Working in public health - video transcript
Manjeet: This is my colleague Zoe who joined us from Rocky (Rockhampton) a few months ago and was recently successful in a position that we advertised here on the Gold Coast. So, the sort of skills that we were looking for that at that point in time were primarily, you know, what was her previous experience of working with the high-risk foot in the public sector. So, with Zoe she did mention that she was familiar with processes of vascular and neurological assessment, as well as being able to use her skills within a biomechanical aspect to offload the shared experiences of that. She had a good knowledge of understanding the importance of picking adequate dressings, but equally as well, she mentioned that she knew how to liaise with other members of the multidisciplinary team. So being able to seek referrals from other services as required, like to the vascular department or to the diabetes educators, or to the GP for ongoing care. And yeah, so as a result of that we felt it would be a good opportunity to shortlist her for an interview.
Zoe what brought you to apply for our job here on the Gold Coast?
Zoe: Working for a public health team really appealed to me and the patient care and patient cohort we had to work with, and then the constraints that we don't necessarily have in public health and being able to offer care to patients without the funding problems. And having the support from the public health system to develop and pursue extra training and knowledge and using different technologies.
Manjeet: I suppose when I arrived, my first experience in Queensland Health was Toowoomba, and I think for me that was a good eye opener because again, new to Australia, new to Queensland, it was the first time I'd ever driven along a highway thinking I might actually ruin my car without actually hitting another vehicle because there were so many kangaroos running around, so that was the funny aspect of it. But as a hospital, Toowoomba Hospital was great. It was really, really friendly. It was a really good experience for me to see how vast the country is. Like patients, some of the patients were traveling, sometimes three-four hours just to come to see me, and from my point of view, I thought wow, you know it makes you feel really important. I know it sounds really strange, but you think, wow you spent the night in your car overnight just to see me, you know, and you realize just how big an impact you have on these people.
Zoe: In my previous role we would travel two-three hours just to do a clinic for the day, and people would arrange their whole week around coming to that clinic. It was on the billboard ‘this week in town, podiatrists coming’ which is how massive it is.
Manjeet: I know, and it's quite humbling actually when you think about it. And then equally, like when you go up and see a patient as an inpatient, again you cannot wait to go that extra mile more because you want to get them out, because you know that they've come so far, and an extra day in hospital can be so much more meaningful to them than what someone who lives 10 minutes away, which is what I was used to in the UK. You know, I was never that far away from my hospital so from that aspect, yeah, this, but was very good. But equally socially then, I found there was always lots to do. I stayed in accommodation in the hospital while I was there and again, I felt that there was a lot of kind of good relationships there. People were always quite friendly, you would go out to the local tavern and do pub quiz during the week and stuff, and you’d tend to find other hospital colleagues there, and it was always pretty good.
Zoe: You mentioned to me the other week that you could go out on the weekend and see the sun which is not something I’d ever thought about, but I guess, unique to Queensland, that there’s sun every weekend and you can bank on it.
Manjeet: Yeah, yeah you can, pretty much you can, and I find that you do because you’re new to a new place and there's just so much opportunity there to see different things that you will do it. And Toowoomba is no different. You know it was great. I went to see different things and different sights. And similarly when I came down to Metro South, you know, I've worked in the city and also in Cleveland, and again, just seeing patients, you think Brisbane, Brisbane south, it’s a metro site, but in actual fact you've also got access to all the islands, so you had people from Lamb Island, Russell Island, Macleay Island and again, the health inequalities within such a short space - again, just having that, you know, ability to see that happen and have an impact on it, is quite, it’s quite rewarding.
Zoe: It’s such different lifestyles, although some of things they’d say they’ve done on the weekend would be baffling and often impact their feet as well. And then tell me what to do on the weekend, and you’d trot off and give it ago.
Manjeet: Yeah, that's right. I never fished until I came here. In Scotland they do fish but again, patients just get you hooked, literally.
