Life, skills attracts next gen of rural GPs

But nine years later, he is working there as a GP, as well as training the next generation of rural doctors.

After graduating from the University of Adelaide, he chose to do his registrar training at Port Lincoln and has even stayed on as a supervisor.

Late last year, David was named the national GP of the year by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners - the first national winner from EP.

David said rural medicine was a passion of his, in part learned from his family - his grandfather worked in the Royal Flying Doctor Service, based out of Wilcannia in far western NSW.

"Everyone deserves the same quality of care, regardless of age, race, gender or postcode," he said.

He said working in rural areas also provided a unique learning opportunity.

He describes the mentorships from his supervisors - now his colleagues - as unparalled, compared with the equivalent jobs in metropolitan areas, where it could feel like being "at the back of the queue" waiting for a chance to stand out.

While he came to Port Lincoln as a student, these days it is David who is doing the teaching. As well as supervising the next group of registrars, he is also the Rural Medicine Coordinator and lecturer at the University of Adelaide, helping train the 42 students doing their rural rotations.

He likens the healthcare system to any good sports administration.

"You're only as good as the youth program, so we need to spend time attracting these trainees," he said.

With his own experiences in the rural training program, he is a big advocate of its success and encourages others to try it. He even mentors high school students to help spread the message.

With much of the education disrupted due to the need for social distancing, David has also released a nine-part podcast called GP Lyf Hacks. He describes it as full of his "rural doctor tips", which come from a career of having to solve problems.

"We're a good 650 kilometres from the nearest major hospital, so there is nobody else - you can't just pass it on to someone else," he said.

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With sports playing such a major role in country towns, David says his "family away from home" has been the local boxing club, where he is also the club doctor.

He is also a musician - he initially considered studying jazz - and still tours as a guitarist and DJ. While there have been some culture shocks - he sometimes misses the chance to speak Chinese - he says the lifestyle does make up for it.

Within his GP clinic, David has a special focus on mental health, attracting patients from hundreds of kilometres away.

"You can't treat physical health without also considering the mental health factor," he said.

He also appreciates the opportunity as a GP to be involved in treating the entire patient, and often generations within a family.

"You're not just treating one body part, you're treating the whole deal," he said.

Further north, Julia Lees is another GP who moved to the EP while training and has stayed on. She first came to Tumby Bay as a registrar, looking for a rural community and a beach, and says her experience was so good, she wanted to continue working there.

Julia grew up in Gawler and said being part of that community was something she was seeking when looking for her career.

"People know each other and they know when someone isn't doing well," she said.

She agrees sport is a major part of getting to know the community.

"People come up and ask, 'do you play netball?' and if not, 'what about tennis?'," she said.

Julia said the chance to work in a regional hospital - "one of the busiest small hospitals in SA" - also provided the opportunity to learn a breadth of skills.

"Every day, we don't know what will walk through the door so from a professional point of view, it's quite stimulating," she said.

"You really do upskill quite quickly in the country, learning basic GP care and upskilling into specialist areas as well."

Julia said her decision to study medicine came from it combining several of her passions - the science but also the direct contact with people.

GPEx medical education and training director Paul Dilena, whose organisation is in charge of regional registrar training, said there was evidence that getting registrars out in rural areas to experience the lifestyle encouraged many to return to work in the regions.

"The more time they spend in regional areas, they more likely to stay," he said.

He said each year, about 70 new rural registrars began working in the 70 accredited regional training practices, right across regional SA, with 136 GPEx registrars in training in country areas at the moment.

He said as well as encouraging junior doctors to consider rural areas, they also needed to be encouraged to consider GP training instead of other specialties.

"It is a very rewarding career in regards to the influence on outcomes," he said.

Applications for the 2021 Australia General Practice Training program close on Monday, May 11.

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