Destination Medicine Podcast

Nobody could convince Dr Nathan Blake to live and work in the city. He says a regional life is much “easier”. Not just because it is easier to get around, but because it is easier to work closely and learn more from your teachers, and because the cost of living is so much lower, making it financially easier for trainee doctors with potential student debts. In this episode of "Destination Medicine"...

Dr Joe Harris is living his dream, with a deep connection to regional Dubbo. In this episode, Joe shares the story of how his career has moved from childhood dream to rural reality. He reflects on the mentors who guided him, the challenges and rewards of rural practice, and his decision to train with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Joe's commitment to Dubbo becomes apparent...

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 episode, we follow Dr Irwin’s indirect path to medicine, and the impact a nursing degree had in her subsequent choices. She sheds light on the highlights and challenges of...

Hailing from a remote island in the Indian Ocean, Jean-Baptiste Philibert (or J.B. to his friends) has had a unique journey to into medicine. In this episode of Destination Medicine, J.B. leads us through the story of his experiences after arriving in Australia, from being a chef and tour guide in central Australia to finding his calling in medicine. While discussing the challenges of clinical pla...

From dreaming of being a pilot to becoming a rural doctor with an enormously diverse skill set, Dr Peter McInerny has had an inspiring medical journey. In this episode he discusses the pivotal moments that led him to choose rural medicine, the challenges and rewards of general practice, and the personal qualities essential for success. With anecdotes ranging from being the town vet to delivering b...

Growing up in a blended family and exposed to various walks of life, Kasarina (Kas) Mann is a proud Indigenous woman with an inspiring story. In this episode, Kas describes a journey that has seen her move from formative years in remote and rural parts of Australia to studying at Oxford University and beyond. From supporting her sister through pregnancy to facing the challenges of her father's ter...

Born and bred a city kid, Dr Kayla Mizzi has transformed into a passionate rural generalist working in the tiny town of Manjimup in Western Australia’s far southwest. In this episode, we follow Kayla on her journey to rural medicine as she switched almost at the last moment from veterinary science, to medicine driven by a desire to connect with people. She describes the rewards of rural medicine,...

It was in the midst of her idyllic country childhood that Associate Professor Kerin Fielding decided to become a doctor — particularly a surgeon. Now a Visiting Medical Officer at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, Prof. Fielding is a prominent orthopaedic surgeon, the first woman in NSW to qualify as one and only the third female president of the Royal Australiasian College of Surgeons. In this episode s...

A devoted medical student who was raised in a tiny, tight-knit community, Marni McFarlane is living her dream in outback NSW. In this episode, Marni shares her journey from a rural upbringing on the Eyre Peninsula to pursuing a career in medicine. She didn't initially consider becoming a doctor until a teacher mentioned it, and she decided to take the leap. Marni talks about her pathway to medical...

Dr Nadee Assiriyage was always going to be a Doctor. As a little girl growing up in Sri Lanka she went everywhere with her own ‘doctor’s kit’ so she was always available to perform emergency surgery on her dolls. In this, often humorous, episode, we follow Dr Assiriyage on her inspiring journey from South Asia to a medical school in Adelaide, and then her newfound life in regional Whyalla. A passi...

Broken Hill, with its wide-open spaces and desert sunsets, is certainly Dr Ian Carey’s ‘happy place’. Dr Carey's journey to medicine was influenced by his parents, both doctors, and his early experiences living in Alice Springs. However, it was a transformative overseas health internship that ignited his great passion for medicine. Driven by a desire to make a difference, he pursued a unique pathw...

Professor Tara Mackenzie is an important, and influential, figure in the rural health ecosystem. As Associate Dean of Rural Health at UNSW, and a consultant respiratory physician with 17 years of experience in Wagga, Professor Mackenzie has a deep understanding of rural and regional clinical practice. In this episode she shares her journey into medicine and highlights the diverse and rewarding asp...

