Name - Sanjay Farshid
Year - V
Location - Griffith, NSW
In February 2018, I had the opportunity to spend four weeks in Griffith, NSW for my fifth year rural placement. I was placed on the medical ward at Griffith Base Hospital, where the patients are treated by a local cardiologist and locum physicians from Sydney. There was a different consultant on call for each week that I was there, which meant I was able to see distinctive styles of treatment and work with doctors from various specialties.
Due to the general nature of the ward, I saw a wide variety of illnesses. There were sometimes over forty patients under the care of the team. After the morning round, I would help with jobs on the ward such as cannulas, attend a clinic, or talk to patients on my own. Teaching included weekly grand rounds and informal teaching on the ward given by the consultants, junior doctors and other staff.
Griffith is a picturesque town filled with immaculate green lawns on a base of red soil. On weekends, another student and I visited nearby attractions such as the Riverina wineries, Hermit’s Cave and Lake Wyangan, where we were surprised to stumble upon some emus. The town has a large Italian population and as such is blessed with cafes and restaurants offering great coffee and delicious Italian food.
Having lived in cities all my life, I greatly enjoyed the experience of staying in a rural town. Without long commutes I had more time to relax and enjoy everything the town had to offer. The placement was also very useful medically, as there were not many students so it was easy to get involved. Since not all specialties were available to provide input, the medical team often had to manage multiple issues for a single patient. By observing their decision-making process, I became more confident in clinical judgement.
Overall, my stay in Griffith was a great opportunity to immerse myself in another lifestyle and increase my medical knowledge. I would highly recommend a rural placement to anyone who wants a change of pace and some hands-on experience.
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Griffith (map)
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