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.

Hasan grew up in a little country town in Bangladesh. He studied his MBBS, and then his went on to do his Masters in Surgery in Paediatrics. He moved to Australia in 2004 with my family and worked as a plastic surgical registrar in Nepean Hospital for 14 years. Hasan joined the ACRRM training pathway in 2018, and is now doing his AST in emergency medicine at Nepean Hospital, NSW

Tell us about your journey into rural generalism. Why did you choose to be a Rural Generalist (RG)?   
During my 14 years at Nepean Hospital from 2004-2018, I began a charity project called "Aussi Bangla Smile" with my colleagues. Every year, we travelled to Bangladesh to visit the rural and remote communities to provide reconstructive surgery free of cost to underprivileged people with cleft lip and palate. I began my ACRRM training in 2018 and have since finished my rural training, having worked in Wagga Wagga, Inverell and Manilla/Tamworth in NSW. I really enjoyed working in these country towns. Having come from a rural community myself, it gives me great pleasure to work as a doctor serving rural communities.

What does it take to be a Rural Generalist and do the work you do?  
To be a Rural Generalist, you need to have a wide variety of medical knowledge from emergency to general practice to obstetrics to mental health. Another key component of being a RG is being a friend to the local community. As rural towns are very small, you interact and develop a rapport with all your patients and it is very common to see them in your daily life, especially in the shopping centre! These friendly doctor-patient relationships are what make rural generalism very rewarding. 

What does a typical day at work entail? What challenges do you face working in a rural area?

I would normally start work doing ward rounds in the rural hospital, then go to the GP practice. Sometimes we admit patients to the local hospital or refer them to the tertiary hospitals. This involves lots of communication with other hospitals, and sometimes we have to organise retrieval for complex patients. After their recovery, the patients come back to see me again for continuing care. These organising skills for complex patients can sometimes be challenging for a single doctor. 

What AST have you chosen? Why did you choose this AST?
I am currently doing my AST in Emergency Medicine at Nepean Hospital. I am also working as GP VMO in Blue Mountains District Hospital. I have a keen interest in global health; the recent world crises are very heartbreaking for me. That is why after my fellowship, I'd like to work in refugee health, or work with Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders to help the crisis affected people around the world for a couple of months a year. This AST and FACRRM will be really helpful for this type of work which requires very diverse knowledge and skills.   

What advice would you give to medical students and junior doctors who are thinking about training as a Rural Generalist?  
The ACRRM training program is very diverse so it will make you an excellent doctor with strong knowledge and skills which you cannot get anywhere else. You will be able to handle any, and all, medical situations with confidence. I highly recommend pursuing RG training if you want to be a great doctor. Rural Australia has a great lifestyle and great communities.