For Dr Tarun Patel, Australia’s ‘Top End’ is a long way from Auckland, New Zealand, where he spent much of his childhood. Yet training as a General Practitioner in the Northern Territory has driven him to try things out of his comfort zone - including recent GP training placements in remote Australia.

Last year, Tarun was working as a GP Registrar at Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory’s remote Arnhem Land. He is now based at Wurli Wurlinjang in Katherine, a bustling Aboriginal Medical Service that services a mostly Indigenous clientele.

Prior to going north, he undertook clinical training placements in Orange, Lismore and Port Macquarie, all of which were a far cry from where he eventually ended up.

“The idea of being someone who could manage capably in a resource challenged environment appealed to me, and I figured general practice in a remote context might afford a breadth of experience that I wouldn't find in a bulk-billed city clinic” he says.

“I've been incredibly fortunate to discover a sense of purpose and direction. I'm working in a place where doctors are desperately needed, and the medicine is varied and interesting - I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be.

In selecting the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) to provide his GP training, Tarun fell back on an expression he’d once heard that seemed apt for his situation.

“I thought ‘If you are going to be a bear, be a grizzly’. I knew I was going rural and remote, and I wanted to be able to practise medicine more widely, including in developing countries — so I figured ‘Why not do the most relevant training?’

“I got the sense that ACRRM was a bit more focused on acute and critical care, and that it would equip me with a broader set of skills.

For others who are thinking of a career as a rural generalist, Tarun explains that there is a lot to offer working in a rural or remote location.

“It is possible to be deeply content while studying for exams in the middle of nowhere, and that a life that’s vibrant, diverse, difficult and compelling, can exist outside of the city,” he says.

“That’s the nice thing about living and working here: you end up spending social time with more senior colleagues, specialists and those from other health disciplines.

“That doesn’t seem to happen so much in the city, but you all become really good friends in these smaller places.”