Queensland Rural Generalist Pathway

Transcript for video of Dr John Douyere | Longreach

[Inspirational music]

John: I think I'm a fix-it person. You see a problem, work out how to do it, and do it. And that was how I really started getting into building engines and doing things with cars. You're always trying to develop your car to do a bit more, and go a bit faster. I think that there are parallels between the things that I do outside work and the things that I do at work. We have to rely on experience and instinct and a solid underlying knowledge base.

John: Urban general practice is a subset of what we do here. We do pretty much everything that happens in urban general practice, plus more. We are more involved across our community, and that's because we live and work in the same community. Your friends become your patients, and your patients may become your friends.

Male patient: Twice you saved my life when the bull got me and smashed me up. Nine days I was here in the hospital. He fixed that up for me. Without John, I'd be dead. Not once but a couple of times.

John: Having a slightly adventurous personality is beneficial for the type of work that we do, and you really have to challenge yourself. You have to use the skills that you learned over years in history taking, clinical problem-solving, to make decisions and act on them. We had a lady in labor. She had a significant bleed, and the only way to stop the bleeding was to reach up into the uterus, grab the baby's foot, pull the foot down, and turn the baby out. This was something that I'd read about in a book, never dreamed of doing, but it was the only way to deal with that situation right there and then. I not only delivered this baby in less than ideal circumstances, I'd actually saved this woman's life. It's one of those things that makes you feel great as a human.

John: Some of the best things about the job are still the same as they were nineteen years ago when I first came here. It's being prepared to step into a situation where you may will be out of your comfort zone. It's helping people, making a difference to their lives in a positive way. The quality of work, the variety of work, and the value that you can add to a community is the thing that really makes your day worthwhile.

Text on screen: Find out if you'd like to add real value to a rural community at health.qld.gov.au/ruralgeneralist

Text on screen: Queensland Government.  Great State. Great Opportunity.