All aboard the New Zealand surgical bus!
Year 4C East Gippsland student Kate Wilson has recently returned from an exchange to New Zealand, where she enjoyed a range of different experiences including a chance to join the Mobile Surgical Bus.
Here is Kate’s record of a chilly but diverse program.
The swap I was lucky enough to take part in was my placement in Lakes Entrance for two weeks in rural New Zealand. I was placed in Balclutha, a farming town with about 5000 inhabitants, located an hour south of Dunedin.
I stayed with two of the local University of Otago students, Neal and Sally, who did a wonderful job of looking after me and making sure that their rather soft Australian exchange student didn’t freeze! Coming from a rather mild Victorian winter, it was definitely a shock to suddenly find myself in sub-zero temperatures. I began the placement by being late to clinic my first morning due to uncertainty as to what to do when my car froze over!
The two weeks I spent on placement were very varied, and I was privileged to experience the wide range of health services available in Balclutha. It was interesting to see how a small rural hospital with an attached GP clinic functioned. I spent time consulting with several of the Balclutha GPs, and also fitted in a day at a GP clinic in the nearby town of Milton.
I found the role of a rural GP in Balclutha significantly different to that of a GP in rural Australia. With the major city Dunedin so close, it was much easier to refer patients to specialist services than it is in rural Australia, where much greater travel distances are often involved.
I was also surprised to learn that New Zealand does not have GP obstetricians, anaesthetists, or surgeons. Instead, all uncomplicated rural obstetrics is performed by midwives, with less straightforward cases being referred to obstetricians in larger centres.
A particularly interesting aspect of my visit was the chance to assist with surgery on the Mobile Surgical Bus. Due to the lack of GP anaesthetists, surgery is no longer performed in rural New Zealand hospitals.
The New Zealand Surgical bus.
The surgical bus is a fully equipped, mobile operating theatre that travels between rural hospitals, thereby providing rural communities with access to minor surgery. The bus itself was very spacious inside, and, at times I almost forgot that I was not in a normal operating theatre!
I also spent time in various other areas of Clutha Health First, including a few days on the inpatient ward, an afternoon with the physiotherapists, and an afternoon in an adolescent sexual health clinic.
But of course it wasn’t all work and no play! A highlight of my time in New Zealand was a weekend trip to beautiful Queenstown with the Balclutha medical students. We spent an eventful weekend night-skiing, trying the famous Queenstown burgers, and walking a section of the stunning Routeburn Track.
Overall, I gained a great deal from my experiences in New Zealand. It was excellent to experience a different health system and a different model of medical education, while having the opportunity to form friendships with medical students in another country. Thank you again to the staff in both New Zealand and Australia who made this possible, and to the New Zealand students who looked after me and made sure that I had such an enjoyable time.
– Kate Wilson, Year 4C EGRCS student, Bairnsdale campus
The Mobile Surgical Services web site has more information about the service.