In praise of Remote Area Nurses

Posted on May 17, 2012 by rhwa

Dr Aaron Hollins, Atherton Tablelands QLD

It’s appropriate, so soon after International Nurses Day on 12 May, to pay tribute to the Remote Area Nurses of Australia. As part of my outreach work for the Mamu Health Service in Far North Queensland, I met one of them yesterday. Her name is Lyn Strohfeldt and she’s based in Croydon, a town in the Gulf country 560km west of Cairns. Croydon is known for its Poddy Dodgers festival and the Gulflander train that runs from Normanton.

Lyn is passionate about making a difference to the health of the community. Some of the stories she told me included caring for a patient palliatively so that she could die on her own country, in her own home. Lyn provided home visits, monitored the syringe driver and is caring for the relatives as well. Continue reading →

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Snakes alive! It’s back to the bush for me

Posted on May 7, 2012 by rhwa

Dr Patrick O'Sullivan, rural locum based in Hobart

“So, what can I do for you today?” It was a fairly typical opening question to get the feel for the consultation. “Hurt my back doc,” came the reply. Then silence. No two minutes of his narrative tumbling out; but then, of course, I’m doing another short rural locum one hour south of Hobart. No frills here.

“So, did anything happen to cause the pain?” I asked. “Tried to kill a snake doc; it got away.” Definitely in the bush again where you never know what might come through the door.

Having moved to Hobart in 2010 for family and sailing reasons, I had spent a very Continue reading →

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Savour the wine, taste the lifestyle

Posted on April 2, 2012 by rhwa

Dr Pieter Mourik, Albury Wodonga

Before you start reading this, I want you to go and get a nice glass of wine; an Australian wine, of course. Either a red, a white, or the new rage, a chilled fortified port or muscat. I will wait until you return…

Oh, I approve, a nice, north east Durif, my favourite!

This month, I want to talk about another definite benefit of rural life; all the significant wine regions in Australia are in the country. What better reason to choose to live and work beyond the cities?

As rural residents, we are very privileged to have world-class wines at our doorsteps. I live in the north east of Victoria where the wineries are fabulous. There are family vineyards Continue reading →

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Nurturing the next generation

Posted on March 20, 2012 by rhwa

Dr Ashraf Takla, Boort VIC

One of my main ambitions since coming to Boort has been to see at least one of our local students take up medicine as a career and become a future Boort doctor. Indeed, it would be a wonderful thing for this town of 700 people.

Why not? We have a great school to which my medical practice is the proud provider of two scholarships each year. The scholarships, for Year 12 students, are presented at speech night – in itself a dazzling display of the overwhelming young talent that the children of this remarkable community have. Continue reading →

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Ears, pies … and pus without boots

Posted on March 9, 2012 by rhwa

Dr Aaron Hollins, Atherton Tablelands QLD

Working in a rural town means you end up doing a lot more than you might in an urban setting. It also means you end up seeing things that you may not encounter in a city clinic. I routinely look in people’s ears – this is part of the health check process, but I also recommend it for routine visits.

It is amazing what you find. I remember working one day in Normanton, northwest Queensland, syringing an old fella’s ears out after he fell asleep on a meat pie. I was not syringing the offal from Continue reading →

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Squeezing more out of life in Orange

Posted on March 1, 2012 by rhwa

Dr Shannon Nott, Intern at Orange NSW

In early January, I started work as one of the new interns at Orange Health Service in New South Wales. It was a moment that I have been looking forward to since entering medical school but despite having had a great grounding at university, you still cannot help feeling like you are being thrown in the deep end. Your level of “management” changes from those scenarios (‘osces’) that we all practised when we were at med school. Now that you’re a doctor, you can’t get away with the tagline “I don’t know; I’m only a medical student”.

However, from day one at my new job, I have felt welcomed and most importantly Continue reading →

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Practice made perfect by extra skills

Posted on February 8, 2012 by rhwa

Dr Pieter Mourik, Albury Wodonga

This month, I want to report on the three best things about rural medical practice; they are lifestyle, lifestyle and lifestyle!

Let’s face it, medical practice is much the same wherever you go, except that the breadth of practice grows the more isolated you are. If you only want to consult (and I would be bored to an early death doing this), you can work in the city, refer all your procedures and do no night calls.

If you want a lifetime of interesting and rewarding work, go bush, learn extra procedure skills and join a group to share the after-hours calls. I have just read the Rural Doctors Continue reading →

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Zap! Crackle! Pop! Electrifying times in the Top End

Posted on January 30, 2012 by rhwa

Dr Jasmine Banner, intern at Darwin Hospital

The wet season is well and truly in full swing in the Top End. As I write, the hammering rain on my roof is making it difficult to hear myself think! The rain is actually a blessing as it provides relief from the heavy humidity, dropping the temperature by a few vital degrees. It takes a bit of getting used to and is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love the constant heat and stormy evenings of Darwin at this time of year.

A favourite way to relax after work is sipping a cool drink on my balcony, as awe-inspiring electrical storms play out over the harbour. The lightning shows never cease to amaze me – each one like a new set of fireworks every night. Continue reading →

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