Medical student George Kirolus was sold on medicine as a youngster, when, with wide eyes, he watched the calming impact his GP father had on a family with a sick child. In this episode, George shares his journey to medicine via a rural student pathway. He discusses how medicine's combination of diagnostic skills, teaching opportunities, and community impact have resonated with him, and have been a...

Rees Telford is a medical student on a mission to encourage others to study and work in regional and rural Australia. Growing up in Cairns and later studying on the Sunshine Coast, Rees describes how his interest in medicine was sparked while at high school by his desire for a constantly evolving career. Rees, who is the first in his family to go to university, discusses how he lucked into a valua...

Lismore-based Dr Senny Surendran is a junior doctor whose path to medicine was certainly unconventional. A passionate young sportsman who started out as a physiotherapist, Senny's life took unexpected turns, including time spent teaching and playing hockey in The Netherlands and working on the Canadian ski fields. But a desire to contribute more to society led him to medical school. As a mature-ag...

Helen Smith had been a pharmacist for 17 years when she decided to take on a medicine degree. But with an aversion to cities and a family firmly entrenched in regional NSW, studying in a rural area was her preferred option. In this episode, Helen offers insights into the application and selection process — emphasising the importance of thorough preparation — and highlights the advantages of workin...

A country girl with a passion for caring for both people and animals, Dr Kerrie Stewart says being a rural GP affords her the best of both worlds. Not only is she raising her young family on a small farm, but she gets to work in a busy job that she loves with all the choices and benefits a city GP would enjoy. Living in and working in vibrant Parkes, NSW, Dr Stewart describes the countless avenues...

After a 20-year career in radiography, Suzanne Hill moved to Parkes in NSW and had something of an epiphany. Relocating to regional Australia with her young family, Suzanne realised the best way to serve her community — and her own ambitions — was to embark on a degree in medicine. Suzanne talks about the challenges she has faced as a mature age student and mother but also about how she’s finding...

Dr Dayna Duncan started out pursuing psychology, but when a local GP questioned her choice, she decided to try medicine and hasn’t looked back. Growing up in a small town but studying in Sydney, Dr Duncan soon found herself outside her comfort zone. But that was just the start of a remarkable journey. Thanks to a family connection in Central Australia, she decided to try Alice Springs, and soon fo...

Senuri Pinto’s studies in medicine are an example of just how exciting remote and regional placements can be. A medical student fueled by a lifelong ambition to become a doctor, Senuri says she’s drawing inspiration from the emphasis her studies have placed on rural generalist and Aboriginal health. The highlights of Senuri's voyage have been her practical placements in some of Australia’s most re...

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 studies in nursing as a career fallback position. He says he surprised himself to find that nursing in emergency departments was more compelling, but he found it...

Dr Marty Ryan has certainly found his ‘happy place.” A UNSW graduate who spent the last two years of his degree on a placement at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, he’s now very happily working as a General Practice trainee in nearby Temora, which is known by some as the friendliest town in Australia. An avid sportsman who is as at home on a bicycle as he is on a rugby field, Dr Ryan says he’s so enamour...

Asha Heffernan was raised in Wagga Wagga, but after time spend at boarding school, a year travelling India and then another studying in Sydney, she was somewhat cautious about returning home. But it’s now a decision she doesn’t regret. Asha had always had an interest in pursuing medicine and was encouraged by a best friend who shared her ambition. Stumbling at the first entrance exam, she applied...

An international student who was born in India and grew up in Kuwait, Karunya Subramaniyan was well into an engineering degree in Singapore when she saw a poster that changed her life. She calls it her “eureka” moment. The advertisement was calling on engineers to consider postgraduate study in medicine, a career path Karunya had always thought was beyond her reach. With extended family in NSW, sh...

His parents were as shocked as they were pleased when an 8-year-old Suud Nahdi proclaimed that he was going to be a doctor, and the little boy from Tanzania grew to become the first in his family to attain tertiary education. It was while he was studying in Canada that he first became interested in faraway Australia, and it was “on a whim” that he looked up Sydney University medical school and put...