As part of third year, we are farmed out to rural hospitals and general practices across Queensland (and other remote parts of the world for those who are inclined) for a rotation amidst the less populated areas for a taste of so-called "Rural Medicine". I'm at Kilcoy for this, a town of about 1000, 1 hour NW of Brisbane.
Getting there was drama-filled: My windscreen wiper dislodged from its pendulus arm. Fearing that I'd end up with a huge scratch on my front screen, I tried pulling over, missed seeing a mud-filled ditch, which sucked my car in and spat it out, crushing the front of JCVD in the process. Thankfully, I was unscathed, but the car had to be towed to Maryborough to get it roadworthy again. After $2140 plus towing, accommodation, and 4 days of exploring lovely Maryborough and meeting its friendly residents, I was off again.
Funnily enough, during those 4 days I was quite unaffected by all the chaos. Yes, it was an expensive detour and, yes, JCVD was once again mutilated and patched up, and yes, I may never quite rely on it 100% like I did 6 months before. To add to all that, dark cumulonimbus clouds overhead threatened to burst into precipitation the whole time I was there, but I was mostly cheerful, because I knew people I cared about knew that I was OK, that my car was being fixed by what I believe is an honest and skilled mechanic, and that I was once again in a new place soaking in the atmosphere.
I was however glad to be on my way once again. Without incident this time, but the drive was anxiety-filled. I was suspicious of any buzz I heard, and would eyeball the dashboard for flickering warning lights. Coming into town, the place felt strangely still. Quite incredible, because I thought after being closed off from everywhere else 3 days ago form the floods, that Kilcoy would be hustling to make up for lost time. No, just a stillness. The town has two main commercial streets, William and "the one IGA is on" (part of D'guilar Hwy). I saw lots of cars, but barely any foot traffic.
My reception was very "meh" - which kind of makes me wonder what my predecessors did to piss off people around here. Only nurses and wardies patrol the hospital wards, since doctors are only on call after morning rounds (what do they do?). That said, the practice that I'm attached to is a busy one. Appointments however are made up mainly of routine followup-up appointments, which are not exactly revenue-generating sessions. There is only one registered nurse, so she gets run around quite a bit. It's interesting how the "girls at the front desk" double up as theatre nurses, and dressing nurses as well as practice administrators. Certainly, a great experience for anyone who's looking to go into a health-provider role later on.
At the moment, I'm still struggling to get back into the GP head space. The lack of the regimented morning rounds and advanced procedures are feeding a sense of apathy at the moment. That and the feeling of self-doubt having patients sitting in the consult room while attempting to continue a stream of chatter while typing up notes before the doctor's final review, and seeing the impatience written all over the patient's face. Or after causing exsanguination while removing sutures from a 60-something guy on warfarin who was going to get his wife to do it at home (although I was a little comforted by the fact that the same happened when a 2nd year trainee took over on another wound). I get the feeling that the local populace have an unrealistically high expectation of the doctors here, which I suppose is a positive testament to the quality of the practice. Great learning opportunity, but will I be physically and mentally broken by the end of all this?
So today, while the sun shines brilliantly after a week's hiatus, I'm feeling rather stormy inside.
