Destination Medicine Podcast

With 2027 RDN Cadetship applications now open, this episode is a timely reminder of where the opportunity can lead... Dr Nicholas Ireland’s journey through life to becoming a NSW Regional Doctors Network Cadet has been a long and demanding one. Expelled from boarding school in year 11, he first became a sheet metalworker on what he describes as a subsistence wage. But it was while he was wor...

Lachlan MacMillan's route to medicine has been anything but traditional. After leaving school to become a carpenter, he spent years working across rural and remote Australia, from cattle stations and horseback tours to conservation work in the Kimberley, before a series of medical emergencies sparked an unexpected passion for healthcare. Now studying medicine through the School of Rural Health in...

ENCORE: This Thank a First Responder Day, we proudly replay this episode, celebrating those who serve and support our communities every day. Soaring to the heights of rural and remote medicine — and not just in RFDS planes — Dr Jessica Martyn has enjoyed an extremely varied and exciting career. Dr Martyn, who is now the Head of Unit at the Port Augusta Hospital Emergency Department, ha...

In recognition of National Reconciliation week, we are replaying “Reflections on belonging — Tristan Marino’s journey from music to medicine. What are your pillars of belonging? For Tristan Marino, they are his Aboriginal and Maori family, his connections to community and friends and now, medicine as well. Tristan started out studying music at a conservatory, doing simultaneous s...

From suburban Queensland to clinical training in Wagga Wagga — fourth-year medical student Natalie Vear has wholly embraced rural medicine. A former exercise physiologist and postdoctoral research fellow with a PhD in exercise cardio-oncology, Nat shares how a childhood fascination with life on the land evolved into a passion for rural generalism and holistic healthcare. Now completing her m...

Dr Angus Baumnann took a long, non-linear journey into medicine, that eventually led him to specialise in cardiology. Now based in Alice Springs with his family, and deeply entrenched in the community, Angus couldn’t be happier with the trajectory of his career. He also talks about the realities of healthcare access in remote Australia, the joy of contributing to service design and model-bui...

Laura Sliskovic put aside her desire to become an actress and pursue her passion to become a doctor, supporting remote communities with limited access to healthcare. It was through her mother’s diagnosis of breast cancer, and the challenges of living in rural Bicheno, on Tasmania’s east coast, that Laura understood first-hand the necessity of accessible healthcare for all. Laura’...

Dan's story has been captivating listeners since 2020. As our most downloaded episode of all time, we thought it was worth a relisten. In retrospect it was the perfect vocational choice. But Dr Daniel Stewart just didn't know it as he rowed hard and fast for Australia, chopping and changing university courses before finally giving medicine a crack. Now based in Dubbo, with a four-minute commute to...

We're relaunching a few of our fave episodes for our fresh new crop of Interns – all the best for your next adventure! For Pippa Kensit, medicine always beckoned, especially because public health is where her heart is. A passion confirmed early on as she travelled abroad, and then through rural and reginal Australia. But it was only after becoming a nurse and going through her own back surge...

We're relaunching a few of our fave episodes for our fresh new crop of Interns – all the best for your next adventure! It was sage advice from an English teacher that saw Dr Grace Nelson achieve her aspirations. She was counselled to not only celebrate her good grades, but also work hard to shrink the margin between those good marks and a perfect score of 100 per cent next time. Since primar...

We're relaunching a few of our fave episodes for our fresh new crop of Interns – all the best for your next adventure! Dr Stephanie Pollard is a proud Ngemba woman who grew up playing sport and making mischief in Goulburn. She had more than her fair share of broken bones, but it was through those injuries that she got the inkling that medicine might just be for her. Stephanie is now an Inter...

We're relaunching a few of our fave episodes so people preparing for GAMSAT can learn from the best. When Lily Hogan was growing up on her family’s sheep and cropping farm at Bethunga in the Riverina, she had no-one to influence her towards medicine. But the idea started to dawn on her while she was still at school and she decided to go for it. Why? She learned early, on the farm, how the ri...

