Sarah graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine in 2004 from the University of Newcastle. As a dual fellow in both Colleges, in 2009 she was named National Rural Faculty Registrar of the Year by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and in 2010 was honoured as Rural Registrar of the Year by the RDAA/Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM). A unique honour she cherishes deeply.

During her career Sarah has completed an Advanced Diploma through the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, a Diploma of Clinical Education and is currently one subject away from a Master of Health Administration through Flinders University. Sarah has previously held a board director position for General Practice Education and Training and currently sits on the board of directors of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association. Dr McEwan’s topics of interest and expertise include Aboriginal health, sexual health, family planning, obstetrics and gynaecology.

It’s been 10 years since you were recognised as the recipient of the RDAA-ACRRM Rural Registrar of the Year Award. What have you been up to since then, and what does your life currently look like?

Ten years has flown by since winning the award (time flies when you are having fun). I have spent the last decade working in the Pilbara at Hedland Health Campus which was a career goal of mine from a medical student placement experience I had back in 2001. I had the most amazing experience which drove my interest down a career path of rural generalism. I have worked in Port Hedland as a rural proceduralist in obstetrics and gynaecology and emergency medicine for the last decade. During this time, I have acquired additional skills along the way to assist in my role to encourage and support others in the same quest.  I completed a Diploma of Clinical Education in 2013 and I have almost now completed a Masters of Medical Administration with the view to utilising those skills in the health leadership and change the management space.

Other roles I have held whilst being an RG include the following:

• Acting Senior Medical Officer for leave relief at Hedland Health Campus
• Involved in medical student teaching for UWA/Notradame/Bond students
• Medical student co-ordinator for WACHS – Pilbara attachments
• Medical Educator for Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine
• Principle GP Supervisor at Hedland Health Campus for (WAGPET) Jan 2013 – 31st December 2014

How do you think did winning this award helped you with your work as a Rural Generalist?

The award itself was a much unanticipated recognition of the hard work that I had put in.  However, the award was not the inspiring driver for the hard work – that hasn’t stopped.

The community in which I had my focus on serving was my driver – that’s what made me want to be the best that I could be, armed with as many skills as time allowed me to acquire. Some of the skill acquisition I can say I have used daily, some have simply been more for personal development, nevertheless I continue to strive to be the best doctor I can be for those that I serve.

Can you describe how you are involved in your community?

Community involvement has many elements to it. There is social community involvement, political community involvement, health advocacy community involvement and the list goes on…

Being a busy, shift working Rural Generalist, limits my ability to have too many structured community involvement activities, however I have through various projects, been involved in many of the elements mentioned above in different forms.

From a community perspective:

• I was featured in the Department of Health Hero’s Internet Campaign from July 2011
• I was involved in Vibe Alive community events in Port Hedland – engaging with local Indigenous school students to encourage participation in health careers
• I was involved in the 3-part documentary series called “I heart my people”, commissioned by the Australian Government as part of the Health Hero’s campaign aired on NITV from October 2014 which was filmed in our local hospital
• I have heavily supported the JFPP and supervised many students through that program in the past 10 years.

From a social perspective:

• I enjoy dressing up and attending local horse racing meets and have been involved in local fashions on the field competitions in years gone by and again quite unexpectedly been successful in that space, taking out the 2016 overall WA state finalist prize which had a total prize pool package of $25 000.

From a health advocacy and leadership perspective I would say that my community involvement is from a higher level, being involved in health leadership and advocacy from a state and national scale rather than from a community level but still having local community advocacy in mind.

