24 October 2024

Doctor's Legacy of Education and Innovation

After three decades of dedicated service at Townsville University Hospital, Dr Robert Norton has retired, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy in the fields of microbiology and infectious diseases. As the Clinical Director of Microbiology, Dr Norton has been at the forefront of diagnosing and combating some of North Queensland’s most challenging health issues.   Beyond his clinical work, one of his greatest passions has been mentoring the next generation of healthcare professionals, particularly junior doctors and medical students from James Cook University.  Dr Norton says the rewards of mentoring are twofold, allowing him to continue his own education while inspiring others.   "It is an opportunity for me to continue learning and to hopefully encourage the next generation to appreciate the importance of infectious diseases in our region," he says.  Throughout his career, Dr Norton has been deeply involved in various education events through the Northern Queensland Regional Training Hubs, including career fairs and pathology training information sessions.   He sees these activities as vital for sparking interest in careers in medicine, microbiology, and infectious diseases.   "They are very important," he says. "It’s an opportunity for our students to informally meet doctors in a variety of fields and to discuss what the job entails and, more importantly, whether it is for them." 

4 March 2024

Something in the Ayr

For General Practice (GP) Registrar, Dr Ashleigh Attard, there is no place like home.  After receiving hands-on GP training and experience practising in regional and remote clinics across Northern Queensland, Dr Attard returned home to complete her final GP practice placement in Ayr.  Ashleigh said, the decision to move home to service the community was an easy one.  “I thought it would be nice to come back and work at home, in a community that I'm familiar with,” she said. “I wanted to give back to the community where I've lived my whole life and all my family still lives here. It was an easy decision to make.”  During the 18-month placement at Outback Family Medicine, Ashleigh received support, supervision and training from her cousin, an experienced GP working at the practice.  “I had that family connection to the workplace already and it was a great environment to do my training in,” she said. “My cousin was a great mentor. The practice has really great patients and staff.”  Working as a GP Registrar in a rural community, Dr Attard gained a wide scope of practice providing continuity of care to patients with diverse clinical presentations.  “I see a lot of patients across the spectrum from young to old,” she said. “I look after the Home Hill Nursing Home and I have a lot of patients that I go to visit once a week.  “I have lots of antenatal, and I'm involved in the antenatal care of some of my friends from school who are having babies.  “You really get immersed in the community, and you will know so much more about your patients, and you feel like you really are making a difference in people’s lives definitely more so in a rural town.” 

29 February 2024

Bridging the gap

27 February 2024

Adventure Calls in Tropical Island Paradise

23 February 2024

A warm welcome to Orthopaedics in the Tropics

Growing up in Western Australia, Indigenous doctor Tamika Ponton had not given much thought to a career in medicine let alone a competitive specialty pathway. But once she began the medical journey and got a taste for orthopaedics she was hooked. When she asked seasoned doctors where to pursue the specialty, one location came up repeatedly; Cairns, Far North Queensland. An ever-popular tourist destination, the tropical city has a strong and growing reputation for its outstanding training experience across a range of specialties like orthopaedics and cardiology. “Once I had settled on pursuing orthopaedics I began looking at the sites that have had a good reputation,” Dr Ponton says. “Every conversation seemed like it kept coming back to Cairns. Everyone had good things to say; the support, the extent of the training, the lifestyle.” After completing her internship year in WA, Dr Ponton made the move to Cairns Hospital to gain as much orthopaedic exposure as she could before applying for the program. “The junior doctor years before specialty training is about building up those skills for your chosen pathway. For me, it was about stepping up, being challenged to become a good all-rounded doctor,” Dr Ponton says. Dr Ponton says the Orthopaedics Department doctors have been extremely helpful in ensuring she gets the experience she needs to set her up for applying for the specialty pathway. “The scope of practice in orthopaedics in Cairns is really what drew me here in the first place. You see a lot of soft tissue and acute injuries, chronic arthritis and seasonal injuries given the tourist influx. Cairns is the first port of call for the region, and we are servicing a wide area of the Far North.”

23 February 2024

Going the distance

Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) Registrar, Dr Amanda Wee, is passionate about providing women with the women-centred care that they need.  “I've always been interested in women's health,” Amanda said. “I just knew that I wanted to specialise in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.”  Dr Wee has travelled across Queensland doing obstetrics and gynaecology specialty training in metropolitan, regional and rural centres.   After completing an impactful third-year clinical placement in Townsville, Dr Wee who is currently in her final year of training, has returned to Townsville to complete a two-year advanced gynaecology fellowship.  “Since I got on the training pathway, I've had to move around the state quite a bit,” she said.  “I came to Townsville for my third year, and I really enjoyed my time here. I got to work with such good surgeons, they just really inspired me to come back again.   "I think the reason why they were so inspiring for me was because they were all great role models who took pride in their work, and provided women with the women-centred care that they need, and that is my real passion.”  Amanda said, that she couldn’t pass on the opportunity to work alongside and learn from the experienced supervisors at TUH.  “When I had the opportunity, I applied and interviewed for a job at TUH, and very luckily got offered the job,” she said. “Now, I've come back up here to do a two-year advanced laparoscopic gynaecology fellowship. The team here in Townsville are extremely skilled with difficult endometriosis and other endoscopic surgeries. I want to get that skill and be able to perform those surgeries one day. It’s a good experience learning how the bosses perform surgery, and what tips and tricks they have. That's why I wanted to come back up here.”  “I think also it's a combination of the fact that we're doing tertiary level things in a hospital that's not as big, and everyone knows each other. It's like a small hospital feel but you're doing a lot of the big stuff that you'd be doing at the metropolitan centres.”