Doctor What? Doctor Where? Podcast

Listen in as junior doctors and specialists share their experiences of rural medicine

The Doctor What? Doctor Where? Stories of Rural Medicine podcast features medical professionals and junior doctors from rural and regional communities sharing their experiences and insights, and revealing the often unexpected opportunities made possible by living and working in rural communities.

The podcast explores motivations to pursue a career away from the city, the lifestyle of working in a rural or regional centre and what’s at the heart of a regional medical career. It’s available to listen to on all major podcast streaming platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.

The Doctor What? Doctor Where? Stories of Rural Medicine podcast is produced by Monash Rural Health’s Regional Training Hubs and funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training Program.

Season 4

Careers in Wilderness and Expedition Medicine: From Ultramarathons to Antarctica

EPISODE 8

Season 3

The intern match process has changed. This is how it will look in 2025 and beyond.

EPISODE 1

How does medical school compare with your intern years?

EPISODE 2

Life as a rural GP and how to make the most of your placements

EPISODE 3

Taking the stress out of writing death certificates and reporting to the coroner

EPISODE 4

Parenting and being a doctor

EPISODE 5

Dealing with exam stress as a medical student

EPISODE 6

Starting out as a Rural Generalist

EPISODE 7

Prioritising your mental health from the junior to the senior years of medical school

EPISODE 8

Opening your mind to a non-linear career journey

EPISODE 9

Improving patient discharge and writing good discharge summaries

EPISODE 10

Season 2 - 2024 Episodes View

Season 2 - 2023 Episodes View

Season 2 - 2022 Episodes View

Season 1 - Summer series View

These five special episodes were produced with the support of Deakin University's Western Victoria Regional Training Hub featuring stories from Western Victoria.

Season 1 View

Have you ever wondered what it's like to start out as a doctor? the highlights, lowlights, challenges and unexpected things along this journey - all the things you'll experience as you're starting your medical career. In this episode of Doctor What? Doctor Where? features a group of junior doctors currently training in Bendigo, talking about all the different things they have experienced along their study and training journey.
General Practice can take can take you anywhere. Whether you're looking at becoming a GP, Rural Generalist or Advanced Skills GP, there's something for everyone within this field. In regional Victoria you'll find opportunities to practice everywhere from remote towns of 1,000 people or less to the largest regional cities.
Physician pathways are some of the most varied and diverse of any within the medical field, and the peak of this diversity can be found in the regions. Each of this episode's guests have come from different backgrounds and cultures, and are all working in West Gippsland right now.
In this episode you'll hear from doctors working within the surgical field across Victoria. You can study and train to be a surgeon entirely in regional Victoria, so no matter where you are in your career there's opportunities from medical school to advanced trainee placements and beyond.
Sports and exercise medicine is quite a new area of medicine, with limited places to study regionally. There are opportunities in Bendigo, Ballarat and Cairns, with a growing demand for this field. While its name might evoke images of doctors tending to pro athletes during sporting matches, that's just one part of this field which broadens out to musculo-skeletal medicine.
Dr James Ooi posts preventative health tips on Instagram here.
The importance of local Cardiologists is steadily growing as our population ages. Coronary heart disease is the leading underlying cause of death in Australia with more than 10 per cent of deaths linked to this disease. These specialists delivering acute treatment and preventative medicine is one of the keys to managing cardiac health for the whole population and over the last few decades, there have been significant advances in treatment methods, as well as capacity.
North West Victoria encompasses a vast area, reaching from the northern edges of Melbourne, to the semi-arid lands surrounding Mildura. Altogether there are 19 health services in the region, providing a wide range of healthcare and a rich tapestry of training and career opportunities for doctors across the region.
Rural Obstetrics and Gynaecology brings life to the regions, treating patients at some of the most important times in their lives. For the babies which these specialists deliver, it's the first time of their lives. Hear about the fulfilling career in Obstetrics and Gynaecology that's waiting for you, directly from doctors at the forefront of regional maternal and women's health.
Ever wondered what opportunities are available in a regional health service? In this episode health service executives across Gippsland unpack the opportunities available across the region. These health services don't just deliver a high standard of care, they work with each other to design training opportunities across each other's sites. The variety of towns and landscapes bring with them unique healthcare challenges and a breadth of experience hard to find elsewhere.
Regional cancer treatment is a growing field across the board. With new appointments, dedicated cancer centres and new resources, it has become easier than ever to treat cancer patients within their own communities. In this episode Oncologists from regional Victoria talk about the role they play in treating their patients close to home.
Training for junior doctors in metropolitan cities is often done through well defined, well traveled pathways with a history that sometimes stretches back decades. Out in the regions, pathways are newer. Some are still being built right now, and all of them are expanding to incorporate more regional rotations and placements. This is where the Regional Training Hubs come in. Their role is to build on the rural training network established through the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training program. Then, as rural medical pathways develop and grow, the hubs help coordinate different stages of medical training to enable students intending to practice regionally to complete as much of their medical training as possible within regional and rural areas.
Ever wondered how to get into Medical Administration? Pathways in this space are less defined than some specialisations, but there are no shortage of administrative opportunities out there in regional Australia. Managing a health service is a lot like any large organisation - it takes expertise and committed people to keep everything running as smoothly as possible. Medical Administrators come from all areas of healthcare and management, as well as every stage of career. Some doctors get into administration after decades of clinical work, and others seek it out from the beginning. In this episode of Doctor What? Doctor Where? You'll hear from a wide range of perspectives training and working as Medical Administrators.
Medical research drives healthcare delivery. Today’s research projects become tomorrow’s best practices, which is why research in regional Australia is critical to delivering health outcomes these communities need. Research can also be essential in some career pathways. and there are lots of opportunities in rural areas. Whether you plan to take on a research project alongside practicing, or you're thinking of a research centred career, there's something for everyone.
Regional Paediatricians form a vital network of doctors providing local care to kids all around Victoria. When a child in regional Victoria falls ill, the whole family is affected. Parents have to take time off work, other family members might have to take care of siblings, and in more serious cases, a lengthy trip to Melbourne is needed to seek more sub-specialised treatment at the Royal Children's, or Monash Children's Centre. Opportunities from trainees to consultants across country areas are opening up as demand for rural Paediatricians grow. The rich lifestyle, career mobility and community spirit all come together to provide a fulfilling life in the regions.
Intensive Care Units are growing in regional areas and along with them, training and career opportunities. When patients need weeks of inpatient care, providing it close to home is the best scenario. In this episode you'll hear from doctors in Bendigo's ICU, which has expanded its capabilities alongside the redevelopment of their hospital, turning it into a key service in regional Intensive Care medicine.

