ARMS Inaugural Academic Dinner - City to Country 2008

On Friday September 12 2008 the ANU Rural Medical Society (ARMS) held its inaugural Academic Speaker night at Bruce Hall, ANU.  This event was held to encourage medical and allied health students to consider rural practice as a genuine career option through hearing first-hand narratives from our peers who have worked on the front line in rural areas.  Dr Jill Bestic, Mr Sascha Saharov and Professor Frank Bowden addressed the forum of forty medical and allied health students on the topic of City to Country".

Dr Bestic opened the evening with a brilliant and inspiring speech, sharing with us a true reflection of her experiences as a General Practitioner in many rural locations including Gundagai, Dubbo and rural Nepal.  She described the many rewards and sacrifices that come with choosing to practice rural medicine leaving us with wonderful thoughts for contemplation and the overall feeling that the benefits of rural medicine can outweigh the sacrifices.

Sascha Sarahov is a 4th year medical student at the ANU Medical School.  He came to share his experiences with us a medical student from an urban background who has embraced the idea of rural medicine.  Sascha spent his entire 3rd year study in Bega as a long term rural student and his experiences there seem to have given him a new perspective on medicine.  He described the wonderful friendships with both colleagues and community members that he has made and the benefits of working in a close rural community.  Sascha showed us that with an adventurous spirit and a willingness to get involved, rural medicine can be as rich and rewarding as any other location.

Our final speaker of the night was Professor Frank Bowden.  Professor Bowden showed us how flexibility in your career path can add richness to your medical career that you may not have otherwise had.  He shared with us his experience as a suburban hospital specialist and the unexpected inspiration from a patient support person that lead him to apply for a job in Alice Springs and ultimately spend 10 years in Darwin.  professor Bowden gave us some very wise advice.  he encouraged us not to plan our careers from the outset but to work hard, to be good at the job you enjoy and one day you will look back and find that you have had a great career.

The night was a raging success and a good time was had by all.  I would like to extend a huge thank you to Kristen Overton who planned and executed a wonderful evening for all to enjoy.  Thank you also to ARMS presidents Alicia Paula and David Corbet for hosting the evening.  And finally, thank you to our three guest speakers for sharing your personal experiences with us all and inspiring us to consider rural practice in the future.  Daniel Fry (ARMS Publicity Officer)

Photo: ARMS Pesidents David Corbet & Alicia Paul with guest speaker Dr Jill Bestic and her husband