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‘Nowhere else I’d rather be than rural’
One of SA’s latest GPs to receive a Rural Generalist Fellowship says it is an honour to serve her community and train the next generation.
(L–R) Sara’s husband Matt Georg, Dr Sarah Georg, Dr Chris Roeger, fellow practice principal and rural generalist, and his wife Kristy Roeger. (Image supplied)
Dr Sara Georg has wanted to be a rural generalist (RG) since before the term even existed.
After her first stint in the country at regional South Australia’s Whyalla Hospital for her fourth-year placement, she returned to the city ‘with the strange feeling that I didn’t belong there anymore’, Dr Georg told newsGP.
‘I remember crying to my colleague in the stairwell at uni, saying “I think I just want to be a rural doctor!”
‘She kindly reassured me that this was not a cause for tears but rather celebration, that I had found my career path so early in my journey.’
Fast forward 15 years and Dr Georg is practice principal at Tumby Bay Medical on the Eyre Peninsula, after spending her fifth year at Clare Medical Centre, which only cemented her desire to be a rural GP.
‘I began medicine wanting to be a neurosurgeon. I like doing things with my hands, and caring for people, and this seemed like a good combination,’ Dr Georg said.
‘As I began my clinical years in medical school however, I realised what I liked most was talking to my patients, and that surgery – as important a speciality as it is – did not afford me a huge amount of time for this human connection that so attracted me.’
To mark the passion and dedication she has for rural medicine, Dr Georg was one of eight to receive her Rural Generalist Fellowship at an RACGP ceremony in Adelaide, on Kaurna Country, on 19 October, alongside more than 80 New Fellows welcomed as specialist GPs.
‘Having essentially been functioning as an RG before it existed, it has been a nice little recognition of the work we have already been doing,’ she said.
‘In a small country town looking after patients well known to you, either long term or through another point of connection in the community – the confidentiality is unchanged, but the emotional burden can be much higher.
‘That said, it is infinitely more rewarding and there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.’
Over the last year, 134 South Australian GPs have achieved RACGP Fellowship, with a further 20 having completed Additional Rural Skills Training.
At Tumby Bay Medical, where Dr Georg joined a decade ago as a registrar making the move from Adelaide with her husband, she now supervises the clinic’s registrars and medical students.
The recognition of RG as a speciality is a significant step towards ‘our surviving and hopefully thriving’, according to Dr Georg.
‘I sometimes worry that rural doctors are an endangered species,’ she said.
‘I’m not so interested in the recognition for myself, but I’m so pleased it can be something for our students and junior doctors to aspire to.
‘And I couldn’t be a rural generalist alone; teamwork really does make the dream work. I hope to contribute to the sustainability of healthcare here by being a supportive teammate to my colleagues and coaching the next generation of GPs and RGs.’
RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins was at the ceremony, wishing the 88 New Fellows all the best after reaching the ‘fantastic milestone’.
‘Being a GP is one of the most rewarding and challenging jobs in medicine, and all of our New Fellows are already playing a central role in their communities and having the privilege of getting to know their patients over the years,’ she said.
‘Of course, your Fellowship journey does not end here. This is just the beginning – you are the future leaders, the advocates for our patients and profession. You are a voice for your people and your community.
‘Value your worth, value your knowledge, value your training. Everybody deserves a GP.’
The RACGP welcomed 88 New Fellows as specialist GPs in South Australia at a ceremony on 19 October, on Kaurna Country. (Image supplied)
For Dr Georg, it is ‘an honour’ to serve her Tumby Bay community.
‘There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than working rurally. I love the deep connection to my town and my patients, I love the safe and loving community in which to raise our children.
‘I love teaching and learning from our juniors, and I love working alongside colleagues who share the same ethos that country patients are just as deserving of timely and excellent care.’
Alongside Dr Higgins at the ceremony were RACGP SA Chair Dr Siân Goodson, CEO Georgina van der Water, National Deputy Director of Training Dr Paul Dilena, and SA Regional Director of Training Dr Simon Hay.
The event also celebrated the RACGP SA award winners, recognised for going above and beyond for their patients. This year’s SA winners include:
- Dr Jennifer Goold, GP of the Year
- Dr Andrew Killcross, GP Supervisor of the Year
- Hindmarsh Bowden Health, General Practice of the Year.
All state winners will go in the running for the
RACGP National Awards, announced at
GP24 in November.
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