My Rural Story

What is different about working in rural and remote areas?

your knowledge level has to be increased in certain areas and that really helps. What advice would you give to students going on a rural or remote placement? I would definitely advise them to go with an open mind. And certainly, while we like to think that medicine and science is an absolute and wherever we go it will be the same, it’s not. So certainly go with an open mindandenjoy theplace that you’regoing. While we like to think that medicine and science is an absolute and wherever we go it will be the same, it’s not. So certainly go with an open mind... There are many parts of Australia that people haven’t seen. And there are fascinating landscapes. It’s a place where you can learn a lot about yourself if you embrace the environment and where you’re going. Also, the opportunities to meet a lot of Aboriginal people who are living and working and doing their stuff on their country and their quite connected to culture and place. I think that’s really valuable, I think you can learn a lot from people in rural, remote areas like that.

One of the differences, clinically, working as a Doctor in a rural practice is understanding your reality and what’s around you. So for example, you don’t have the same amount of resources around you and you really have to think and work with your patients to make sure you’re getting the right diagnosis. You just can’t refer someone in the same town to the Endocrinologist or specialist or the Neurologist because that means that patient has to travel about 400 or 500km, plus an overnights accommodation, to get a 20 minute consult, which is nothing in the city. So, it really makes you think: What are you doing for this patient and what are you trying to get out of it for the patient? Because you don’t have access to CT scans, ultrasounds and all these sorts of things at your fingertips. Patients understand and are quite willing to travel in these sorts of areas and work with you because, like I said, they’re very fortunate to have those sorts of services there, and they really trust your opinion. I think the expectation of working in an urban environment, in order to get better care, everyone has to be referred off and as a GP you can feel like you’re just triaging and making referrals left right and centre. I guess ina sortof a rural or remote context, even more so, there are patients you hold onto, that you will treat and therefore

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