Bush trip inspires registrar GP on regional work

Dr Hassan Pirzada grew up in an urban setting and having practised in Brisbane, he was admittedly hesitant about ever working rurally.
 
But as a GP registrar, he recently signed up to go on a trip for health professionals, organised by the RACGP, to get a taste of practicing in a rural setting.
 
‘I just felt like I was seeing one side to the way medicine is practiced in the city,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘Not that none of that was rewarding, but I thought that that was one part of the story of medicine in Australia.
 
‘I just thought, look, I have been doing this for a while, and I want to try something new and get a little bit more experience under my belt.’
 
Now, he’s reconsidering his options.
 
On Thursday, the RACGP trip saw 13 registrars and four medical educators embark on a short tour of regional Queensland, visiting Dalby and Jandowae.
 
The trip was aimed at giving city doctors a taste of regional life, as well as boosting Queensland’s regional GP workforce, and included visits to local general practices and educational workshops.
 
Dr Pirzada said he had heard stories on the inequity of medical resources and care in regional settings but has learned a lot seeing it first-hand.
 
‘Sometimes getting the best care can be not impossible, but more difficult,’ he said.
 
‘But the people who work out here are incredibly dedicated, and very enthusiastic about not only medicine in general, but the delivering of healthcare in a rural environment and making sure that people get the best healthcare possible.
 
‘If you didn’t have those people, the challenges would be way worse.’

Dr Hassan Pirzada at the Wambo Medical Centre at Jandowae.

But it’s the people and their immense gratitude, Dr Pirzada said, has struck him.
 
‘The different patients that you meet out here, we’ve met a few in in hospital, as well as in general practices around, they are so appreciative of any healthcare that they do get,’ he said.
 
‘I think that a huge positive for coming out here and working out here is that you get such a great relationship with your patients and a fantastic sense that you’re helping out.’
 
RACGP Queensland Chair Dr Cathryn Hester said this trip was a part of the college’s focus on broadening trainee GPs’ knowledge.
 
‘Being a rural GP is so rewarding, but registrars may not realise this until they see it firsthand,’ she said.
 
‘The local GP is such an important part of rural community life, and we know they are often quickly embraced by locals.
 
‘Professionally, rural GPs also get to practice a wider range of skills because other specialists and health services are few and far between, and many gain extended skills in areas like emergency medicine and paediatrics to meet community needs.’
 
Speaking out to his peers, Dr Pirzada says the first thing he learned on Thursday is ‘to keep an open mind’.
 
‘We have a lot of preconceptions about what it means to move rurally, and what life in rural Australia is like, and what kind of challenges might exist, but we don’t know a lot about what the positives of it could be,’ he said.
 
‘I’ve learned this on this trip, you don’t necessarily have to pack up the family and move out here for years, unless that’s what you want.
 
‘You could start by contacting the local hospital and saying, “I want to take a few shifts in the ED or maybe I can take a week on at the local GP practice”, and just try it out.’
 
For now, Dr Pirzada is going to enjoy the rest of his trip, but he says it has already changed his perspective.
 
‘I 100% already love rural practice,’ he said.
 
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