Dr Casey Parker was born in Port Lincoln but grew up on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, before moving to the small town of Grass Patch (Google it) in the WA wheatbelt when he started high school in Esperance. After graduating University, Casey worked in Fremantle, Donnybrook, Kalgoorlie and Joondalup before heading to the Northwest as a GP Anaesthetist in 2004.

Casey spend four years as a District Medical Officer (Anaesthetics) and dabbled in Obstetrics in Karratha during the mining boom, before moving to Broome in 2007 where he has been ever since. He currently works at Broome Hospital in the emergency department and in theatres as a GP Anaesthetist with his wife not far away running her own GP practice. He has three very active and amazing sons who keep him on his toes – academically and on the sports field!

What made you want to pursue a career as a rural GP?

I was always going to go bush from as early as I can remember and spent as much time in my studies out in rural areas as I could. Being a Rural Generalist is my true passion – in hospital we call it door to discharge medicine. I feel that the ongoing relationship with the local community makes my job especially rewarding.

Tell us about what you in your current role.

I work about half time in the emergency department as a District Medical Officer and supervise up and coming GPs and Resident Medical Officers. The rest of my time is divided between Anaesthesia lists and inpatient work. I am really passionate about education and run a blog and podcast aimed at Rural Generalists (broomedocs.com).

Can you provide an example of an experience where you knew you had chosen the right career for yourself?

The real highlights for me are seeing medical students return as interns, residents, registrars and then as senior colleagues. Broome is a special medical community and we pride ourselves on growing excellent doctors, supporting them through their training and then again when they come back to provide great care. Working alongside these former students makes me very happy that our community is in great hands going forward.

I am also really satisfied when we can provide world-class acute, critical care in our remote corner of the country. In the last 10 years our team and hospital have evolved to be a real centre of excellence.

Do you have a mentor who has inspired you throughout your Rural Generalist training and work?

I can name a few: Dr Scott Teasdale, Dr Gavin Osgarby, Dr Yehuda Levy and Dr David Hailes have always been my mentors and colleagues who inspire and challenge me to be better.

What advice would you give to medical students and junior doctors who are thinking about training as a Rural Generalist?

A Rural Generalist career is incredibly rewarding. Be prepared to be engaged with the community and stick around. It can be tough at times, but that is the crux of rural generalism. Oh, and get a lot of experience as early as you can. Seek out jobs and roles that test your limits and get a mentor to keep you safe and to reflect upon all this. Even if you are in truly remote places, you are never alone.

What do you hope to do in the future?

I am taking a year off to study Ultrasound and hope to be able to use this to teach other GPs working in the bush to provide great care with bedside ultrasound. I am taking more of a leadership role in developing practical protocols and educational resources for rural doctors.