Rural GP Bursary Reflection

Antonia Zeng, Monash University (IV)

Hello all,

I am currently on GP placement in a town called Gisborne, about an hour away from Melbourne in North-West Victoria. I have been here for nearly a month and a half, and am really enjoying it. I’m getting to see a lot of things unique to the country, experiencing a level of independence that medical students rarely receive, and am enjoying being part of the local community. Here, I really feel like I have a healthy work-life balance.

I have found that, in regional towns, you do tend to see more varied diagnoses than you would in the city. In the country, a person’s GP is often their first point of call for anything medical. This even includes acute, emergency presentations such as anaphylaxis and appendicitis. It has been super interesting to see these presentations outside of a hospital setting, and also to see how the whole community rallies to help those suffering.

I am also enjoying the independence I have while parallel consulting. I am the first point of contact for patients, and I’m given the responsibility of doing a preliminary workup and diagnosis before they see the supervising doctor. I’ve also been able to practise my reporting skills quite a bit — a skill that will be crucial as my career progresses.

Furthermore, working in a regional community and gaining an understanding of the country way of life has been a privilege. Prior to this year, I’d never been able to see and immerse myself in a landscape outside of metropolitan Melbourne. Furthermore, being able to interact with the same team of doctors, who you can get to know, and the same clinical staff, who come to know you — it makes placement a very enjoyable experience.

Lastly, the lifestyle here is great! Having the ability to go home and eat lunch in the middle of the day is a great break. Also, having a Antonia on placement in Gisborne minimal commute (maybe 5 minutes from my house to the clinic) is amazing. I can finally get enough sleep, AND still have my own time to rest and recuperate between days of placement.

All in all, I am loving my rural term — and would recommend it to all students thinking about giving it a crack!

This rural GP elective was made possible through the RACGP Rural and AMSA Rural 2021 Rural Elective Bursary. Bursaries were available for Australian medical students in the final years of their degree to subsidise undertaking an elective GP placement in a rural area.

Bursary applications are now open!

Application Guide: https://docs.google.com/ document/d/1zxK4JDBzeylFJ1xhGVxXc_GeKdS7D47cgSZPn42xUpg/edit?usp=sharing

Application Form: https://amsaorgau.wufoo. com/forms/wfdr03m0jdmvsm/