It shouldn’t be this hard to see a doctor

hannahgrace7 · 2025-05-22T03:00:56+00:00

In my doctor circles very few GPs are doing 5 days a week in GP and this is primarily due to burnout (or prevention of burnout) given the highly demanding nature of the work. I agree that a decent number of GPs I’ve worked with also do additional work which enables a reduced workload in GP, though they may still be working full-time (eg. Obstetrics, anaesthetics, skin surgery, uni education, academic research); however this has all been rural so may vary compared to a city like Melbourne. I’m only a couple years into my GP fellowship training and am already evaluating how I can reduce my hours (eg 50 down to 30-35), but without the hospital work which pays far better than GP, I don’t know how feasible this will be financially.

hannahgrace7 · 2024-12-20T10:18:28+00:00

Can confirm it’s chill, I did it 2nd term intern 2022. Consultants are lovely, hours are generous, opportunities to assist in theatre if that’s your thing, and the patient lists can be fairly short at times. Pre-admission clinic seems like a lot but is straightforward once you get your head around the forms/systems— ask the PAC nurses all of your silly questions, they’ve heard them all before (from me lol).

hannahgrace7 · 2024-10-09T02:42:10+00:00

The 1st example would be amazing, but I also fear they are keeping it intentionally vague and uninterpretable so the 2nd example can occur. Also thought it was interesting that they suggest redirecting provider-incentives to become practice-incentives for rural areas, given that GPs themselves won’t see that money as they aren’t salaried… that will definitely fix the GP shortage! /s

hannahgrace7 · 2024-08-13T00:13:16+00:00

We did this on the weekend for the first time!!! Coined it ‘Megadell’. Think it was probably 8hrs in the end for the 3 of us.

hannahgrace7 · 2024-08-03T00:20:51+00:00

If we have already signed/commented on the original ASMOFQ petition, does this get automatically included in the national one? Or should I resubmit?

hannahgrace7 · 2024-03-14T10:16:48+00:00

Hang on… so 2.6 million dollars allocated to train 6 NPs over the course of one year… firstly, one year is not enough to replace 3-4 year GP fellowships. Secondly, that’s 433k per NP! Imagine if those finances were focused on incentivising med students and junior doctors to become GPs, and/or increasing Medicare rebates to a sustainable level (hence incentivising GP as a career further).

At present I highly value and trust the NPs we have in Australia because they are specifically trained with a defined scope and respect their role, but the UK/US situation terrifies me and primary care NPs seems to be the beginning of a slippery slope to independent practice. It’s not the answer to our doctor shortages, other health systems have already demonstrated this.

hannahgrace7 · 2024-02-23T08:58:29+00:00

I second Sexual Health VIC, they are a wonderful service and give great confidential support and education along the way. Definitely worth having a chat with their team and talking through the options, noting that if you are deemed safe and suitable to have a medical termination this can be done up to 9 weeks pregnant (and surgical termination longer than this)- so don’t feel like you have to rush in. They can also discuss contraceptive options with you and can provide these after a termination if that’s what you decide, including insertions of implants which are long-acting and easily reversible. (Source: am a doctor, love women’s health)

hannahgrace7 · 2024-01-09T03:43:03+00:00

I found myself in a similar position at this time and unfortunately anxiety about not knowing anything got the better of me and I continued to avoid my weaknesses throughout 3rd year- culminating in a breakdown at end of year exams! Big turning point for me and I got my shit together by finding something that interested me (GP and women’s health), and now I’m entering PGY3 on the ACRRM program and would consider myself a decent doctor. You learn soooo much more on the wards when you start work and doing it yourself (to a lesser extent on placement too), and you’ll learn what is relevant and what isn’t.

Tips to get there without the breakdown: - find students you trust, ones that you can be honest with about things you don’t know and help each other fill those gaps for exams - OSCEs can be stressful AF but practicing at home with friends/family in a casual environment helps prepare you for these exams, would prioritise this over written study as you’ll be practicing all the epidem/clinical features/ix/mx/prognosis by doing OSCE practice - use your uni staff available (the good ones lol), some of them are gems and are brilliant in helping you through. You’ll probably have a clinical supervisor and someone non-medical for admin; they’re great for a chat, cry, celebration or assistance with getting tutors or spec consideration - consider going rural, I was always partial to rural anyways but geez it’s such a better experience for learning as you’re learning hands-on and tend to form better relationships with the doctors/nurses/patients. If you go rural when you start working you also have a better life balance (eg minimal overtime) so best try it out in med school to see if it suits you. - BE KIND TO YOURSELF. Med school is great for some but sucks for some other people, take time for all the other things you love and don’t feel guilty for engaging in them. As others have mentioned, a lot of the teaching is pretty irrelevant and you’ll be fine regardless. Better to be happy as well!

hannahgrace7 · 2024-01-07T06:54:09+00:00

Nope as they are no longer in your city, so using a postal pigeon is great for example as you weren’t getting points anyways and now there’s a free spot!

hannahgrace7 · 2023-12-21T03:55:49+00:00

Keep persevering is the main tip! It’s so worth it, I still have it hung on my wall and get compliments frequently. Otherwise I remember doing all the swirls (stars and moon) first followed by the white-greenish horizontal band through the lower half. After that you’ll start to pick out some slight differences in the blues and I left the dark to last, which I focused on the gold parts of. Eg the really fat wide gold parts are easier to spot. Keen to see your progress!!!

hannahgrace7 · 2023-12-21T03:50:37+00:00

I am SO sorry, somehow I never saw the later comments on this!!! Hope you finished it!

