1 / 11

Starting a Career in a Remote Rural Area

Starting a Career in a Remote Rural Area. Eyjolfur Thorkelsson, GP Registrar Egilsstaðir - Iceland. Who are you?. I was born and raised in Seyðisfjörður small town of 800 inhabitants My mother grew up there. My father was raised in a nearby village

val
Download Presentation

Starting a Career in a Remote Rural Area

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Starting a Career in a Remote Rural Area Eyjolfur Thorkelsson, GP Registrar Egilsstaðir - Iceland

  2. Who are you? • I was born and raised in Seyðisfjörður • small town of 800 inhabitants • My mother grew up there. • My father was raised in a nearby village • My mother is a midwife and delivered many babies • the epitome of a rural practitioner

  3. When I decided to be a rural GP • My mother’s book “A Child is Born” • Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson • Growing up in a declining rural town I felt socially accountable • A new doctor moved to Seyðisfjörður, to whom I could very well relate

  4. When I gave up on becoming a rural GP • The Medical Faculty’s lack of enthusiasm for GP • let alone rural GP • 5 days in 6 years • I felt support and good-will at the ENT department where I worked while still in school. • I felt overwhelmed in my first job after graduation • a semi-rural health care centre near Reykjavik

  5. When my rural interest was reignited • I felt supported and believed in by a rural GP • Clinical work interesting and manageable • My current mentor asked me to come and work in Egilsstaðir and offered my wife a job as well • support, challenge and acceptance • Akureyri district hospital gave me opportunity to hone my generalist skills • Rural Health action group

  6. Why this lengthy prologue? • Research has shown these factors to be very important when recruiting doctors to rural areas • rural background • feeling connected to the rural population • role models • clinical work interesting • Factors antagonising recruitment or retention • lack of collegial support • feeling overwhelmed in A&E situations • lack of rural experience in medical school

  7. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” • YES, I want to be a rural doctor • …but I want others as well • What can I do? • reach out for bright students in rural communities • help them into medical school • invite medical students to come and visit • offer newbies flexibility and time to adjust • make allowance in your schedule • allow them to observe you after-hours • MAKE THEM FEEL YOUR SUPPORT!

More Related