Linda Cutler

was doing some development work for the University Department of Rural Health in Broken Hill, extending student placements into the northwest towns of Cobar, Bourke, Brewarrina, Walgett and Lightning Ridge.

I have been very fortunate in having a broad range of experiences working in health across NSW. In 2017 the Regional Training Hub program was founded, to provide support for students and young trainee doctors to do their specialist training in rural and regional areas, and it seemed a very good match for my knowledge and experience.

The School of Rural Health is known for... providing top quality

medical education to our future doctors, and from 2021 it will be offering the entire University of Sydney medical degree.

The Western NSW Regional Training Hub provides additional opportunities to those students and the trainee doctors in both hospitals and in General Practice.

My role is... Director of the Western NSW Regional Training Hub, which is a very satisfying mix of strategic and hands-on work with our future doctors. We are a small team – I have one other staff member who works with me, which is a change for me as in past roles I have had large numbers of staff who have assisted me in delivery of health care and a variety of health services.

According to my staff, working for me is... I have been told that I can be tough but fair, that I keep them well informed, make timely decisions and allow them to do their jobs. I must be up front with this one as there are many individuals in the region who have worked for me in the past!

I spend my down time... reading, breeding Jack Russell Terriers, and over the years have had a lot to do with Australian Stock Horses and Polocrosse. Now you’ll mainly find me feeding the retired horses and enjoying the dogs.

I love being at home as I have always travelled a lot with work and so value time spent with my husband of almost 40 years.

In my opinion, the biggest issue facing rural health... is one of access.

Medical workforce is a focus for my current role and Australia continues to experience many health professionals clinging to the coastal fringe.

Here in Dubbo, as well as in Orange, I have seen an increase in medical specialists coming to work and live in our region and that has a flowon effect of increasing the numbers of young doctors that we can train locally.

So many of our students and young doctors undertaking clinical placement enjoy the diversity of rural practice, recognise the community’s need for their services, and then make the decision to shift to Dubbo and Orange.

From a health perspective I believe the biggest issue is improving primary health care access and making a difference to our young children during their development years. Early intervention in all areas of healthcare make so much more of a difference to long-term outcomes.

What three famous people, dead or alive, would you invite to dinner? That’s a tough question – I

would want an actor, a journalist and a comedian. Off the top of my head, Julie Andrews, Geraldine Doogue and Bob Hope.

I’m most proud of...

the contributions I have been able to make during my health career. One standout for me is I played a lead role in developing a ‘researcher development program’ in 2006 when working for NSW Health – the Rural Research Capacity Building Program – and that program continues today.

In addition to a wide range of research conducted by candidates who gained entry to the program, many of those candidates went on to do further research qualifications and have contributed to our current rural health evidence base.

When you were a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? From a very young age I was

always going to grow up, be a nurse and go to Australia – I achieved the latter two but I’m still working on the first one!

The best piece of career advice I can offer is... work at something

you love and never be afraid to ask questions or admit you don’t know. In Health that makes you a safe practitioner and someone who never stops learning.

And if I wasn’t in my current role...

I’d still be doing something else related to health and/or education.

– Interview & photo by Sophia Rouse