Geraldton GP Dr Emma Jones has added mentoring for RCSWA Regional Training Hubs to her growing list of roles.
Emma is also one of four RCSWA medical coordinators in Geraldton who are alumni, joining doctors Pippin Holmes, Amanda Gee, and Carolyn Haeusler.
In this first profile of our 'Hubs Who?' series, she explains what Regional Training Hubs has to offer junior and aspiring doctors…
1. Why should Mid West doctors, and those considering rural practice, contact Regional Training Hubs?
Regional Training Hubs and the Rural Clinical School in Geraldton are gaining momentum!
In 2024, Regional Training Hubs is collaborating with several organisations in our community including the Midwest GP Network, the Geraldton Regional Hospital Medical Education Unit, St John of God Hospital Geraldton, WA Primary Health Alliance, Midwest Health Professionals Network, and the Geraldton Junior Medical Officer Society.
We collaborate with the Midwest GP Network to bring SCARP Friday morning education sessions to general practitioners and hospital doctors every week. We also collaborate with the public and private hospitals to facilitate specialist and rural generalist training opportunities.
In 2023, we supported the Junior Medical Officer Society to secure a space within the hospital for a common room and together delivered the inaugural Geraldton Health Professionals’ Ball.
Regional Training Hubs is a great resource for any junior doctor considering rural training opportunities as we can connect you with Hubs team members across the state.
2. If you have been involved in JMO societies or mentoring opportunities, how have they benefited you?
As a JMO I wasn’t involved in the JMO society apart from enjoying the free morning teas provided in the tertiary hospital where I worked. I now recognise they have a lot more value than just free food.
Our Geraldton Junior Medical Officer Society (GeMOS) was formed in 2023. Coming into 2024, they are continuing to support the junior doctor experience in Geraldton by addressing rostering, leave, overtime, a doctors' common room, social events and more. I highly recommend that JMOs doing rotations in Geraldton get involved in GeMOS.
I have had a number of mentors throughout my John Flynn Placement Program, Rural Clinical School and GP training. I recommend having a range of mentors. You need a mentor who will help you work out a difficult clinical problem, someone you can go to for emotional support and ethical dilemmas, and someone who has recently completed their training program who can provide you with information on study technique and resources.
It is inevitable that you will make mistakes as a junior doctor. My advice is to share the problem with someone who can give you advice as soon as you can. Don’t procrastinate on fixing your mistakes.
Image: Dr Emma Jones enjoying country life with dog Miles.
3. How did you come to practice rurally?
I am Perth-born but I was able to experience rural medicine early in my university studies through the John Flynn Placement Program, Rural Clinical School and rural-based electives in Albany and Alice Springs.
I wasn’t completely sure that I had made the right career choice during my first clinical year in a tertiary hospital. I couldn’t see myself fighting traffic, expensive parking, and busy hospitals for the rest of my working life. When I came to Geraldton as a fifth-year medical student in 2015, lured by the promise of doctors that cycle and go on camping trips, I felt that I had found my people.
I returned to Geraldton for my rural GP placement in final year and completed my last two intern rotations in Geraldton – WACHS internships didn’t exist then!
I continue to be inspired by the versatility and camaraderie of rural doctors, and rural healthcare workers in general.
4. What have been the highlights of your rural career so far?
In 2023 I was offered a 12-month contract with the Rural Clinical School. I was surprised by all the emotions that I felt as I was talking to our penultimate year students at their farewell dinner. I remembered the night in 2015 when I had to leave Geraldton and return to final year in Perth. I was grateful for the experience that took me from shy, uncertain medical student to slightly-less-shy medical student who now felt they belonged within the career they were pursuing. As an RCSWA mentor, I felt a sense of fulfilment that I had given something back to the program that had altered my direction in life.
Through my time with Regional Training Hubs in 2023, I had the opportunity to attend the RMA and FRAME conferences in Tasmania. It was great to meet the variety of talent within our Regional Training Hubs team. These conferences made me realise that through Regional Training Hubs I have the potential to create broader change within our healthcare system.
As a GP, I appreciate the impact that I can have on the lives of my individual patients, but through the flexibility of a job like Regional Training Hubs, I get to use different parts of my brain and find new ways of creating purpose in my career.
5. What’s the best way for interested doctors to contact you?
You can contact me by email [email protected] or find me on Facebook: 'Dilemma Jones'.
RCSWA has Regional Training Hubs reps located across WA with deep experience and networks who can assist current and future doctors with navigating rural career pathways, finding the right mentors and professional development, and getting the most out of going rural. Contact [email protected] for further info.