What would you tell your younger self, a tip that might have made your life and career easier?
Would it be ‘don’t fall in love with a fool’, ‘manage your money well’, or ‘take more risks’?
Doctors may be smart, but during six years of university there’s a lot they don’t learn, like how to cope with isolation in a remote town, setting up a country practice and making new friends in a small community.
At the Rural Doctors Association (RDAA) conference in Sydney, the “I wish I’d known….” seminar is one of the liveliest.
Dr Sheilagh Cronin arrived fresh from London training to set up a country practice in Cloncurry Queensland 30 years ago. She’s been awarded for her contribution to rural health in 2010. These days she passes on tips like managing finances.
“Most graduate doctors don’t know anything about money. They haven’t learnt how to set up a business or how to take care of themselves financially.
“I recommend they read widely, including author Suze Ormon’s book Women and Money, and general money magazines.”
I wish I’d known….
“To educate the patients that when you’re at the supermarket you don’t need to ask about blood test results,” said Dr Nola Maxfield, of Wonthaggi in rural Victoria.
“I had one lady who wanted to ask me about her daughter’s rash and promptly pulled up her daughter’s dress to show me. Though most people know the boundaries.”
Dr Sue Harrison, of Echuca, wished she’d known how much of her time would be taken up by training interns, and not knowing if they would be coming to work in the town ‘to look after me in my retirement’.
Doctors are also warned that having a relationship with someone in the community is also fraught with danger.
“Particularly in a very small community, pretty much everybody ends up being your patient, so it’s very hard to start new relationships in the eye of the public,” said Dr Leah Hatton, who instead pursued a partner from Brisbane.
Dr Peter Rischbeith, at Murray Bridge in South Australia, just wishes he’d known how much fun he’d have being a rural GP.
He says the relationships with colleagues and the community are very close, and while it may be emotionally draining, the friendship means you look after them more than you might have done.
“You see them at the footy, the supermarket, then a week later you have good news or bad news and you have to work that through. That’s part of the fun and the responsibility of being a family physician.”