Rural Excellence Awards 2021: Recent Episodes
Rural Doctors Association of Australia & Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine
Awarded annually, the RDAA and ACRRM Excellence Awards recognise rural doctors and future doctors who have shown an exceptional commitment to their communities, colleagues, rural healthcare or the profession of Rural Medicine.Meet the four inspiring recipients of the 2021 Awards in this podcast series.
Of Punjabi-Sikh heritage, Mandeep was raised on her immigrant family’s vineyard in the remote NSW town of Hillston – nearly 700 kilometres from Sydney. After undertaking her initial medical studies in India – her family’s country of origin – she returned to Australia to train as a junior doctor at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, before moving to Sydney to commence Basic Physician Training at St Vincent’s Hospital. While her passion is cardiology, Mandeep is equally passionate about pursuing a career in Rural Generalism and returning to country Australia to live and work. The road to Rural Medicine has been an exciting one for her, detouring not only via India but also past what could have been a career in viticulture…had it not been for some timely advice from her mum!
Kate Hurst is a final year medical student at the University of Notre Dame’s Rural Clinical School in her home town of Wagga Wagga, NSW. A born and bred country girl, she’s been a strong advocate for initiatives to encourage and assist more rural high school students to consider Medicine and other healthcare fields for their future careers - and in her own backyard, the Riverina region, she's put this into action.
Dr Gerard Quigley is a quintessential Rural Generalist doctor who has served the small community of Cummins, on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, for over 30 years – providing crucial local healthcare through both his general practice and the local hospital.
He’s also been a long-term supervisor of GP registrars and taught countless medical students in Cummins…helping to attract the next generation of doctors to a career in Rural Medicine.
In this podcast, Gerard talks about his path to Rural Medicine, his journey to Cummins, what has kept him there for more than three decades, how his clinical interests in Rural Medicine have changed over the years, and what he gets up to outside work.
Dr Regina Waterhouse – or ‘Dr Reggie’ as she is affectionately known by her patients – has provided medical care on Palm Island for more than 18 months, after completing her obstetrics training in Cairns.
A proud Torres Strait Islander woman, Regina was born and raised in Far North Queensland.
She initially trained as a teacher, and worked in the community services and disability support sector, before completing medical school as a mature age student.
In this podcast, Regina talks about her work on Palm Island, and also her path to Rural Medicine...and all that has entailed!
Originally from Fiji, Dr Salma Hanif has been providing much-needed medical care to the remote NSW community of Boggabri, with just her and one other colleague providing the town's only medical service in recent years.
Along the way, Salma has had to contend with the COVID pandemic...and even a record-breaking mouse plague!
While in Boggabri, she's been undertaking advanced GP training with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) via the Remote Vocational Training Scheme’s Targeted Recruitment program…a program that helps deliver doctors to communities of high medical workforce need.
From growing up on a macadamia nut farm to studying Medicine, Jas Singh has had a fascinating journey!
As a student on the Extended Rural Cohort at the University of Melbourne Medical School, Jas has undertaken all her medical training in rural areas since the second year of her medical degree. Along the way, she has also undertaken additional placements in East Arnhem Land and Cairns – and recently completed an elective placement at Tennant Creek Hospital.
She originally planned to become a neurosurgeon – but soon realised that her real passion lies in Rural Medicine.
In this podcast, we talk with Dr Diana Cross who received the ACRRM-RDAA Peter Graham ‘Cohuna’ Award for 2021 at the recent Rural Medicine Australia (RMA21) Virtual conference.
Diana has lived and worked as a rural GP Obstetrician at Mt Gambier, in South Australia, for more than 37 years. She received this year’s award for her dedication in providing exemplary care to her community. In this fascinating and wide-ranging discussion with Diana, we delve into the psychology of general practice, the importance of listening in consultations (and the insights into patient conditions that can uncover), and whether there is growing acceptance in mainstream general practice for alternative approaches to medical treatment.
In this podcast, we talk with Dr Hamish Steiner who received the RDAA Rural Doctor of the Year Award for 2021 at the recent Rural Medicine Australia (RMA21) Virtual conference. Originally from New Zealand, Hamish has lived and worked as a doctor at Cooma, in the NSW Snowy Mountains region, for nearly 30 years. Last year, he and his colleagues stepped in to save the solo general practice in the remote town of Bombala, about an hour’s drive away from Cooma. Outside his medical work, Hamish has a passion for skiing – and we caught up with him towards the end of the 2021 Australian ski season, which had been impacted by COVID lockdowns.
In this podcast, we talk to Indira (Indi) Barrow, who was awarded the RDAA Medical Student of the Year Award for 2021, presented at the Rural Medicine Australia (RMA21) Virtual conference.
Originally from Sydney, Indi is in her third year of post-graduate Medicine at the University of Melbourne. Last year, she completed her first clinical year at Shepparton in regional Victoria (which sparked her passion for rural health) and, at the time of this interview, was undertaking a GP rotation in the remote Victorian coastal community of Mallacoota.
Outside her medical studies, Indi also undertakes some disability support work, which has seen her working with one of the Australian athletes who competed at the recent Paralympic games in Tokyo.
In this podcast, we talk to Dr James Padley, a Rural Generalist doctor who works with the Royal Flying Doctor Service at Port Augusta in South Australia, and is known for his compassionate mentoring of medical students and junior doctors. Dr Padley was awarded the ACRRM-RDAA Rural Registrar of the Year Award for 2021, presented at the Rural Medicine Australia (RMA21) Virtual conference.