UNE medical graduate Thanjon Michniewicz's doctor, growing up in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, was Dr Linda McQueen - a "warm, approachable and bubbly" GP who continues to serve her community with aplomb.
"Dr McQueen was really easy to talk to; more like a wise family friend," says Thanjon. "Many GPs aspire to be like her."
And now the 30-year-old is one of them, having completed his GP training and boomeranged back to his childhood mountain home.
A six-month rotation with the Faulconbridge Health Centre has parlayed into a permanent appointment, just metres from Thanjon's former primary school.
"It felt like coming home and it's fantastic to now have the opportunity to support the health of my community," he says. "It's been a pleasure seeing so many familiar faces - people I haven't seen since I was a child, like local shopkeepers and school staff - and I think that's a really rewarding part of general practice.
It felt like coming home and it's fantastic to now have the opportunity to support the health of my community.
"It's intense and busy, and there are many late nights spent doing paperwork and chasing up results. But the varied workload is fulfilling. As well as the clinic patients, I visit some of our long-term patients in nursing homes and group homes, and do home visits every now and then."
Like other graduates of UNE's Joint Medical Program, Thanjon is also helping to meet critical regional workforce shortages and healthcare needs.
"The health care disparities and inequalities across Australia, but especially in our regional and rural centres, soon became apparent," he says. "That inequity exists in terms of access to specialists but GPs, too. The Blue Mountains is not as geographically isolated as many other communities, but patients can wait up to a month to see a doctor. I also have patients who travel from one-and-a-half to two hours away."
The Blue Mountains is not as geographically isolated as many other communities, but patients can wait up to a month to see a doctor.
Thanjon ventured far afield himself to study at UNE's Armidale campus, after a year of studying physiotherapy. "Medicine was something that I always had an interest in, but, like most people, I didn't know what the ins and outs would involve," he says. "It surprised me how intense the learning was, but also how collegial it was at UNE, by virtue of the small class sizes and support we received. I knew my entire cohort and many are now my best friends, with whom I will have lifelong friendships and professional relationships."
It surprised me how intense the learning was, but also how collegial it was at UNE, by virtue of the small class sizes and support we received.
After three years living at Wright Village and being a member of UNE's Surgical Society, Thanjon undertook his clinical studies at Gosford Hospital. Along the way, thanks to "different insights and perspectives of health care", a passion for public health evolved.
"It has been a big interest ever since," says Thanjon, who completed a Masters of Public Health through the University of Edinburgh during his clinical training. "It's an opportunity to use your clinical skills and continue your love of patient interaction while having a more far-reaching impact on populations and preventative health. General practice is at that interface - of caring for communities while also using your clinical skills to care for individuals."
General practice is at that interface - of caring for communities while also using your clinical skills to care for individuals.
At the RACGP graduation earlier this year, Thanjon was awarded the Tony Buhagiar Memorial Medal for the NSW/ACT GP candidate who passed all three exams on their first attempt and achieved the highest Objective Structured Clinical Exam score. He's now intent on becoming "one of those rare types of doctors these days" - a true generalist.
"I like the idea of having a go at a diverse range of patient problems and developing a broad skillset," he says. "In this era of sub-specialisation, a GP or generalist can be really valuable. You have the opportunity to connect with someone and guide them towards good health, consistent with their life goals. You can get to the core of a their fears, hopes and aspirations, and that's the foundation of delivering really meaningful medicine.
In this era of sub-specialisation, a GP or generalist can be really valuable.
"My UNE studies helped develop a broad understanding of medical practice and fostered a sense of collaboration. The lecturers, tutors and mentors in the School of Rural Medicine were instrumental in building my passion for what a rural generalist can be."
As well as "working towards some sort of work-life balance", Thanjon continues his interest in nature and wildlife photography, and advocating for better global ecological and environmental health. "It's inextricably linked to human health," he says. "A healthy environment equals healthy people and healthy animals. I try to highlight how we can build healthy, resilient human communities and populations that are also more climate and ecologically aware."
