Destination Medicine Podcast

When Georgia Cunningham was studying medicine at The University of Sydney, she applied for all the rural rotations it offered. It led her to the central NSW town of Dubbo, where she felt welcomed from the very first day. After graduating, she successfully applied for an internship at Dubbo Health Service via the Rural Preferential Recruitment pathway. Since then, she hasn’t looked back. Ther...

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 Intern at Orange Health Service and is sharing the ups and downs of making the leap from student to intern, as well as her passion...

Dr Joe Duncan’s path to medicine was more unusual than most. He was a winemaker working for leading labels in both Australia and overseas, including Alsace and Chablis in France. He swapped the relatively solitary life in the vineyards to the more social vocation of physician. He discusses his rural pathway into respiratory medicine and the benefits of working in the regional city of Lismore...

It wasn’t until Hayley Andreazza was completing her PhD in Chemistry and bringing up a young, sick child, that she considered a career in medicine. What she needed was a solid plan to help her navigate all the twists and turns of getting into and studying medicine. Today that plan is in full swing. Hayley is a third-year medical student at the University of Wollongong and is currently comple...

If you’re starting out on your medical journey and you’re not yet sure which speciality to pursue, don’t worry! Dr James Collett is a Nephrologist who enjoys working across renal and general medicine based in Dubbo, NSW. As a junior doctor many of his rotations involved renal medicine. As a result, he got to know and like the renal physician teams and found renal medicine very in...

Chelsey Avers spent a month in the emergency department of the tiny outback NSW town of Menindee –112 km south-east of Broken Hill. With no regular onsite doctor, Chelsey soon applied the skills she had learnt as a fifth-year medical student. It was stressful, but the experience was invaluable for her understanding of what would be expected of a doctor. The time in Menindee was part of her 1...

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 message? Follow your own path and enjoy the journey! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

Dr Rosie Ross’s passion to become a doctor started early, but thwarted by circumstances beyond her control, she waited many years before taking the plunge. At the age of 42, she returned to high school and from there started the application process to enter medical school. Now she’s a practice principal in a thriving practice in Coffs Harbour, and her long-held dream to be a doctor has...

Sam Boog has always wanted to be a doctor. She took the path of training as a Pharmacist to work towards that goal and is now a medical student undertaking an extended rural clinical placement in Forbes, NSW. Through her journey, she has been able to draw on her clinical experiences, her family, her mentors, and her resilience to make the most of every experience. This has included navigating her...

A couple of “short stints” in two continents is all it took for Associate Professor Marco to realise his medical calling. Working in the Amazon early in his career left a deep impression, as did Australia’s Northern Territory a few years later. North East Arnhem Land is now where Marco Briceno calls home. As a clinician with a private practice and with substantial additional role...

When Harry Gaffney was a young boy, medicine seemed like magic. He visited a doctor for a chronic ailment and suddenly, presto, problem fixed! Harry was hooked. Doctors were liked magicians and even at his young age, he was determined to join their world and find out how the magic of medicine really worked. How could anyone not be fascinated by the mystery of it all? This is Harry Gaffney’s...

Realising that he preferred talking to people than to machines, Josh Crase relinquished his first passion for computing and switched to a medical career. The GAMSAT was a big challenge, but he got through first time and has remained true to rural medicine ever since. In fact, Josh has navigated his way through university to a busy career as a rural generalist GP without a single metropolitan place...

Tapiwa Mativenga was just seven years old when she and her family uprooted from Zimbabwe to settle in Wyalla, in South Australia. But already at this young age, Tapiwa had made up her mind. She was going to become a doctor. She has remained true to her dream ever since and now she’s well on her way, in her fifth year of study at the University of Adelaide, based in Broken Hill, and loving ev...

At the start of his GP career, John Wenham would not have imagined living and working in Broken Hill. He was the joint owner of a successful practice in Manchester, married with a young child, why would he upend his life and re-establish his career 16,000 kilometres away in Broken Hill? It took a series of decisions, including answering an ad for the Flying Doctor Service in Broken Hill. Where? Bu...

At the start of her career, Rachel James wasn’t at all sure about medicine. Arts Management seemed more likely and that’s where she headed. But the passion wasn’t there and the idea of medicine, she says, had been percolating for a while. She reached a sudden fork in the road, decisions needed to be made. Now, Dr Rachel James is a GP Obstetrician in Deniliquin, and loving it. See...

Emma Byrne – Doctor Emma Byrne now - was far from sure that she had “what it takes” to become a doctor. But a serious bike accident, followed by a year of ongoing medical treatment, gave her plenty of time to think. And prepare. Her doubts gave way to thorough determination and now she’s a fully fledged doctor. And still sometimes caught by surprise at her achievement. See...

Medicine was in her genes, so was her plan for a regional destination. But specialising in intensive care? That wasn’t part of the plan for Alice Henschke – until she tried it, loved it, and then everything fell into place.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lucas Quinn spent years as a nurse before finally making the switch to medical school. As a mature-age student it has been a steep learning curve. Life’s a challenge as Luke strives to “co-prioritise” studies with his commitment to a young family. But finding a balance between home and studies is still the ultimate aim for Luke as he starts a two-year internship in Alice Springs....

A few short years ago, Joseph Beaton was a teacher. But things weren’t right, he wasn’t satisfied in his career choice. He had already given up on the idea of being a pilot, a radio DJ or even a music composer. Joe was an all-rounder and it took him quite a while to finally settle on medicine as his future career. But having got into medical school, he says his expectations have been s...

Dr Katie French was born in Shoalhaven Hospital, in Nowra, New South Wales. Now she’s back at the very same place, working as a specialist in geriatrics and committed to serving the community where she was born and raised. In fact, Katie has stayed true to Shoalhaven and the Nowra region all her life. Her passion for sport, science, medicine and treating the elderly has led to a very busy ca...

When Hazara-born Kumail Jaffry was a young boy, recently arrived from Pakistan and on holiday with his family, his youngest brother dropped boiling water on his legs requiring an urgent dash to hospital. Kumail was the only family member who could speak English. That hospital experience was one of many incidents that confirmed what Kumail already knew at a young age, that he wanted to become a doc...

Growing up with a GP mother as her role model, studying medicine could have seemed like an obvious choice for Amy Thwaites. But it didn’t cross her mind.  A career in performing arts took preference, followed by nursing and then, when Amy finally turned to medicine, an application mishap almost upset the grand plan. But she’s on track now, at the University of Sydney Rural Clinica...

Joseph Freeman has taken a circuitous route to studying medicine and his advice to others is not to panic if you don’t get into medical school first time. There are so many different ways to get there, he says. And he’s proved the point, journeying from an outdoor recreation certificate at TAFE to post-graduate medicine in Dubbo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No calling from a young age, no chemistry in high school, yet Lachlan Carroll is now a third year Monash undergraduate studying in Mildura and he’s embracing his medical career. But he was slow off the mark in making up his mind, and a gap year certainly helped him assess his options. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It wasn’t until Dr David Glendinning was well into his first career as an engineer that he had a change of heart. He decided to try medicine. By that time married life had taken hold, but a stint in Lismore as a student became a more permanent fixture as Dave finally settled into general practice there. He may have been late to the party but David Glendinning has made some wise decisions in...