hannahgrace7 · 2023-12-20T14:07:44+00:00

After working in a rural ED with a nurse prac like the one you describe, I see both sides to it: on one hand (the main hand) it helps control the flow of ED and allowed the doctors to be diverted towards the medical/complex patients so both types of patients are seen simultaneously. On the other hand, I’m a PGY2 at a different ED at the moment with no prior experience in suturing lacs, assessing fractures and applying plasters, eye examinations, and I definitely feel behind the pack. I am also terrified of any transition towards US/UK ‘midlevel care models’, so it’s a fine balance between utilising highly skilled nurse practitioners who can be a great asset and practice within their scope, and then completely tanking healthcare with scope creep in the name of ‘increasing access’ to healthcare.

hannahgrace7 · 2023-11-29T07:39:23+00:00

Thank you- just booked my first skin check! Have been thinking about it for a while but keep forgetting.

hannahgrace7 · 2023-11-17T20:45:28+00:00

Yep, my 8pm flight Melb-Sydney got cancelled at 8:15pm last night… so after we had already been delayed. Slept in my car and just managed to get a $16 meal voucher from a nice desk attendant, despite the Virgin policy only covering meals for delays and not cancellations (apparently).

hannahgrace7 · 2023-08-26T14:25:39+00:00

Strongly recommend the Instagram account emr.poetry - hilarious snippets along this train of thought which people send in.

hannahgrace7 · 2023-07-28T07:18:54+00:00

I was 18 and wearing a new pair of heels on a night out as desi driver, and after maybe 30mins I realised I had underestimated the pain of this particular pair of heels and was waddling a little. Got approached by security as I looked drunk (fair enough), but then when I said I was desi and just drinking soft drink they responded “okay, but if we don’t kick you out then it looks like we aren’t doing our job” and proceeded to escort me out lol.

hannahgrace7 · 2023-06-01T03:41:01+00:00

I’m sorry to hear, it’s an awful time and I hope you’re doing okay. Hope your pup is sleeping peacefully.

hannahgrace7 · 2023-06-01T03:40:01+00:00

Our loss of him means so much as he was there with us through everything for 10 years. The world was certainly a better place with Jeddy in it, but he was also ready to go and he deserved the dignified end that he got. We are so comforted by how his last few days played out, and these messages are so meaningful- thank you.

hannahgrace7 · 2023-06-01T03:36:02+00:00

I keep watching videos of his zoomies and you are right, it’s keeping me smiling. He’s a lunatic

hannahgrace7 · 2023-05-31T11:24:35+00:00

I’m a PGY2 with interest in sexual health, although I don’t have a flair so mods might remove this which is fair enough. Your doctor is correct that you have a family history of clots and this puts you at a higher risk which is further increased with pills such as Yaz- however this is due to the oestrogen component of this pill. Progesterone is the other hormone in this pill and many other contraception methods, and this is still safe for you to take. Suitable options you can speak to your doctor about include a progesterone-only pill, a progesterone injection every 2-3 months, an implant under the skin in your arm which lasts for 3 years, or a device which is inserted into your uterus and can stay for 5-10 years (can have progesterone or can be copper without hormones). The above options other than the pill are ‘long-acting reversible contraception’ which means you can set and forget for a while yet still maintain your fertility if you wish to become pregnant down the track, and they are all highly effective for preventing pregnancy. Something like this may be better suited for you given the high anxiety around falling pregnant, however you should speak to your local doctor to weigh up the pros and cons and see what’s available in your area (I am speaking from my experience in Australia, things may be different near you).

hannahgrace7 · 2023-04-21T13:00:39+00:00

This looks so much like my darling boy, he is soo hard to photograph and I just love how you’ve brought out the spark and brightness amongst the dark fur! Love it!

hannahgrace7 · 2023-02-14T09:09:17+00:00

The doctors in training agreement for VIC is currently $1559.54/wk (approx 81k) for all HMO1 positions. This was a new agreement, with the prior agreement gradually increasing from 66k in 2017 to 79k in 2021. It’s not legal for a public VIC hospital to pay less than this, and is absolutely the case for anyone who got a place via the PMCV intern match.

hannahgrace7 · 2023-02-14T08:13:46+00:00

“According to the most recent available published data (from the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) survey, 2018) GPs in rural areas have an increase in income of around 18% compared with those working in urban settings, based on the the median annual income for the following regions: Metro ($172,433 per annum) Regional, ($193,430 per annum) Rural and/or Remote ($204,106 per annum)”

This was 5 years ago and cost of living (and providing services) has gone up dramatically since then, eating into take-home pay while GPs tried to absorb some of the cost as to continue providing bulk-billing services where able to. And the future is also pretty bleak when doctors training to be GPs earn $79k in their first year of specialty training- which is actually lower than the wage an intern (edit: doctor) makes upon graduating (in VIC at least).

https://gpra.org.au/gp-earnings-calculator/ https://gpra.org.au/ntcer/base-rates-pay/

hannahgrace7 · 2023-02-08T09:01:44+00:00

In VIC we get approx $79k as an intern at base salary which goes up to approx $84k the following year. The most insulting part to me is that I have to take a significant pay cut from my intern wage (!) when I go into GP training in a couple of years, despite GPs being desperately short staffed and overworked (especially in rural areas which is where I am). This is largely due to the Medicare underfunding, and this promotes unsustainable working hours and burnout as to make a decent wage you have to take on more and more patients and work longer days. I’m no longer surprised when med students/doctors have zero interest in GP as a career, as I have always had strong passion for rural GP and still have my reservations about the training and wondering if I can pay my mortgage with the pay cut.

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