There are several groups of people that get to know the students in the Doctor of Medicine program: academics, clinicians and hospital staff at placements, but for Dr Geoff Mallet a group that has nothing to do with medicine saw him quite often during his degree.
“The staff on the train between Bundaberg and Brisbane got to know me pretty well as I had to study in Brisbane for the first two years of my degree while I still lived in Bundaberg,” he said.
“I would travel back and forth to Brisbane each week – getting up at 4:15am on Monday morning and taking the tilt-train to Brisbane and then returning on the 4:55pm train on Friday.”
Fortunately for Geoff, that long commute didn’t last too long thanks to the RCS in Bundaberg.
“As someone with a young family, I love that Bundaberg is driving distance to Brisbane but we still get to enjoy a regional lifestyle.
“I just enjoy the ‘vibe’ of rural towns and rural people and curse every time I have to navigate around in Brisbane.”
As Geoff reflects on his time at The University of Queensland Rural Clinical School, he cherishes all that he got to learn, but more importantly where and who he got to learn from.
It wasn’t just proximity to home and the rural lifestyle that Geoff liked about his time with the RCS and Bundaberg Hospital.
He said the small cohort at the hospital enabled him to make the most out of his degree and placements.
“I would definitely recommend studying at the RCS because you are more than just a number in that situation… the staff at the Rural Clinical School and the hospital are always friendly and willing to go out of their way to help you,” he said.
“For me it has been great as I’m usually not the type of person to volunteer first so if I was at a metro hospital it would be very easy to miss out on opportunities.
“The opportunity to increase your practical skills is much greater here as you have more opportunity to do a lot more cannulations, injections, blood cultures, etc.
“You really are included in the treatment team and have access to the consultants that you will not have to the same degree as if you study in a metro hospital.”
While it was a long-winded path to studying medicine for Geoff as he started his degree after 20 years as a pharmacist, the end of his degree comes with a decision that just made sense.
“As far as where I will intern goes, I am lucky to have a solid support network here in Bundaberg so it is a no-brainer,” he said.
“I’ve lived here most of my life, so it feels great after years of studying to be able to start my new career in my hometown.”
With an exciting future in Bundaberg ahead of him, there’s something much more important Geoff is prioritising before it all starts.
“I am really looking forward to taking advantage of the time off before I start as an intern in early January,” he said.
“Having some well-earned free time with my family is going to be wonderful, especially with my two-year-old boy who is growing up way too fast!”
Geoff is taking it one step at a time at the moment in terms of where he wants to end up in medicine, but he has many options available to him right at home.
“I do not have any concrete plans as to what speciality I would like to pursue but I am fortunate that Bundaberg has offered me rotations in all the areas I am considering,” he said.
For future regional students interested in medicine, the tilt train is no longer required for those interested in studying medicine in the region thanks to the Central Queensland – Wide Bay Regional Medical Pathway (RMP). A pathway partnership between The University of Queensland, Central Queensland University (CQU), Queensland Government, Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service (WBHHS) and Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service (CQHHS) which provides students with an end-to-end pathway for the education and training needed of future regional, rural and remote doctors. The Regional Medical Pathway is designed to address workforce shortages in the Central Queensland and Wide Bay regions.