We're relaunching a few of our fave episodes so people preparing for GAMSAT can learn from the best. Andre McDuling is on the verge of realising a decades-long dream: to become a doctor who caters for a rural community. Andre shares his transformative journey from IT specialist to medical doctor via several other degrees. He describes how he navigated through travel and study life, his persistent...

We're relaunching a few of our fave episodes so people preparing for GAMSAT can learn from the best. Laura Beaumont’s life-long dream of becoming a doctor is on a road to reality as she completes her third year as a medical student at the University of Western Sydney. Her enthusiasm inspired her older brother to give up a career in building and construction to study medicine. Laura’s m...

Raised on farms in both South Africa and the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Matthew Collocott took the long road into medicine — from biomedical science at Griffith University, to four attempts at the GAMSAT, to finally securing a place at the University of Wollongong. Close-knit teams, hands-on experience and strong mentorship shaped his early career and fuelled his passion to pursue R...

Dr Morgan Neasey grew up in rural northwest Tasmania, far from any clear pathway into medicine. First in her family to become a doctor and go to university, determination and community shaped her drive to help others. After studying biomedical science in Melbourne and postgraduate medicine in Wollongong, she returned home to begin her medical career. Now, an unaccredited orthopaedic registrar in B...

To celebrate National Rural Health Month, we’ve reached into our archive and are replaying one of our most popular rural episodes of all time. Dr Rebecca Irwin has planted her flag in the town of Barcaldine in Queensland’s Central West, and it’s here she intends staying. As a rural generalist based at Barcaldine Hospital, she can’t imagine she’ll want to move. In this...

From Sri Lanka to small town Finley NSW. That was the path Associate Professor Alam Yoosuff and his wife took about 20 years ago. And what a journey it’s been. From becoming entrenched in the community to playing a crucial role in building the rural generalist training and single employment model, piloting this in the Murrumbidgee. This is now a nationwide model. Alam explains his journey to...

From a farm in remote WA to becoming a rural anaesthetist in Tasmania – Deb Wilson’s path was anything but straight. She describes growing up in a family that prioritised education, reveals how a reluctant start in anaesthetics became her calling, and how she balances front-line care, and mentorship in one of the most beautiful corners of the country. See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

To celebrate Rural Generalism becoming a recognised medical speciality, we've reached into the archive and are replaying our most popular RG episode of all time. Dr Teena Downton's specialisation is a great example of the diversity you can have in your work, as a GP, based in the country. You may have heard of the term ‘Rural Generalist' but what does it mean and what pathway do you take to...

After starting her career as a veterinarian, Dr Amanda Fulton couldn’t ignore the calling to study medicine. At 29, she took the leap, retraining while raising a young family, and is now a trainee at Port Augusta Hospital South Australia’s Flinders Ranges. Amanda shares the challenges of stepping back into student life, the rewards of rural practice, and how she balances medicine with...

Emily Turnbull began her career as a paramedic but over time, realised she could do more for her community by becoming a doctor. Now a fourth-year medical student at Dubbo Rural Clinical School and raised on a property in rural almost remote NSW, rural life is in Emily’s blood. So, it makes sense that she eventually wants to bring all of her skills and knowledge home, to support rural commun...

While it might seem like medicine is for the well healed, it’s actually a course that creates opportunities for everyone. Rhi Noble, now a Junior Doctor at Lismore Base Hospital, is an extraordinary example of fighting through disadvantage, with purpose, grit, knowing exactly who she is and what she wanted to do with her life. Raised and supported, mainly by her grandmother and the LGBTQIA c...

In year 9, Bradley Dovenor accidently discovered that one could study post-graduate medicine. It was revelatory and lit the flame for what would become a singular desire to get into medicine. As an introvert and self-described nerd, studying medicine at the University of Wollongong has not only given Brad the theory and skills to shine, but it’s brought him out of his shell, profoundly chang...

Jessica Mepstead gave herself two months to study for the GAMSAT.  Already working as a dietician, she chose not to tell a soul until the result – she passed! She also gained some great insight and perspective on the process. And while her drive and passion are undeniable, the workload still astounds her. Now a 3rd year medical student at Dubbo School of Rural Health, Jessica is embraci...