ACRRM students, registrars and Fellows have one thing in common - a desire to See More, Do More and Be More. Whether they are working in central Victoria, on the rugged Western Australian coastline, in the tropics of North Queensland or the farmlands of New South Wales and further afield, they are committed to being the best Rural Generalist they can, supporting rural and remote people with excellent health care. Enjoy their stories here.
Many of our members at ACRRM have gone on to win awards. Check out our awards page here.
If you are an ACRRM Rural Generalist and would like to share your story, contact the membership team at membership@acrrm.org.au.
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Allison is also a senior lecturer at James Cook University and the current Chair of the ACRRM Registrar Committee. In 2019, in recognition of her contribution to rural and remote medicine, she was awarded the ACRRM and Rural Doctors Association of Australia’s Registrar of the Year. Allison has also been awarded a Fulbright Queensland Scholarship to undertake her Masters of Public Health specialising in global health and infectious disease and in the United States of America in 2020.
What made you want to pursue a career as a rural GP?
My very first rotation as an intern was along the banks of the Murray River in Victoria. There I met my first rural generalist. He supported the antenatal to palliative patients and everyone in between. He taught me how to intubate, how to manage a trauma and how to care for someone at the end of their life. On quiet days in the Emergency Department he would bring in his ukulele and play songs from a place he had previously worked: Thursday Island in the Torres Straits. I was mesmerised by his stories of this archipelago. He inspired me to become a rural generalist. He inspired me to work on Thursday Island, where I now live.
Why did you choose to train with ACRRM?
ACRRM provides medical doctors comprehensive and flexible primary care training with a focus on rural, remote and resource-limited medicine. ACRRM registrars are able to tailor their training to suit their clinical interests; for me this included spending time in East Africa strengthening my clinical knowledge and skills in Tropical Medicine.
Tell us about what you do day-to-day in your current role
As an ACRRM registrar, I work throughout the Torres Strait providing both primary and emergency care to predominantly Torres Strait Islander communities. I am also a senior lecturer with James Cook University and am involved in several infectious disease research projects.
What advice would you give to medical students and junior doctors who are thinking about training as a Rural Generalist?
It’s ok not to know what you want to do ‘when you grow up and become a doctor’. I would encourage medical students and junior doctors to gain vast experience throughout multiple specialities before deciding which one suits you best. If you are interested in primary care, public health and rural and remote medicine – then training with ACRRM ticks all those boxes! It’s a flexible, diverse and interesting career choice that will always guarantee you a job!
What do you hope to do in the future?
I have been awarded a Fulbright Queensland Scholarship to undertake my Masters of Public Health in the United States of America in 2020. I look forward to returning to Far North Queensland thereafter to continue improving health outcomes in this region.
