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Transcript for Rural Generalist: Obstetrics

[Text on screen] The Rural Generalist: Obstetrics.

>>> Dr Alex Baggot

I chose obstetrics because I thought there was a need for it to be honest. Fifty percent of the population are female and a lot of them go on to have children and I thought to be a good country doctor you really had to have a good grasp of women's health.

>>> Georgina Crothers

The boys being identical twins we weren't able to have them in St George, they were a high-risk pregnancy, so we had to go to Toowoomba. We had to drive 4 hours for all of our appointments and checkups and everything. Then when we had Digby with our family, we decided to stay here. Being able to access the resources here was a lot easier on us. The whole pregnancy was a lot less stressful, a lot less stressful, yeah.

>>> Dr Adam Coltzau

Women in rural Queensland really deserve to be able to deliver their baby at home. They need to have caring, compassionate doctors that are prepared to do that sort of work and the work is really rewarding work. Delivering babies is one of the most satisfying parts of working in a rural country town.

>>> Dr Josie Pearson

I think what gives me goosebumps is seeing a family unit become whole; that new addition and that entry into life is a very precious time and to be able to be there and support women and their families safely through that time, and witnessing those first smiles and the first cry that time together as a family is very special and something that we are very privileged to be able to you know be part of.

>>> Dr Ashleigh Walker

The difference between delivering a baby in a larger hospital and a rural hospital is our relationship with that woman and that family doesn't end at the delivery. You get the benefit of being able to follow that baby as it develops into a small human.

>>> Dr Josie Pearson

You get to make real bonds with families. There are multiple families where I’ve delivered not one but maybe 2 of their children. You see them as they start to go to school, it can be exciting I guess to be part of that obstetric journey.

>>> Dr Ashleigh Walker

The nature of obstetrics can be high stakes sometimes things do go wrong and sometimes that can be a bit daunting for junior doctors. But we do have support of your local colleagues and we also have services like the flying gynaecologist that can come and give us a hand when we need them.

>>> Dr Alex Baggot

I found that my training definitely prepared me to be a safe and competent practitioner in the bush. Twelve months is definitely enough to achieve that, and I found that coming out here I definitely felt well prepared for the job that I do.

>>> Dr Ashleigh Walker

I think we have a fantastic set up here in St George. We've got a close-knit medical team and I think that's really important at the end of the day, if you've got a good team surrounding you and you feel supported, I think you can nearly overcome any of those challenges.

>>> Dr Josie Pearson

Being part of the small community, you know your patients and you see the mountains about, so when you're going to park run going along the river, you run into people and can have a bit of small talk and a bit of a smile, and it's a nice feeling to feel part of that fabric.

>>> Dr Alex Baggot

I find working in small towns is great for people with young families because you live so close to home from work that you can simply pop home for lunch and catch up with your partner or your kids.

>>> Dr Josie Pearson

I would one hundred percent recommend rural obstetric training to junior doctors. If you want a challenging, dynamic, and rewarding career, there's no better option.

>>> Dr Adam Coltzau

Obstetrics is one of the most useful skills you can have. If you're thinking of doing obstetrics as part of your rural career, come out and have a visit. Come out and see what the community is like. You’ll have an attractive lifestyle and a really rewarding career.

>>> Dr Alex Baggot

Having a child is a very special occasion for anyone, as an individual and as a family, and to be that person to help achieve that in a safe and familiar environment is an absolute pleasure.

[Text on screen] The Rural Generalist Pathway wishes to thank the individuals who have contributed to the production of this film, including the people and health service professionals of St George.

[Queensland Health crest appears on screen].

End of transcript

Transcript for Rural Generalist: Medicine.

[Text on screen] The Rural Generalist: Internal Medicine.

>>>Dr Spencer Toombes

Nobody really knows how doctors think. What are the processes by which we solve problems or solve diagnostic mysteries? A big chunk of what we do is dealing with patients who have a constellation of symptoms that currently defy explanation. When those patients come in, we have to become detectives.

