Former Monash student now a country GP
Dr Cassandra Worme is now practising as a GP in Elmore where she did a placement as a student. (Photo courtesy: Bendigo Weekly, James Aldersey)
A lovely community and a great experience as a student have enticed Dr Cassandra Worme back to Elmore, near Bendigo.
Cassandra has recently started work at Elmore Primary Health Service, where she completed her fourth-year university placement as well as other rotations since.
Cassandra featured in a Bendigo Advertiser story about the Elmore Primary Health Service. She told the newspaper: “I studied at Monash and spent three months at Elmore and decided to come back. I really enjoyedmy time here; it is a lovely little community, and the staff are lovely.
“The patients are very welcoming, also. Their first question to me is ‘how long are you going to stay?’”
In the same story, Elmore Primary Health Service site co-ordinator Kathy Tuohey acknowledged the benefitsof training medical students in regional and rural areas.
She said research showed that if medical students were recruited and trained in rural settings such as Elmore, there was a greater likelihood of doctors wanting to practise in a rural locality.
“The training of fourth-year medical students from Monash University and placement of registrars helps us to sustain excellent medical care in Elmore,” Ms Tuohey said. “The success of this strategy of training medical students locally is exemplified by Dr Cassandra Worme.”
The Health Service has been expanding its services in recent times. In February the health service welcomed its first dentist in 25 years, a new physiotherapist and also Dr Worme as a new GP.