Alumni sets sights on better cardio services for country
Gippsland cardiologist Derk Pol wanted to be a fighter pilot growing up but was rejected when he applied; at nearly 197 centimetres Derk was too tall to fit into a fighter plane and be ejected safely.
He decided to study medicine after completing a Bachelor of Science at Melbourne University and becoming particularly interested in anatomy.
“By the time I’d made the decision, Monash’s Gippsland medical school had come along,” Derk says. “I got into the second intake – I was so fortunate in my timing, I count it as a blessing,” he says.
Gippsland born and bred, Derk was living in his family’s home at the time, 15 minutes away from the Churchill campus.
“We were really well cared for at Gippsland clinical school.”
He undertook advanced training in cardiology. “I have a passion for working with my hands – my father was a mechanic and I used to help him every school holiday.”
Being skilled with his hands and calm under pressure were assets.
“I really enjoy a good STEMI procedure,” Derk says. (STEMI or ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction is a severe form of heart attack.)
“By the time the patient comes in they’re having a heart attack, they’re dying. You get them into a catheter lab, open their artery up and you’ve saved their life – you’ve made an immediate impact on someone’s life and that’s a really satisfying feeling.”
Derk now works at Latrobe Regional Hospital, Traralgon – where he trained – as a consultant and at Monash Heart, Clayton, where he’s undertaking sub-speciality training in Interventional Cardiology.
The first cardiologist at Traralgon hospital to live locally, he’s determined to improve what he says is a neglected area in the region. “Gippsland has one of the worst cardiovascular outcomes in Australia,” he says. “There’s a huge need for cardiologists.
“Over the next 10 years, my project is to have a really good cardio service at Traralgon. I’d like to bring into Gippsland a STEMI service – at the moment all heart attack patients are sent to Monash Heart or The Alfred.”
Derk co-established Gippsland Cardiology Service in 2021, a private speciality practice run with another local cardiologist Dr Laura Selkrig. “We saw 1,000 patients in six months and are getting 50 to 75 referrals a week – there’s so much work here.”
Working 60 and up to 80 hours a week if he’s on-call, leaves little spare time; Derk plays the occasional game for his beloved footy team Yallourn North, spends time tinkering with cars and has recently had a new baby.
He enjoys teaching at Monash Rural Health Gippsland. “The fact that I trained locally just made me so lucky and made me want to contribute back,” he says. “It’s ongoing, it feels more like a life partnership.”