Townsville Hospital… a family affair

As she embarks on her intern year as a junior doctor at the Townsville University Hospital (TUH) there’s no place she’d rather be.

Dr Boles is the fourth sibling in her family to complete her Medical degree at JCU and will be the fourth to undertake her internship at the TUH.

“My oldest sister is about to finish her psychiatry training at Townsville University Hospital and my other sister is doing her haematology advanced training here. My brother did his internship in Townsville and will probably be back here this year,” Dr Boles said.

“My upbringing in Townsville was amazing. I grew up here and that’s my normal. It’s what I enjoy, everything I need is here.”

Having grown up in a medical family with dad a Townsville radiologist and mum a nurse, Dr Boles was drawn to medicine as a field where she felt she could give back.

“I wanted a profession where I could come home at the end of the day and think ‘I didn’t do anything bad or take anything from anyone’. And it’s an amazing privilege to be able to come that close to people's lives.

“Coming from a medical background I’d heard a lot of my family’s stories so I knew it was hard and I wanted a challenge. At the end of the day, I wanted something that would be a good job. A job where I could come home and say ‘I did something good today’. The continual learning I saw my older siblings go through also appealed to me.”

Given her attachment to the north, its little surprise that when it came time for the former Cathedral School Captain to apply for university JCU medicine was her first choice.

“I didn’t want to leave home, I love my family and Townsville. I couldn’t even have imagined moving away.

“I had seen my siblings going through the JCU medical degree and they had graduated and become competent doctors. There was security in that. I knew from their experience that JCU was a great medical school.

“Being in the north I was in this privileged little situation where you are right in the centre of a lot of health opportunities. Townsville offers great opportunities in health,” Dr Boles said.

Having watched her older sisters and brother’s experiences over the years had also sparked her interest.

“It was just so fascinating seeing their placements as students. I'd sit around the dinner table when I was still at school and they would be going off to rural placements and I’d be hearing those stories and it just got me so interested,” Dr Boles said.

And when it came to her turn, Dr Boles was far from disappointed.

“I absolutely loved my rural placements, they were great experiences. My favourite was my sixth-year placement. It was with a very social, great group of people in such a beautiful environment. It was very special. I think I have swum in every creek up north around the Atherton region.

“But the social aspect and the beauty of these places aside, it was such a great learning experience. The consultants are so welcoming. They taught you so much and you formed this personal experience with them. They trusted you. They’d say ‘I’m going to sign this blood form and this x-ray form and you go and see the patient and do what you think needs to be done. Then I will review it’.

“That sort of trust and the ability to do that is not something I would have got in a big city. I mean they were letting me cannulate babies, do lumbar punctures, just amazing things. And they really cared about you. They have a strong drive for JCU medical graduates, so it was great I loved those placements, absolutely loved them.”

Those sorts of skills and the level of clinical exposure offered throughout the course have given Dr Boles confidence going into her new role.

“You know study is one thing, it’s independent, something that you go home and do. But that clinical exposure is dependent on where you are and Townsville offers so much. Realistically medicine is like a trade, it’s hands-on and if you don’t actually do it while you are learning, you won’t know how to do it when the time comes as a doctor.

“I think JCU makes it a bit easier for us with how frequently we were exposed to those clinical experiences and how much support and guidance we were given.”

It’s that experience that will be put to the test as she enters the hospital as a new doctor.

“Naturally I’m nervous, but like anything you take it in your stride and make it work. I am definitely looking forward to it, to the next phase of my life. I’m ready to have another challenge.”