Having worked as a rural GP for 34 years, I can honestly say it’s been the most fulfilling career imaginable and there’s nothing else I would have rather done.

Rural medicine has taken me to several communities in NSW I may not otherwise have even visited, let alone lived, and each has brought a unique set of challenges and rewards. After completing my obstetrics training in Tamworth, I moved to Moree in 1985 with the intention of staying for a four-year term. I fell in love with the pace of life, the strong sense of community and the satisfaction of rural practice, and my four years quickly turned into twenty-eight. My family were equally very happy there.

I’m now living in the seaside village of Brooms Head, near where I grew up and went to school in Maclean.

As a school student, I so admired the hard work of the local doctors and all they did for our community, so I feel astonished and humbled that I have spent my working life providing these same services.

So, what is it that keeps me so passionate about life as a rural GP after all these years? The breadth and depth of rural medicine keeps life endlessly challenging and interesting.

Your practice ranges from every day, common illnesses to highly acute medical emergencies. I’ve practiced in everything from obstetrics, general medicine and mental health, emergency management, paediatrics and palliative care.

Working as a rural GP has given me the privilege of caring for my local community through the highs and lows of life. I’ve provided terminal care for a close friend with cancer and I’ve cared for up to four generations of family members. I am also an “obstetrics grandma” having delivered the babies of the women that I had previously delivered.

People in rural communities fall sick just like everyone else, and when this happens they deserve the same level of access to safe and quality healthcare.

Herein lies a challenge I’ve also dedicated my career to overcoming – supporting the next generation of rural doctors to provide this level of healthcare, as well as working with health ministers to implement strategies to attract them to rural communities. 

And to do so, comprehensive and innovative rural GP training is vital.

The innovative and challenging learning programs supported by the likes of NSW Rural Doctors Network, The Health Education and Training Institute (HETI), Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, GP training providers and NSW Rural Doctors Association are vital in preparing rural GPs for the unique set of challenges they will face during their working careers.

Working as a GP in a rural community has been a blessing. I continue to be embraced with open arms and have become an integral and valued part of my community.

Looking back on my life now, I can’t imagine any other career pathway I would rather have chosen.