I have been involved in the following over the past 10 years:

• Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome Alliance Strategic Advisory Group August 2010 – December 2010
• WA AMA Council of General Practice Board from June 2011-December 2012
• Royal Australian College of General Practice - National Rural Faculty WA board member from July 2011 –December 2012
• Board Director GPET from August 2013 – December 2014
• Expert Working Group for Review of National Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines - Antenatal Care November 2015
• RANZCOG – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander committee from February 2017 – February 2018
• Board Director – Australian Indigenous Doctors Association – September 2018 - current

I have also undertaken many media/speaking/written opportunities in many forms including:

• Appearing on ABC New Inventors Program as a guest judge 27th April 2011
• Rural Health Education Foundation DVD series - Accidents and Injuries broadcast 18th June 2011 also broadcast on SBS on 18th November 2011
• 2011-2013 regularly contributed articles to the Going Places magazine column “What is your diagnosis?”
• Contributor of articles to WA AMA Medicus Magazine – most recent “FIFO The Forgotten Minority Group” which was subsequently used in the parliamentary enquiry to FIFO workers health in 2012 and re-printed in Hong Kong International Times.
• Contributor of opinion articles to Australian Doctor
• Contributor to Australian Rural Doctors guest blog from July 2012 - 2013
• Regularly involved in the Newcastle University Alumni events – speaking engagements with medical students and Indigenous university students (2011-current)
• Review a textbook on Surgical Tips for General Practitioners through Elsiver in 2013
• Provided the graduation address to the Health Science and Law Faculty’s May 2014 graduating class at Newcastle University
• Master of Ceremony at the University of Newcastle’s Wollotuka Institute May 2014 graduation awards night
• University of Newcastle – David Maddison Lecture: Indigenous Medical Education 16th November 2015
• Clinical Lead for Women’s Health Education in Sri Lanka 22nd May – 30th May 2018
• Primary Supervisor to UWA MD research student Karen Bromley for her final year research topic titled “Use of Contraception Clinic and Termination of
• Pregnancy Services in a Regional Australian town: Trends over time”
• Presented “Transforming the Abortion Desert” at RMA conference 2019

Personally, my Aboriginal community connection belongs to the Mudgee region. I have regularly returned home over the past few years as often as possible to care for my terminally ill parents who have both passed in the last 12 months. This has given me the opportunity to reconnect with my own community and I have plans in the near future to undertake a certificate in Wiradjuri language, culture and heritage as I feel my cultural obligation is to revive our language for our next generation.

Why you think it’s important to be connected to your community as an RG?

It is vital to be connected, to understand your community and its needs – so that you can advocate for change and assist to lead that process with the backing of your community.  This is the underpinnings of any successful community engagement strategy. To be able to get better health outcomes, we need to be empowering our communities through strengths-based approaches to take charge of their health care needs. We will only gain these insights by being connected, open and willing to sit back, listen, learn and engage in a meaningful, empowering way. We can then lead from behind and allow our communities to thrive utilising their own initiatives.

What attracted you to live and work in rural WA?

I had a powerful medical student experience back in 2001 when I was a 2^nd year medical student.  To be honest I selected Port Hedland as my brother, his wife and my three nephews lived there, and I hadn’t seen them in a long time and wanted to go and visit.  So, in the spirit of killing two birds with one stone, I arranged for an elective.  I was exposed to the AMS, RFDS, the local hospital and I was simply blown away by the health disparities even as a young 19-year-old.  It was this placement that inspired my career path to date.

What do you think was the most important support to have during your training?

Supervisors that believed in my vision!! I have had too many amazing mentors to list them all – I hope that they know who they are as I have always been very grateful for their advice and mentorship.

What did you learn from your medical supervisor that has helped you in your career?

That it is ok to not always have the answers, that time is your best friend (for those things that can wait), to always speak up if you think something is not right – trust my intuition.

Are you a mentor? If so, why do you think this type of relationship is important for future and new RGs?

I am a mentor to a whole bunch of RGs. I think it is important to pass down the knowledge and beliefs that have been passed down to me. It is my obligation to ensure that the doctors of the future are well rounded and grounded individuals ready to tackle the health care needs of the future.

What advice do you have for registrars about choosing where they might live and work?

If you are passionate about a community – live there. No matter where it is, you can make it work and gain reciprocity from the experience. There is plenty of time to get city fixes during the generous annual leave allowances provided by rural contracts. They still have almond mylk lattes in the Pilbara to service my needs.