Educating, preparing, inspiring

Our 55 Medical Educators represent the diversity of General Practice. They work in a range of practice settings in our suburban centres and in our regional towns, delivering holistic care to patients and helping to build healthier communities. This work informs how they approach the role of educator. GP Registrars who join the GPTQ Training Program benefit from their passion for General Practice and their drive to encourage the craft of primary care that goes hand-in-hand with medical knowledge. Here we profile a small sample of our exceptional medical education team.

 

 

GPTQ Acting Head of Education Rebecca Lock says her work at the groundbreaking independent medical centre Stonewall, located on Brisbane’s Northside, regularly stretches both her knowledge and skill base and keeps her grounded.

Stonewall was established in 1995 as a non-judgemental General Practice focused on providing specialised sexual and reproductive healthcare including transgender health, alcohol/drug and sexual assault counselling, HIV management, care for PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) & PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) patients, victims of female genital mutilation, and patients with sexual dysfunction.

“Stonewall is all about providing health services without judgement,” Rebecca explains.

“It is a wonderful work environment to be a part of.”

Her one-day-a-week shift at the centre starts at 8.30am and finishes at 7pm.

Through the day she will see a striking mix of patients.

“We see vulnerable groups with the whole gamut of General Practice presentations,” Rebecca explains.

“From a gender diverse person with fibromyalgia, or a person living with HIV presenting with an ingrown toenail, through to a same sex attracted couple having fertility treatment and a person living in transitional care for mental health needing depot medication.”

Many patients come to Stonewall because they fear accessing care at a mainstream General Practice.

“We see patients with HIV who may have been turned away by their local GP because of their condition,” Rebecca says.

“Sadly that’s a common story and I do find myself wondering how it can still be happening in 2020,” she says.

To cater to the often specialist needs of patients Stonewall’s model of care is built around long consultations and a team of General Practitioners and allied health staff whose skills range from HIV, sexual health and reproductive health, through to mental health, natural and alternative health, social work support and even yoga.

“Stonewall has really pushed me to extend my skills as a GP,” Rebecca says.

“HIV medicine for example is complex and I have needed to undertake a lot of extra learning to have the expertise I need in this area,” she says.

“Mental health is another realm where I’ve had to increase my knowledge.”

She admits there have been moments in the role where challenges have pushed her boundaries, but adds that this is also a motivator.

“I am always thinking and navigating the question of, how do I provide the best care for this person?,” Rebecca says.

 

 

After almost two decades in General Practice, including some time in rural settings, GPTQ District Medical Educator Scott Preston is exploring new ways to utilise his breadth of experience.

Scott dedicates 18 hours of his working week to caring for patients at The Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub, a General Practice on Brisbane’s Southside created to ensure people experiencing disadvantage can access quality physical, dental, mental health and holistic healthcare services regardless of their ability to pay.

“To establish a therapeutic relationship with my patients and then see them respond and become involved in their healthcare is very fulfilling,” Scott says of his role at The Hub.

“I appreciate being at this point in my career. I have the skills and experience to be able to make a difference to their lives.”

Scott’s work with Inclusive Health is closely aligned with other crucial projects for this group of patients such as Homefront, a Queensland Health funded initiative run by The Hub to improve outcomes for people with complex health needs who present frequently at Hospital Emergency Departments. Homefront works to build connections to community-based services for these patients and thereby reduce their dependence on hospital presentations.

Another project is Home for Good, a MICAH Projects’ initiative that finds sustainable housing solutions for people who are homeless.

“Housing is recognised as one of the most important social determinants of health,” Scott explains.

“I’m excited to be a part of this kind of intervention. It is something that can change a person’s health trajectory,” he says.

 

 

For one week in every five GPTQ District Medical Educator Danielle James is the on-call General Practitioner at Hummingbird House, Brisbane’s only children’s hospice.

The homely eight bed facility nestled in a leafy suburb provides children suffering from life-limiting conditions and their families with a relaxed environment for short break stays, support services, symptom management reviews, creative therapies, and care at the end of life.

Danielle joined the Hummingbird House medical team in 2016, excited to be able to put to use four years of specialist paediatric training she had completed early in her medical career.

“I was working four days a week in a General Practice when I got a call out of the blue from Hummingbird House with an opportunity to become involved and I jumped at the chance,” she says.

“One of my previous patients had been the driving force behind establishing the Hummingbird House Foundation in 2011 so it felt like that connection had come full circle.”

The medical team is made up of two GPs, two nurse practitioners and two palliative care specialists.

“As a team we meet regularly to plan and discuss how we can continue to hone the support we give families when they are at the house,” Danielle says.

“Being a part of the Hummingbird House team is extremely rewarding work. I am very proud to be involved in a service which is able to manage the complex medical needs of the child in a less clinical environment. This means that the child and their family are able to relax and have fun, meaningful and memorable experiences while their management is reviewed and adjusted safely.”

 

 

Life as a GP proceduralist offers a diversity of practice that GPTQ Associate Director of Medical Education Mike Hurley says he wouldn’t trade for the world.

“I enjoy rural anaesthetics, but I also relish community care so to be able to combine the two is perfect,” he says.

Since 2014 Mike, who has spent time in various rural Queensland settings, has been based in Beaudesert, south of Brisbane where he works as a hospital-based General Practitioner with advanced skills training in anaesthetics.

His practising week is a combination of procedural days, outpatient clinics and community care provided at a local low security prison.

“I love rurally-based emergency and anaesthetics. Working in a country hospital with a small team is incredibly rewarding,” Mike says.

“A regular day is working in the Emergency Department, reviewing patients on the ward, inserting an epidural into a laboring woman and teaching medical students.”

Equally though he says his General Practice time keeps him challenged.

“Continuity of care and building relationships with patients are the main reasons I became a rural GP. My community-based work is now within the prison system — which is a new experience. I thoroughly enjoy working with the vulnerable and the challenges and sense of fulfilment that it brings.”

“For Medical Educators it isn’t about instructing Registrars, it is about extending them. There is a lot of pre-reading they are expected to do and then often times the Medical Educator’s role is about restraint — observing and facilitating as the Registrar develops their practical skills.” 

 

Dr Mike Hurley, Associate Director of Medical Education – Rural