Tell us about your background and what drew you to choosing a career in medicine? 

I think I wanted to do medicine since I was in primary school. I’m not sure what exactly drew me to it, science has always been an interest for me, and I think the idea of working as a doctor felt like it suited my personality and values. 

Why did you choose rural generalism to pursue that path? 

I decided on rural generalism for a whole combination of reasons that came together at the right time. I’d always grown up in the city (Brisbane), so I had never experienced country life before, except for short placements as a medical student. Those short placement experiences were some of my favourite times at uni so I think it always stuck with me as where I wanted to end up. 

As a junior doctor I had been tossing up between psychiatry training, physician training and paediatrics, but then realised rural generalism could offer a small part of all of those without having to give any of it up. That realisation came at a time when my wife and I were feeling like a bit of an adventure, so we packed up and moved to Tasmania! Once we settled in and were enjoying the lifestyle that living in the country can bring, we realised it was the right place for us. 
 
Overall, what was your experience of the pathway to Fellowship like?

I trained through the AGPT pathway with General Practice Training Tasmania (GPTT). In a small state like Tasmania, I found this to be a great experience, working with a small group of medical educators and registrars. Everyone knew everybody well. There is a fantastic and supportive team down here, so it made navigating the training pathway really easy.  

I also trained through the COVID period so it’s no surprise that this threw up a few unexpected challenges, but overall, I think even that experience helped me grow as a clinician and I’m a better doctor now for having worked through those challenges.  

Can you talk about when you Fellowed, what was the feeling like to reach that milestone? 

It was a really great feeling to finally get to what I saw as the finish line, but I suppose actually finishing ACRRM training really just hammered home that there really is no finish line, it just brings on new challenges to build on. Having said that, the freedom that comes with that Fellowship, and now the control I have over what I want to do, has been great.  

Tell us about the AST you chose and what drew you to that... 

I chose mental health as my advanced skill. That was partly because its been an interest of mine all the way through my training, but it is also clearly a real area of need in rural areas and so being able to train in that space and bring it back to my community in Deloraine was really rewarding. I did that year in North West Tasmania as part of a really good community psychiatry team, it was a fantastic experience and I felt really supported coming in as a Rural Generalist trainee within a team of psychiatrists. 
 
Talk to us about the community you work in, and the work you are doing now... 

I’m now trying to combine all of my passions and juggle it with home life! I’m working in Deloraine, which has a general practice and a small district hospital. So, my clinical week is split between ward rounds and being on call for the hospital and day to day work at the general practice. This is great to keep things fresh, every day is different. Outside of my clinical work I’ve now joined on as a medical educator with ACRRM – it has been fantastic to be able to work with registrars coming through and see them work towards their Fellowship. 

What are some of the joys and challenges of working as an RG in rural Tasmania? 

I think the best part about working in rural Tassie is that you are welcomed to the community with open arms. Deloraine is a community with a long history and there are lots of families that have lived in the area for over a century, but since we have been here, we’ve been welcomed like locals and it’s just so nice to be a part of something like that. 

Some of the challenges professionally are going to be familiar to anybody around rural and remote Australia - it can be isolating professionally at times, and so working in a supportive team is key to success. Thankfully in Deloraine our practice and the hospital are both fantastic environments to work in. 
 
Can you give us a bit more insight into the work you are doing in mental health in Deloraine? 

It’s been such a great opportunity to use my advanced skills in mental health in Deloraine. Mental health is obviously a massive area of need and lack of access in rural communities is a really big issue. I’ve been able to set aside a day a week for mental health, I have a mix of patients self-referring to me through word of mouth and other GPs referring patients to me for review and advice. In future I’d love to work more closely with the public community psychiatric team again - Rural Generalists can offer so much to the patients of a psychiatric service.  

You've had two kids since we last did a member story on you, what has it been like balancing family life with work?  

Studying for my exams last year with a 1-year-old was certainly no walk in the park, but I got through it somehow (mostly thanks to my amazing wife Helen)! But the actual work has been great with kids. I work part-time since Fellowing so it’s been so good to have more time to spend at home. Living in Deloraine we are a 10-minute drive from several fantastic hikes, some waterfalls and some caves to explore, so we’ve loved giving that opportunity to our kids. 
 
Tell us about the work you do as an ACRRM medical educator? How do you get into it and what could you say to other Fellows who might want to consider it? 

I was a registrar liaison officer during my training and at the end I was offered a position as medical educator with GPTT. Since the transition to College-led Training I’ve now come over to work with the Tassie ACRRM team and it’s been a really great opportunity. I love being able to break up my week with some teaching and mentoring, it’s been good to feel like I can give back a little bit to the next cohort of registrars coming through and pass on all the tips and tricks I learnt going through training myself. Medical education has been a great new challenge though, I didn’t realise quite how much there is to learn about education itself until I started doing it, so it’s been good to feel like I keep growing as a professional. 
 
Any other training or goals you are working towards in the future, with your calling as an RG? 

I’m really keen to expand on what I can provide my mental health patients so I’m working really hard on my psychotherapy skills now, psychology is one massive area of need in our community so I’m hoping I can fill a small part of that gap. 

Lastly, what advice do you have for anyone who might be considering a career as a Rural Generalist? 

I think it is the best career in the world, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. You will always feel professionally rewarded and stimulated and at the same time you get flexibility and freedom to follow whatever passion in medicine you might have. 

Click here to read Aaron's earlier member story - Part 1.