A young doctor who switched her seaside upbringing to living and working in her dream job in northwest Queensland is urging other medical graduates to reconsider their career options and head into rural medicine.
Gabrielle Keating never thought her six-week placement in Mt Isa would lead her to finding her passion in rural and remote medicine, but after Covid-impacted placement options and her finding love with a cowboy, the young doctor is now a dedicated member of the North West Hospital and Health Service staff.
Dr Keating told NewsWire she would encourage any young medical graduate to take advantage of the extra perks from working in remote communities.
“I just loved it, it was so much fun and I got so much clinical exposure,” she said.
“I loved it so much here I never left and did most of my placement out here.
“With Covid, there was a lot of angst about having students in the bigger hospitals but I was able to stay out here.”
She enjoyed the experience so much that she decided to stay after her placements ended and take up a governess job at Julia Creek – where she was set up with her “cowboy” boyfriend by the mayor and the small community.
Having grown up in the coastal town of Yeppoon, Dr Keating said embracing her new lifestyle had come with its challenges – like the pub being the only option for a nice meal or the costs of flights – but she had found that she’d come to love living in northwest Queensland.
“It has its own beauties in the red dirt and the people,” she said.
“The medicine makes up for a lot of it because there’s a lot more responsibility and autonomy from early on.”
Dr Keating said nearly the minute she arrived on placement in Mt Isa, she was given a lot more opportunity to expand her learning and expertise than what she would have done if she’d stayed in a larger hospital rotation.
“You don’t have all these specialities, you have to treat the whole patient,” she said.
“I’ve accelerated in my career more.
“You are stepping up into roles that you wouldn’t do so in a bigger centre.
“I’ve been to lots of outreach sites in the Gulf, flying to remote islands and being part of that has been an experience.”
Dr Keating said working in a community like Mt Isa had allowed her to build better relationships with her patients that in turn had made her a better doctor.
“I think I understand the barriers you can have both personally and medically,” she said.
“There’s a bit more of that empathy and understanding that I can have for my patients and therefore I can advocate for them.
“You’re not just treating a number or a name, you’re treating the whole patient and you’ve often got that connection with them.
“It’s very satisfying and it gives you purpose in your role.
“You can see a difference you’re making in the area.”
North West Hospital and Health Service is recruiting for a wide range of roles in the region, with many positions offering doctors almost double the salary of their city counterparts.
Dr Keating said the extra financial support was definitely a bonus during tough economic times.
“In terms of GPs, we’re so short,” she said.
“There’s six GPs in the Mt Isa area.
“But it can it can be lucrative and you can really set some good solid foundations from early in your career.”
She added that doctors could also apply for government grants, including a $70,000 bonus for moving from the Brisbane metro area to a rural or remote community.
“I think the biggest thing is the North West can be super flexible,” Dr Keating said.
“We want people to come here and invest in the community.
“You can make your job however you want it to look, the North West can make that flexible.
“There’s a hesitancy in urban areas they’re not ready or they’re not experienced enough or too junior for these areas but I think you actually end up being more supported.
“You can come out here very junior and move your way up through the ranks and responsibilities much quicker.
“It’s really fun place to live and you can really have a very good lifestyle out here.”
The push for regional doctors comes as the latest data found more than 22,797 trained health professionals, including 4699 overseas doctors, have relocated to Australia in the first 10 months of this financial year.
The data showed 60 per cent of doctors who relocated to Australia between July 2023 to April 2024 were from either the UK, Ireland, India and the Philippines.
The majority of doctors have also settled in a regional, rural or remote community, with guidelines stipulating foreign doctors must practise outside major cities for the first 10 years after immigrating to Australia if they want to provide Medicare services.