Budding Walgett doctor selected for bursary
JUNIOR Walgett doctor Isobel Pye is one of three lucky recipients of a national bursary which will see her travel to the Rural Medicine Australia conference in Canberra this week.
Offered by MDA National and the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA), the conference gives junior doctors the opportunity to speak with seasoned rural health professionals from across Australia.
Currently working as an Unaccredited Dermatology Trainee at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, 26-year-old Dr Pye will soon commence GP training in rural Western NSW with the hope of becoming a rural GP with advanced skills in dermatology.
“It was both my personal experience with skin disease and Walgett’s lack of access to medical care which sparked my ambition to pursue medicine,” she told Dubbo Photo News.
“Rural people deserve high-quality and safe healthcare, but many barriers are preventing this from being the case.
“Practicing rurally enables you to provide a level of continuing medical care that is unlike any other.
“It is certainly different from working in the city where you’ll often never see your patients again.
“In my eyes, the privilege to treat and provide ongoing support to patients through both their acute and chronic illnesses is the most fulfilling part of being a doctor.”
Dr Pye believes more people would practice rurally if they were able to study medicine in rural areas.
“Medical schools can begin by selecting those motivated candidates from rural backgrounds and allowing them to complete the majority, if not all of their training in rural areas,” she explained.
“The evidence tells us that the longer rural students spend in metro areas, the less likely they will return to the bush.
“Post-medicine, it is important to have senior clinicians to look up to and be truly inspired by.”
As a keen equestrian, Ms
Pye admits she is the “exception to the rule” and is keen to return to the country.
“I can’t wait to give back to the community which has given me so much,” she said.
“I grew up looking after ten loyal kelpies and more than 15 horses, and I certainly miss this aspect of rural life.”
Dr Pye is looking forward to connecting with other like-minded junior doctors and learning from experience senior clinicians at the RMA conference.