a safe and welcoming place to live, and people who come here tend to stay.
“I’m really pleased that we now have a pipeline of registrars wanting to come to the region until 2026, and this year, we welcomed the largest cohort – six of them.
“In collaboration with Rural Workforce Agency Victoria and Charles Sturt University, we also secured an ACRRM education training grant; allowing for a dedicated assessment coach for trainees and we introduced a supervisor to move between the health service and the local Aboriginal Health Service, to enable on-site supervision.
“We are in a great place to deliver better health outcomes in the local community.
“This recognition is testament to the talented and gifted health professionals I work for and with to deliver better health outcomes.”
ENDS
But Rex’s commitment to rural generalism as the Executive Medical Director Services at Swan Hill has changed the training landscape for the next generation of Rural Generalists.
This award recognises his skills in rural medical leadership, rural medical education, and rural service provision.
Arriving in Swan Hill to a workforce of 18 locum doctors, Rex has since built a team of 24 employed medical practitioners, enticing them to a well-supported community that offers diversity of practice, a positive culture, and career progression.
He has developed a pathway for all training, starting with the establishment of a full medical school program with Charles Sturt University this year. It enables medical students to undertake all clinical training in Swan Hill through to internship and then onto GP Fellowship in a single location, and includes a broad scope of options for Advanced Specialist Training, including emergency, obstetrics, anesthetics, Indigenous health and more.
“It was a huge learning curve for me to move from metropolitan New South Wales to rural Victoria,” Rex says.
“The community is a safe and welcoming place to live, and people who come here tend to stay.
“I’m really pleased that we now have a pipeline of registrars wanting to come to the region until 2026, and this year, we welcomed the largest cohort – six of them.
“In collaboration with Rural Workforce Agency Victoria and Charles Sturt University, we also secured an ACRRM education training grant; allowing for a dedicated assessment coach for trainees and we introduced a supervisor to move between the health service and the local Aboriginal Health Service, to enable on-site supervision.
“We are in a great place to deliver better health outcomes in the local community.
“This recognition is testament to the talented and gifted health professionals I work for and with to deliver better health outcomes.”
ENDS