Doctors Catherine Fowler, Olivia Italiano, Michaela Ross and Sophie Sparkes feature in our first group Health Campus Hangout story.

They know how to work as a team given they completed their penultimate year in 2020 with RCSWA Esperance and are together again completing PGY2 in Albany this year. 

Will they stay on the rural practice path? Read on to find out..

 
Where do you hail from?

Catherine: I grew up on a sheep and cropping farm near Williams. I attended Williams Primary School, before moving to Perth for high school. 

Olivia: I grew up on a dairy farm in Harvey, attended primary school at St Anne’s then went to boarding school in Perth for high school.  

Michaela: I’m from Denmark (the town not the country)! A lovely 6000-person town on the coast of the Great Southern.

Sophie:  I grew up in Busselton and attended primary and high school at Georgiana Molloy Anglican School.

What/who made you consider becoming a doctor?

Catherine: At school, I always had a strong interest in science and health, but I could never picture what direction that would take me in career-wise. All I knew was that I wanted something I could take back to the country. I didn’t consider medicine until year 11/12. I had several supportive teachers and mentors in high school who encouraged me to apply for the Rural Bonded Medical Pathway. It was a path that suited all my interests and would lead to a job that I knew I could take anywhere. 

Olivia: I grew up helping care for my Nonna who had MS in Harvey. From this experience I saw firsthand how much of an impact a doctor can have on a patient and their family when they are at their most vulnerable. The diversity of the job itself as well as the opportunities that it provides you with were all compounding factors that led me to becoming a doctor. 

Michaela: My childhood best friend’s dad was the town’s doctor. He was also my soccer coach, would take us all surfing up north, and was an all-round great role model. As I went through school, I always loved human biology and had a passion for helping others. Throughout my later teenage years, I developed a passion for first aid, delivering care in stressful situations and learning more about the human body through my work as a beach lifeguard. I think I have many people from the broader Denmark community to thank for fostering my passion for medicine. 

Sophie: I never really considered medicine as a career in middle and high school as no one in my family worked in healthcare, and it wasn’t something that any of my peers talked about or were considering. At the time there wasn’t a push for students to strive for a career in medicine at my school and as such there wasn’t really any information surrounding pathways to apply for it. I had always enjoyed science and humanities at school and knew that I wanted a job that involved working with diverse people, making meaningful contributions to society, and the opportunity to constantly learn and adapt. When I realised I loved human biology in the final stages of high school, a teacher encouraged me to look into medicine. That is when I realised that it ticked all of my boxes and I applied.

Image: From left, Catherine Fowler, Michaela Ross, Sophie Sparkes and Olivia Italiano.

Catherine: I completed my medical degree at UWA (during which I would say my highlight was our RCSWA year in Esperance!). I then completed my internship and half of PGY2 at Royal Darwin Hospital in the Northern Territory, where I was lucky enough to visit remote communities and get involved with some interesting research. I relocated back to WA mid-2023 and I am now working at Albany Health Campus. 

Olivia: I completed medical school at UWA and was fortunate enough to attend RCSWA in Esperance in my third year. I completed my internship at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in which I was able to complete rotations at Geraldton Hospital and Perth Children’s Hospital. I am now completing PGY2 at Albany Health Campus and love working back in the country surrounded by a lovely community. 

Michaela: I completed four years of undergrad in Nutrition and Pharmacy at Curtin University before taking a year off studies to travel through South East Asia. Four years postgrad in Fremantle at the University of Notre Dame followed. I was exceptionally lucky to broaden my rural WA exposure during this time with a week of clinical practice in both the Wheatbelt and Derby, six weeks of training based in Broome, and an entire year of training in the hospital and GP practices of Esperance as part of the RCSWA cohort of 2020. I then spent my intern year at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, with rotations to Joondalup ED and Geraldton Orthopaedic Department. I am now completing a year of general hospital training at Albany Health Campus.

Sophie: I was accepted into UWA as a direct entry into the postgraduate MD course, meaning I had a guaranteed spot in medicine once I had completed a general undergraduate degree at UWA. With my love for science, I wanted to do something that I enjoyed and would be relevant to medicine so I chose a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Physiology and took many units in areas of interest such as Public Health, Indigenous Health, Human Biology and Sports Science. I then commenced the four-year Doctor of Medicine and in my first year of studies did the John Flynn Placement Program at a remote Indigenous community in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands. This was an incredible experience which I learnt so much from. In my third year, I was lucky enough to be placed at RCSWA Esperance with three of the most wonderful colleagues and friends that I know. We had a wonderful year in Esperance – the one-on-one teaching from uber-experienced clinicians, hands-on experience, skills learned, crazy presentations with limited resources, amazingly friendly community, and beautiful landscapes - made for one of the best years of my life and made me realise how great working rurally is. I graduated medical school in 2022 and completed my internship in the critical care stream at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. In 2023 I decided I’d like to work rurally and have spent this year working as a Resident Medical Officer at Albany Health Campus. 

Image: From left, Catherine Fowler, Sophie Sparkes, Michaela Ross and Olivia Italiano in their Esperance student house.

 
Does the rural clinical environment match your expectations? What were the major differences you experienced in a rural setting vs metro?

Catherine, Olivia, Michaela: It exceeds all our expectations! In regard to our RCSWA experience, the standouts in rural clinical practice included regular one-on-one teaching with local doctors, access to more procedural skills and the sense that you are always an integral part of the team. The best part was seeing patients at multiple points over the year, from GP visits, ED visits, to specialist outpatient clinics. We were able to appreciate the full picture of a patient’s interaction with the local health system, which is often lost in metro medicine. This all translates to our current experience of now practicing as junior doctors in the rural setting too. Albany also provides fantastic educational opportunities, and they have a dedicated team to support junior doctors navigating through intern/residency years and assist in preparing for specialist practice. We all agree it's pretty special to be able to finish work and drive five minutes to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. 

