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@ElsevierAUS
Probably the third thing is really try and
become immersed in the local community.
Community life is quite small, people
get to know who you are, and it really
works both ways. Try to get to know your
community. Be involved in local activities,
local events, also be involved in the
school. I think it’s a great opportunity for
building rapport with your community
and you’ll get a lot out of that and the
community will certainly respect and
welcome any visitors that actually do that.
What have you experienced
in remote Australia that
has changed your world
view?
The things that I enjoy about working
in these areas is even getting to work.
For example, I’ve done some work
on Palm Island. You have to hop on
a plane in the morning with your
stethoscope and then go to work.
Working at Charleville, offering services
to Quilpie, you have to hop in a car at
six in the morning and drive two hours
and make sure you don’t hit too many
kangaroos. That’s just to get to work.
So, I think these sorts of things make
it what it is. It’s more than just hoping
in your car in the city with your coffee
and going to work in traffic. It’s the
environment, it’s the people and I
think it’s the journey on the way to the
patient. It’s not just about the patient and
the medicine, it’s everything wrapped
around it. And, I think for me, I had
those ‘aha’ moments on the way to work.
It’s not always with the patient, it’s not
always in the clinic. It’s what happens on
the periphery, on the outside, in
the hallways that makes it for me.
