My Rural Story | Week Three | Amani Savi

the ability to continue your profession wherever you are. And I think it’s a big blessing that you can give to people in rural areas, and they can involve you in their personal life; so in saying that, that’s an advantage and a disadvantage. People will be your patients, but they will also be your friends so you do have to be able to draw that line between being their doctor and being their friend, but at the same time it’s such a privilege. What advice would you give to students going on a rural or remote placement? If a student was to come to me and ask me ‘what are the three things I need to know to go rural?’ I would say this: One, get involved in everything you can when you’re out there. Get involved in the local sporting club. Say yes to every experience, if someone says come and muster my cattle for the weekend, do it. That’s the best thing you can do, get

involved in the community. Because it’s the sense of community and that close-knit environment that’s a real drawcard for anyone who goes rural and if you don’t experience that, you’ve gone out there and missed out on that. The second thing I would say is take something to do in your quiet times, because there are going to be quiet times. There are no cinemas, there’s no bowling alleys, there’s no pub or clubs generally. So, take some creative writing, take some music, take some paint, do some artwork. Findyourself inthebushandactuallyspend that time learning to develop yourself. The third thing I would say is be on the ball with your clinical knowledge. You don’t have a lab down the road. You don’t have an MRI machine or a CT scan down the road. Your patients will have to travel maybe two or three hours to get to those types of things. So, be up to date on your clinical knowledge. Know how to diagnose from clinical signs, really listen to your patients and know how to

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