Tell us about your journey into rural generalism. Why did you choose to be a Rural Generalist, and why ACRRM? 

My journey into becoming a rural doctor started after I secured a retrieval registrar position with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) in Dubbo and Broken Hill. This experience opened my eyes to all the possibilities working rural entails.

I chose to become a Rural Generalist (RG) when I decided I needed to change the direction my medical career was going. After becoming a mother, I realised some adjustments were necessary in my career, so that I was able to find some balance between my personal and professional life. In addition, I was looking for a pathway that would, not only allow me to expand and grow as a professional, but also that would allow me to embrace and continue to use the relevant experience and knowledge I had accumulated before migrating to Australia. Being an overseas trained doctor with a previous qualification in intensive care medicine, and after working for the RFDS for almost four years, I was also interested in making sure I put my skillset to good use. 

For all of the above-mentioned reasons, I felt ACRRM was the right College for me. I felt becoming a RG with ACRRM through the RGTS program was the best plan of action to make sure I made good use of my experience and, at the same time, being provided with support and training to fill the gaps in my knowledge, so that I may bring the best medical care possible to my community.

What does it take to be a Rural Generalist and do the work you do?  

I started my training with ACRRM in late February 2022 and, so far, I would say: dedication, willingness to learn and remaining curious.

Rural generalism might be somewhat confronting to deal with, especially when we look at the range of the presentations. It goes over every aspect of a person's life, ranging from acute presentations to chronic disease management, from mental health to falls and broken bones, from home visits to hospital work, and from young babies to end-of-life care, just to mention some of it (it really is an endless range of possibilities). For me, harnessing this willingness to continue to do good for the community is paramount.

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

A typical working day for me includes checking investigation results, letters from specialists and discharge summaries from hospitals. Also, trying to come up with strategies to improve my time management, making sure I not only address what patients bring into the consultation room, but also making sure that I opportunistically use the consultation time to also improve patient's health beyond the presenting complaint.

I would say the lack of supportive services/ allied health and the limitations/delays in referral pathways is a real problem when working in rural areas. Telehealth has been a useful strategy to address this inequality, to some extent. However, it remains very obvious to me that rural patients cannot get access to services as easily as people living in the city.

What AST have you chosen? Why did you choose this AST?

I have chosen emergency medicine as my AST, as I believe this is where I will be able to converge both my overseas and Australian experience I have accumulated prior to joining ACRRM. It will allow me to keep my skills current and continue to provide relevant service to the community.

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

I would tell them to make sure they have as much exposure to different fields of medicine as they can. Doctors in training can easily get caught up in doing ‘what is expected’ of them. Make sure you are in the driving seat of your professional career, and are not just aimlessly going through the motions of it.

If your motivation to become a doctor comes from connecting with patients and communities, look into rural generalism. If you are interested in joining people throughout their life journeys, look into rural generalism. If you are looking for a position that will enable you to provide relevant service to a community, look into rural generalism.