GP AUSTRALIA

Dr Lizzie Elliott

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Sorell Medical Practice for PGPPP. It has reinforced my desire to pursue general practice, providing a refreshing view of medicine outside the hospital environment. Sorell is a small country town on the outskirts of Hobart, which is the gateway to the Tasman Peninsula, and Port Arthur. I had only ever driven through Sorell, without much thought for the four thousand or so local inhabitants who lived in, up until just recently, the fastest growing township in Tasmania. Being so close to Hobart (26km), Sorell still had a country town air to it, from regular gifts of home produce for the practice to sheep penned in backyards a few doors down.

With the aid of my supervisor, Dr David Dalton, the other doctors in the practice, nurses, reception staff, diabetic educator, psychologists and physiotherapist, my competence and confidence with providing general practice care greatly improved. Despite being a small township, Sorell was a well sourced general practice with visiting audiometrists, ophthalmologists, and pathology and x-ray imaging services “just over the road”.

My PGPPP experience has promoted my confidence with assessing and managing most medical and minor surgical problems independently. I intend to spend the second half of this year as a locum, including a three week stint in a remote ice field camp in Greenland, and I am looking forward to the challenge of utilizing my new found general practice skills and perspective. While my consultation and management skills vastly improved during my PGPPP term, the bond I formed with the Sorell Medical Centre staff and patients made it all the more rewarding.

Case study contributed by General Practice Training Tasmania www.gptt.com.au