Life as a GP in Western NSW may not have been what Dr Caroline Ivey had envisaged in her future, but she loves living near Wellington and working as a
GP in an Aboriginal community controlled health service where she is completing her Extended Skills term in Aboriginal Health.
What do you like about working in Aboriginal health?
I really enjoy being part of a community and being able to help the local community in all aspects of their health not just their actual medical problems,
but their social problems and mental health issues. I also enjoy that I’m part of a team. At the health service we have a fantastic team. There’s always
somebody that I can call upon to help me manage any clinical or social issue that might arise with one of my patients.
The health service offers a very holistic patient-centred care model which is a fantastic thing to be part of. We also get to see some very interesting
medicine, some quite remarkable pathology in Aboriginal health which you might not always get to see in mainstream general practice. I feel like I
can make a big difference to somebody’s wellbeing.
Aboriginal health can be quite challenging and not as simple and straightforward as mainstream general practice but don’t let that put you off it is really
rewarding and very interesting. I would definitely recommend Aboriginal health training, particularly to registrars in their later stages of training...
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