Dr Anoop Pem, Goldfields Region

My first exposure to rural medicine was when I did a rural surgical term in Horsham where I repeatedly bumped into a doctor who was working in Anaesthetics, ED and General Practice. I was baffled at the diversity of practice and skill set required to perform in such varied roles.

When I finished medical school, I joined a rural internship program which was geared towards rural practice and included core terms in regional hospitals and rotations to district hospitals to spend time with the rural GPs. Afterwards, I spent some time in hospital doing mainly emergency, anaesthetics and intensive care. I subsequently joined the AGP training program and started as a GP registrar in rural Victoria working in the alpine regions. Once I fellowed, I decided to undertake my JCCA year at the regional hospital. Once I finished my anaesthetic training, I locumed for almost 12 months before taking my current role as an Aeromedical Retrieval Medical Officer with RFDS western operations.

Currently, I am in Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields and it is a very relaxed lifestyle compared to the rush in the bigger cities. We have every amenity you can think of in this town. There are lots of young professionals which makes it a great place to bring up a family.

Photo: Dr Anoop Pem in his RFDS uniform.