Emergency departments are the first port of call for seriously ill patients. This creates a fast paced, dynamic and varied job for doctors working in the ED. For the most part, these patients will just go to their nearest hospital with an Emergency Department. This means the only differences between an emergency department at a metropolitan hospital and a rural health service are their size and capability. For an Emergency doctor, we can find some differences
in the variety of the work they do, and the lifestyle which regional living offers.
Anaesthesia is an essential part of patient care and plays a critical role in rural medicine. This specialisation is a crucial part of every health service, big or small. In this episode you'll hear from standalone specialists, consultants and GP anaesthetists who paint a paicture of the rich opportunities anaesthetics offers in regional Australia.
Monash Rural Health is one of the oldest and largest schools of rural health in Australia, with a history stretching back more than 25 years. Its footprint covers a vast area of Victoria, stretching from Mildura in the North West, all the way to Orbost in East Gippsland.
Psychiatry training used to be the domain of large tertiary hospitals and clinical schools in capital cities, now it is a specialty that can be entirely completed outside metropolitan centres. In this episode you'll hear about the wide range of opportunities for Psychiatry in regional Australia from Psychiatrists practicing in this field.
General Medical practise is the cornerstone of medicine in Australia. Advanced Skills GPs, or Rural Generalists, learn an additional sub-specialty on top of general medicine which helps complement their skills in a regional setting where the healthcare needs might not be great enough to require a standalone
specialist. Take a look at Northern District Community Health's We want a GP song, aimed at recruiting doctors to their town.

Disclaimer: Although Monash Rural Health takes all reasonable care to ensure the contents of the podcasts are accurate and up to date all information provided is as a form of storytelling. Listening to our podcast does not form a professional relationship or constitute receiving professional advice. All content is the opinion of our guests. Any links or references to other organisations are provided only as a convenience and we disclaim any control over, relationship with or endorsement of views expressed by other parties. There are no warranties or guarantees that career pathways discussed will be suitable for your personal situation. We may at any time and at our sole discretion change or replace the information available on this platform.

Rural Health - Regional Training Hubs

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences