The John Daly Memorial Prize in General Practice is only awarded to one medical student every year, and the Huon Valley Health Centre’s new intern Dr James Robinson was honoured to receive the prestigious award in 2017.
Graduating from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in 2017, the prize is one of many achievements for Dr Robinson. While studying medicine, he completed general practice placements in semi-rural localities Snug and Kingborough, and was also awarded the competitive Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship.
Originally from Perth, Western Australia, Dr Robinson moved to Glen Huon, Tasmania in 2008 to pursue a career in rural medicine. Passionate about rural communities, his internship with the Huon Valley Health Centre has further consolidated both his interest in rural medicine, as well as his roots in “the Huon.”
“I am happy that I am able to make a contribution to the health of the community in the Huon Valley, and am looking forward to working with the team at the Huon Valley Health Centre. I feel very lucky to be part of a program that offers the opportunity to work in a rural general practice and gain a perspective on healthcare outside of the hospital,” he says.
The Federally-funded internship program, which is being co-ordinated by Ochre Health in partnership with the Tasmanian Health Service, the University of Tasmania and the Tasmanian Rural and Remote Postgraduate Training Hub, aims to encourage young doctors to consider a career in rural medicine – a specialisation which has faced a growing crisis in recent years due to the difficulty in recruiting and retaining skilled medical professionals in rural and remote areas.
The Huon Valley Health Centre, an independent practice co-owned by the president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Dr Bastian Seidel, collaborated with Ochre Health to be part of the program.
Huon Valley Health Centre co-owner Dr Alexandra Seidel says, “We are very privileged to partner with Ochre Health through the internship program and benefit from their long history of providing quality medical services to rural and remote areas. Having taught general practice registrars for more than 8 years and instructed University of Tasmania medical students for the past four years, our practice’s strong track-record in medical training will complement the program well. We strongly believe that providing students, interns and registrars with good experiences in rural primary health will have a knock-on effect and result in them staying and working in rural areas, particularly in general practice. Dr Robinson is the first of four medical graduates we are pleased to have interning with us this year through the program.”
For more information on the internship program, visit http://www.ochrehealth.com.au/news/tasmanian-intern-program/
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