AMAV VICDOC SUMMER 2023 - Magazine - Page 58
Get out there and try it. Find the
community that is the right fit for
you and where you feel supported.
NOLA MAXFIELD
Photograph taken after
chemotherapy in 2021
PRACTICING IN A REGIONAL AREA
—
Having grown up in Drouin (a rural town in
Gippsland), I fit the model of people who return to
rural areas to practise. When I went to university,
I was not sure that I would go back, but once I
graduated and started working, my perspective
changed. My husband spent the second half of his
secondary education in a rural community as well, and
together we decided we wanted to raise our family in
a rural community. Whilst we certainly had friends
in Melbourne, we figured that we could still stay in
touch with them and our friendships wouldn’t suffer,
so off we went. We had an initial period in northern
Victoria and that was not the right fit for us, whereas
Wonthaggi felt right. It was only meant to be a six
month stay, and here we are still four decades later.
That is the key to living and working regionally or
rurally. You must find the community that is the
right fit for you. We enjoyed living and working in
the town. People were friendly and it was a lovely
area to be and that never changed.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
—
I have really enjoyed living and working in a town
and being part of that community. It has been
deeply satisfying to treat generations within families,
sometimes all at the same time!
When I arrived in Wonthaggi, we were the only
practice in town and provided a wide range of care
which was challenging but also extremely rewarding.
We worked as a team with a 24 hour/7 day a week
surgical on-call roster for which I did the anaesthetics
or obstetrics.
The hospital was staffed by the doctors in the
practice. So, this was also demanding work but there
were always people available if I was experiencing
difficulties. Everyone would come in and help if
they were needed, whether they were on call or not.
I always knew my colleagues would support me
and I did the same for them.
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AMA VI C TO RIA
We were a teaching practice with medical students
from Monash University (and from most universities
from around Australia) who came to us initially for
an entire year of general practice and then rotated out
to do other specialty work. Recently, this reduced to
six months. Over the years, we have had interns as
part of the now ceased prevocational GP placement
program which everyone in the practice loved. We
have had other junior doctors at second and third
year out and GP registrars.
When I arrived, the practice employed
nurses and that was unusual back in those days.
We oversaw the expansion of the practice with nurses
undertaking chronic disease work, women’s health,
and diabetes education. Additionally, we employed
various allied health people when we had enough spare
rooms. Our practice grew as the community grew.
Trauma cases were a particular challenge back
then. With the establishment of trauma centres in
Victoria, these patients go straight to the Alfred
Hospital; and it has been positive to see a reduction
in road trauma more broadly over the years with the
safety measures that have been introduced. This
positive change has been a direct result of advocacy
and lobbying by the AMA and other groups
pushing for better safety outcomes.
When it comes to advocacy, I feel proud to
have been involved in medical politics and grateful
that I could do all of it from Wonthaggi. I was
the President of both the state and national Rural
Doctors Association at various times and on the
AMA Council of Rural Doctors as the Victorian
representative. I was also then on Medicare Locals
and the Primary Health Networks. I did all of
that whilst still being based in my own town.
I appreciated being able to reach out and visit
people in all the other states in a variety of roles
but also remain grounded in Wonthaggi.