Medical Educator (Webinars) and Medical Educator Mentor (2023.2 cohort)
Has worked with RVTS as a Medical Educator since 2021
Past RVTS registrar
Other RVTS roles have included Registrar Liaison Officer, PEP Mentor and Board Member
Currently in New Zealand (due to family reasons) – previously a GP in Cairns and Yarrabah
Tell us about your childhood – where did you grow up?
Hamilton, New Zealand.
Did you always want to become a doctor?
I had a grandfather who was a doctor and so the option was always in my mind. I had to make a decision in my final year of school between Teaching and Medicine. I’m glad I chose Medicine as there is a lot of teaching in it!
What appealed to you about working in General Practice?
The long-term relationships with patients, the variety of work and the ability to work part-time.
Did you spend much time in rural Australia – if so, where and in what capacity?
I worked in an Aboriginal community called Yarrabah (an hour out of Cairns) for 4.5 years and in Cairns city prior to that.
Where did your career path take you before you joined RVTS?
I worked as a hospital doctor (in Paediatrics mainly) for a few years after graduation and then in Tanzania working with women with childbirth injuries (specifically vesico-vaginal fistula).
What does your role at RVTS involve?
I oversee our webinar program and also have the privilege of being a Medical Educator and mentor for a cohort of RVTS registrars.
What appeals to you most about working with us?
Great people, fantastic being part of a real solution to training great doctors for rural Australia, and I love seeing and being part of the journeys of our registrars and seeing them achieve success. RVTS is also very well run, has great values and systems, is supportive and I can do flexible hours.
What interests do you have outside Medicine?
Music – piano, violin and choir.
Watercolour painting (although I am a novice).
Golf – but I’ve hurt my back so I can’t do this at the moment!
What do you think you’ll be doing in ten years’ time?
I hope to be working part-time in Medicine, doing some medical teaching, playing some golf…or be back overseas working with women with fistula.
What are some of the countries you have travelled to – and what were your favourite destinations?
Tanzania, Norway, Japan, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and Pacific islands. I don’t have any favourite repeat destinations as I don’t travel much currently, but Africa gets under your skin…
Tell us about one of the most amusing experiences you’ve had…
It’s better in the telling, but not loving exercise my first ‘job’ in Tanzania was being dropped in it and asked to run an aqua-aerobics class with Ambassadors…the first money for our project for women with fistula came out of that!
(Profile published September 2023)