From Undergraduate to General Practitioner

Claudia had always wanted to practice in rural Queensland and so during her studies applied for the QLD Health Rural Scholarship Scheme. Following on from graduation Doctor Collins was balloted to The Rockhampton Base Hospital, despite never being to Rockhampton previously.  None the less she did not allow that to affect her experience.

Dr Collins said “It turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened to me because it was a busy regional hospital that had a small cohort of interns. We worked really hard, but we got exposure really quickly to practical clinical skills and clinical reasoning, giving me a really well-rounded junior hospital experience and a great start to my medical career.”

From there Dr Collins moved to Longreach as a provisional fellow in the Rural Generalist Pathway which involved half Hospital, half General Practice.  During her time in Longreach Dr Collins completed her speciality in Rural Generalist-Obstetrics and worked at the Longreach Hospital.  After Longreach, Dr Collins moved on the Gladstone Base Hospital and worked as a Senior Medical Officer in Obstetrics.  Whilst working in this role she was tasked with improving the relationship with the local Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Nhulundu Health Service and the Maternity Unit; with the view of working to improve Indigenous “Mums and Bubs” health outcomes.

“Most people who go into medicine have a desire to help people and protect the most vulnerable, and to try and find that opportunity within the medicine landscape is sometimes a bit difficult.”  Looking for the next step in her career Dr Collins approached the Nhukundu Health Service so she could further specialise in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health.  “I was looking for something that was interesting and challenging and could give me career satisfaction” said Dr Collins.

“James Cook University has a really strong rural, remote, Indigenous and tropical health background, and having this as such a strong background through all of medical school training set the stage in my mind for the possibility of an Indigenous health career. Spending more and more time with Indigenous patients throughout my training years and finding the challenges that come with understanding the cultural nuances, the strong family connections and strong cultural and land connections, and how all of that interweaves into how people experience health and the Western medicine way of doing things really fascinates me.”

Dr Collins fellowed in October 2016 and has stayed on at the health service and has become a member of the Lead Clinicians Group for QAIHC,  the peak body representing the Community Controlled Health Sector in Queensland at both a state and national level. .

Claudia says one of the most rewarding and surprising aspects of working in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services is the way she has been welcomed into her patient’s families. “It’s really nice when you start seeing someone and they want to bring other members of their family into you. It’s really nice when you feel that people want you to look after their family and I get really chuffed by that, because there is such an emphasis on family and looking after each-other and strong cultural ties within family, and it’s a huge thing if someone is willing to let you into that and accept you as a care giver for their entire family. I think that’s really special.”

Despite the positives of her role Dr Collins said it isn’t without its challenges “It’s certainly challenging medicine. You see pathology that you would never see anywhere else in any first-world country, and it’s hard to believe that as a first-world country we still have such poor standards of care for some of the vulnerable people in our country, so that certainly has its challenges and it makes you sad and frustrated and angry at times that you can’t change more about the system. But I think the fact that you can just be there and work within the system and you’re working to change things is making a difference. Working towards equality for our first nations people is a huge commitment. And it can be overwhelming at times, but it’s extremely rewarding when you get to notice those positive changes, and generational changes that you see, and the shift in health understanding and health knowledge that you find within a community. That’s when you know you’ve done your job well.”  Dr Collins said.

Despite the challenges Dr Collins said that overall the experience is very rewarding and would like to encourage graduates to consider it as a career pathway.   “You can have a really rewarding and fulfilling experience while training within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector”

So where does Doctor Collins have planned for the future?

“I’ve found my niche and my passion within Indigenous health, and my long-term plan is to continue within the sector and try and work towards equality and work towards improving not only my medical service by other services in Queensland as part of a team and try to improve and increase the Registrar experience within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector.”