Students immerse in rural medicine in NZ
Year 5D student, Mayuri Raviskantahn, took advantage of an exchange program to experience rural medicine in New Zealand. This is her report.
Stepping onto the tarmac at Blenheim into the blistering cold weather and off a small rickety 15 seat aircraft, my very first minutes in town were a shock to the system. Despite the first impressions, however, and although I really only began to get used to the weather on the last day of my stay, the exchange program was undoubtedly one of the best experiences I could have hoped for. With a crew of fantastically welcoming 5th Year RMIP (Rural Medical Immersion Program) medical students, and equally, if not possibly more so, amazing doctors, nurses and other staff, I can’t think of a better team of people to have spent time with while I’ve been here.
On a medical level, I was given the opportunity to experience both general practice and the nature of the emergency department here. On a size basis, Blenheim is quite similar to Bairnsdale, and the population catered for is also quite similar demographically. As a result, it was interesting to directly compare the two healthcare systems and facilities side by side.
Similar to Bairnsdale, there is a consistent shortage of medical practitioners around, and as such waiting times for both GPs and procedures can be quite long.
It was also interesting to interact with the Maori population, and to note that a similar range of conditions exist among them when compared to the Australian Indigenous population.
Working with Dr Burrell (or Buzz as he’s better known) at one of the new medical centres in the area, and witnessing the care, time and knowledge he applies to every single consultation, no matter how menial some of the complaints, has undoubtedly affected my clinical practice in the future. In performing complete histories and general system examinations on patients who had come in for a simple ‘repeat script’, I was able to develop a far greater rapport, understanding of the patient as a whole, and was able to help with issues that they had not otherwise considered ‘serious’ enough to discuss with the doctor.
As a new clinic, the workload of following up patient records is without a doubt tedious at best, but long days at work were no issue for any of the staff. Regardless of time pressures, patient care and finding a learning point for my teaching was of most importance. I was also given the opportunity to participate in skin biopsies, venepunctures, wound care and other small procedures, which were invaluable to my learning.
My second week of placement in Blenheim was spent at the emergency department at Wairau Hospital. Despite the modesty about the size of the department, it is the prime port of medical help for a large number of smaller surrounding areas, and as a result is consistently busy. The hospital itself is a tertiary hospital, which, despite its small size, accommodates and performs a large number of procedures and surgeries.
Similar to my experience at the GP clinic, the staff in ED were more than accommodating, and all were happy to take me under their wing, from consultants to residents to nurses, and teach me everything they could do in the too short time I had there.
The junior doctors here generally spent between 6 months to a year or more within the one department, and so had a strong familiarity with the senior doctors and nursing staff, which I believe facilitated the very smooth orderly running of the ED.
A bit of plastering and suturing, and a lot of history taking, examinations, and investigation interpretation later, the few short days there have made a world of difference.
And of course, on a more ‘tiki-touring’ level, as the New Zealanders call it, thanks to both the students and to the very friendly doctors and nurses, I was able to have a fantastic look around the surrounding Marlborough area. From the Marlborough Sounds, to the local vineyards, to Nelson, the Wairau Valley and Haverloch, with horse riding, boating, and driving through the beautiful scenery, I can’t have had a better Marlborough experience.
Overall, my only complaint is that I didn’t have more time to spend there, and I can’t be more grateful to everyone who made the program possible. I would definitely recommend, if given the opportunity, that everyone participate in a similar program.
– Mayuri Raviskanthan