The rural doctor shortage certainly isn’t an issue in Armidale this week with around 100 surgeons descending on the city for the annual Provincial Surgeons of Australia (PSA) Conference.
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This year’s President Dr Tom Bowles said PSA started 53 years ago to help surgeons working in rural and regional areas connect.
“(They) felt that the college of surgeons based in the city was for city surgeons and didn’t address the concerns of rural surgeons,” he said.
And the annual meet doesn’t just help surgeons connect and learn from each other.
“A lot of us struggle to attract younger surgeons out to the country so we work towards that,” Dr Bowles said.
“In various facets throughout the college and the PSA we run training to try and tailor general surgeons or younger surgeons to be comfortable working in the country.
“We hope by attracting registrars and training surgeons to be involved in the country … we’ll be able to keep enough of them wanting to come back.”
Armidale General Surgeon Dr Graham Stuart said last year’s PSA conference in Western Australia saw him meet with the city’s newest surgeon, Dr John Barker.
A lot of us struggle to attract younger surgeons out to the country so we work towards that.
- Dr Tom Bowles
“We got him (Dr Barker) interested in Armidale through this meeting and he’s a very good example of how this meeting has the ability to increase the surgical workforce in the bush,” Dr Stuart said.
Dr Barker, who had been working further south for the past 10 years, said he was looking for a place to settle when he met Dr Stuart.
“I’ve been working here (in Armidale) since November and am in the process of turning it into a permanent job,” he said.
“I was thinking about where to settle down and start up a practice and I came to this meeting last year … and I met Graham who said he was looking for a new surgeon, and here I am.”
The conference continues today and will wrap up around lunch time tomorrow.