Sophie: As a junior doctor I have found that working in a rural environment I have been given more independence and responsibility to develop my clinical assessment, reasoning, and management in a very safe and supported way. I feel this has given me so much more confidence as a junior doctor as I have felt able to approach seniors and feel like I am making a meaningful contribution to patients and my team at work. When working in a tertiary hospital, I felt I was exposed to the full spectrum of specialist management and a wider variety of presentations however a lot of the work done as a junior is administrative and therefore was not actively learning as much as I have when working rurally. I find that no matter where you go, it is the relationships with your colleagues that provide the most opportunity to learn. In a tight-knit rural medical community, people want to get to know you, your career goals and want to essentially retain people working there! It creates a very friendly and supportive working environment. I’ve found seniors take a strong interest in teaching skills and knowledge as they genuinely want to help you flourish and be the best doctor you can be. I have found rural hospitals have a very team-based approach and everyone is willing to help each other out across different departments.

Image: Frenchman Peak, Cape Le Grand National Park.

 
Do you have a specialty interest and what sparked your interest in it?

Catherine: Undecided yet. I am interested in Rural GP, perhaps with a flavour of dermatology and mental health.

Olivia: I am still trying to decide what I want to do in the future. Currently I am interested in Rural Generalist with anaesthetics and ED as my special skills. I also have an interest in Paediatrics. 

Michaela: I love continuity of care and providing compassionate, evidence-based care within a rural or remote setting. Despite huge progress with technology such as Telehealth, there are still many barriers to accessing timely medical care in rural communities. I’d like to continue to help the community that gave me so much by providing my own services in the Great Southern.

Sophie: I have always had an interest in critical care medicine or physician training. At this point I am still undecided and gaining experience across multiple areas before I commit to a particular training program.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Preface...The ladies usually start their day with coffee at Bay Merchants Middleton Beach, along with all the other junior medical staff from Albany Hospital. 

Catherine: I am currently on a Psychiatry rotation which has been really interesting. I am part of the outpatient team and we see patients referred in by GPs requesting medication optimisation, diagnostic clarification or case management, as well as following up patients recently discharged from an inpatient stay. The day finishes at 4.30pm and I will often head down to Middleton Beach for a walk after work.

Olivia: My day in Albany starts with a walk or ocean swim at icy Middleton Beach followed by a coffee where you undoubtedly run into everyone you know. Work starts at 8am and I am on General Medicine so my workday finishes around 5pm. It takes me four minutes to get home so my afternoons are usually filled with activities like walking/running/swimming and the day usually ends with watching the sunset somewhere followed by dinner at a friend's house! 

Michaela: I am currently on an ED term so I am lucky to be able to start many working days with a surf somewhere around Albany with my partner, our pup Gringo and friends. It’s often then a coffee or feed with friends before seeing a wide variety of patients in the Albany ED, assisting with suturing/casts/resuscitations or anything else that walks through the door.

Sophie: At the moment I am on General Surgery in Albany Hospital, so it is a pretty early start with a morning meeting to run through our patients. We then do a ward round and once finished our team has a coffee together and we plan out the day and divide ourselves among theatres, seeing patients in ED, ward jobs and running clinics. Once it’s home time I spend my afternoon going for a walk along the beautiful coastal trail near my house, playing social netball or having dinner and occasionally a glass of wine with friends.

Image: Lucky Bay resident roo.

What is the best part of what you’re doing? 

Catherine: The people! Great colleagues and wonderful patients!

Olivia: Meeting such interesting people and hearing their stories, working with such a beautiful group of people and the work life balance!

Michaela: The work life balance, being surrounded by a passionate, hard-working group of colleagues and being able to re-connect with such a wonderful community.

Sophie: Doing meaningful work in a team full of excellent clinicians, nurses, allied health, and administration staff and having excellent work life balance.
 
Do you have any professional mentors or people you look to for advice?

Catherine: The RCSWA staff in Esperance were fantastic mentors and we still keep in touch with them. I have several friends that went through medicine a few years above me and I’ve found it’s beneficial to chat to them about what their experiences and training pathways have looked like. 

Olivia: So many people! Like Cat said, the RCSWA staff in Esperance are people that I look up to. They definitely showed me that it is possible to live such a full and balanced life while working as a doctor. Many of my friends are also people that I turn to for advice.  

Michaela: So many colleagues along the way have been such supportive mentors. I have always looked up to the Rural Generalists in both Albany and Esperance as such experienced and wise mentors that do so much for their communities whilst maintaining a balance that keeps them in the workplace. I’m sure these people know who they are. 

Sophie: I have met some great mentors throughout my training in RCSWA and also in Albany that are always more than willing to give me advice on tricky situations I may come across at work or with career decisions. The Medical Education unit at Albany are extremely supportive as well.
  
Where are you heading next?

Catherine: I’m keen to remain in rural WA for now. Albany has so much to offer junior doctors. Following that, maybe Kimberley!

Olivia: Still a bit undecided at the present. I think I'll stay in Albany a bit longer then try and locum somewhere for a little while before settling somewhere in rural WA.

Michaela: My partner and I are expecting a baby at the end of this year so I’m excited to spend the next year jumping into parenthood and a whole different type of learning. Following on from this I’m looking forward to completing my Emergency Medicine Certificate and Diploma in Child Health in the country whilst working within a rural hospital setting and then beginning the transition to GP fellowship.

Sophie: I plan to stay at Albany Hospital in 2024 to complete another year of general training.

Image: Wharton Beach, Duke of Orleans Bay.