This National Doctors’ Day we speak to the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) (Queensland Section) Medical Lead – Telehealth Anna Bowen about our unique services and pay tribute to the commitment, dedication and skill set of our medical officers.
Anna studied medicine while working as a National Health Service (NHS) doctor in the United Kingdom before she moved to Australia in 2013 to train in emergency medicine.
After many years of delivering critical care from various emergency departments, as well as in the air, Anna landed her dream job as an RFDS medical officer conducting aeromedical retrievals across Far North Queensland from the RFDS Cairns Base.
As part of the role, Anna worked in telehealth where she discovered her passion for providing patient care, virtually anywhere.
“I thought sitting in an office answering the phone all day would be dull, but there is nothing dull about it,” Anna said.
“It’s actually one of the most challenging jobs that we do.
“Firstly, just from a medical point of view, not being able to see your patient, or physically examine them, changes how you do medicine.
“And secondly, you have to be able to work out the logistics of providing patient care to someone who is remote and not near a hospital."
Whether it’s locating an airstrip for an emergency retrieval, prescribing medicine from an RFDS Medical Chest, assisting with a patient transfer or simply providing reassurance to a patient over the phone while help is on its way – no telehealth day is ever the same.
“For example, we sometimes look after patients on cruise ships,” Anna said.
“And when you talk to someone and realise they're eight hours boat ride offshore the logistics of providing them treatment becomes very complicated.
“This is one of the reasons I love telehealth because you can’t practice medicine the way you normally would, and you always have to think on your feet.”
To meet the growing healthcare needs of Queensland’s regional, rural and remote communities the RFDS (Queensland Section) is committed to expanding its telehealth services further.
In the last financial year, the RFDS (Queensland Section) delivered more than 26,000 remote telehealth consultation calls.
This service includes 24-hour medical consultations for after-hours urgent care and scheduled primary health care appointments.
A ‘virtual ward’ has also been made available so that RFDS medical officers can treat patients via telehealth for long periods of time and collaborate with other allied health professionals to provide continued care.
“Our RFDS telehealth service provides isolated communities reassurance,” Anna said.
“People who live in very remote communities may have a doctor who flies in once a week, or in some cases, once a month.
“If it wasn’t for the RFDS telehealth service– these communities wouldn’t have access to any healthcare.
“That is quite powerful and is one of the reasons I love doing the job because you feel like you are making a massive difference.”
In celebration of National Doctors’ Day on 30 March, Anna celebrates her colleagues and said no doctor could do their job without the support of a team.
“RFDS is a very collaborative organisation so I think we have a very diverse group of doctors, nurses, pilots, admin staff and other health professionals, who function very well as a team,” Anna said.
“I think there are only certain things that can be replaced by technology and human compassion is not one of them.
“Practicing medicine and showing compassion will always be at the core of what we do.”
The RFDS provides a range of opportunities for medical officers across telehealth, aeromedical and primary health care streams of medicine.
If you’re interested in becoming an RFDS Medical Officer, please express your interest by completing the form below or contact our recruitment team via recruitment@rfdsqld.com.au.