The solving of diagnostic mysteries and the treatment of complex patients for which a diagnosis has not yet been arrived at, is part of the role of an internal medicine specialist. Medical problems are often complex, multiple, and sometimes hard to diagnose. Internal medicine is really about managing patients holistically, prioritising problem-solving, and fixing. When we train rural generalists in internal medicine, they have a significantly improved ability to manage their complex patients and they make much better use of available specialist services, whether that’s a telemedicine or a fly-in specialist service.

>>>Dr Evan Coppin

I first got into internal medicine because it’s a way I find to do more in medicine. You can look a lot further on your own; you can go hunting for things that you’d otherwise find it difficult to find. I see internal medicine more as an approach to dealing with a problem rather than a specific ability. You have to be thorough, you have to be driven to keep looking, you’ve got to keep looking at everything, you can’t leave something uninvestigated.

>>>Dr Spencer Toombes

People who choose internal medicine have to have a heap of intellectual horsepower. They need to be able to learn and retain a large amount of factual information, but then they need to be able to apply that information when they’re communicating with patients who have never read the textbook and who present in unusual and exotic ways. They really cherish and enjoy problem-solving and they’re not satisfied with just fixing the problem that’s right in front of their face. They want to see the big picture and the little picture and they want to solve all of those problems at once.

>>>Dr Evan Coppin

Being able to do as much as you can for your patients has to always be the driving force behind it. Internal medicine really allows me to do as much as I can for my patients at the highest level possible and to manage them myself. Internal medicine makes me feel more comfortable in what I do as a generalist. I have been given a lot more skills and a lot more ability to deal with a number of complex patients, and I feel much more comfortable in working rurally having those skills behind me.

[Text on screen] The Rural Generalist Pathway wishes to thank the individuals who have contributed to the production of this film including people and health service professionals of Innisfail.

[Queensland Health crest appears on screen].

End of transcript

Transcript for Rural Generalist: Mental Health

[Text on screen] The Rural Generalist: Mental Health.

>>> Dr David Walker

On a big race day the atmosphere is noisy and dusty and people are laughing. Just really enjoying themselves; it can be just wonderful. The social aspect and its role in communities is important. It's a chance to get out, catch up, and forget about things when times aren't so good. We often thought that our crowds would decrease in drought, but they actually got bigger. I think it's because people just take a chance to get together, catch up, and forget about things.
It's a very special part of my job to do mental health. For me, mental illness robs people of function. My interest in mental health allows me to do my best to get people better, to get them back into society and back to doing what they would normally.

>>> Angus Emmett, Noonbah Station

Part of being a wildlife photographer is not only about taking nice photographs. You need to know wildlife, be ready to grab those images that you know are about to happen. It’s just a way of capturing the environment I live in and sharing it with the world.

We're in a long period of drought, and I think that's what started it all off. We had cows dying, and having to either shoot or raise young calves. There was a whole heap of stuff going on which is just day-to-day life in droughts. But this time, instead of bouncing back from it, I just sort of fell into a pit. It’s hard to describe, but it’s a feeling of as though nothing is going right, that you can't make things go right, and there’s no use doing what you're doing. You just sort of spiral down into this big, deep pit of despair.

So I was very, very lucky to live within 2 hours of a town with a doctor who actually had a strong interest in, and specialised in, mental health. I don’t think I would have made it without the expert help of Dr. Walker and the team up there. Gradually, I came around and came good. I’m feeling good. They talk about managing the Black Dog, but as far as I'm concerned, I’ve shot the bastard.

>>> Dr David Walker

I guess in some ways, the importance I give to work-life balance and the importance I put on people having an interest is reflected in what I look for when I see someone getting better. Angus is a good example of why I do my job. To be able to start to develop that passion for his photography again and his passion for his land care stuff was great. It's a rewarding feeling that I get from seeing people get better, and he’s a personal example of someone who has gotten better — and I guess that's why I do my job out here.

I would really strongly recommend being a rural GP. It's such an important job, even outside of my mental health work. It's such an interesting job that allows you to do so many different things, to have a role in a community, and have a job that's rewarding and interesting. Then, if you choose an advanced skill that you're interested in, it allows you to take medicine that one step further—something you wouldn't get to do back in the city.

[Text on screen] The Rural Generalist Pathway wishes to thank the individuals who have contributed to the production of this film including Angus Emmott and the people of Longreach.

[Queensland Health crest appears on screen].

End of transcript