Trailblazer continued from Page 14
Fighting for Country Folk and their Doctors Today she and Kim head up HealthFix Consulting. As a Director, Felicity now lends her expertise to organisations across a variety of fields, from policy development to education and training. She has been involved in a review of the national registration and accreditation scheme and a review of the WA telehealth services. She is currently working on projects involving the WA General Practice Education and Training and Silver Chain.
workforce for the country, remains a pet subject. Just over a year ago she was commissioned to produce a report for Curtin University on the feasibility of a third WA medical school.
In regards to telehealth, Felicity has researched governance and business models for WA Health to ensure better access for rural patients to both private and public health services, while for Silver Chain she is helping to guide it through an expansion of its junior doctor placement program.
Any new medical school, she argued in the report, must commit to producing graduates predisposed to take up general practice in these areas – otherwise the investment would not be worthwhile.
“The work with WAGPET has included an assessment of the community residency program and its potential to expose more junior doctors to the rewards and challenges of general practice through early placements. I recently completed a review on the PGPPP in WA, which is highly regarded by supervisors, junior doctors and communities alike.” “At HealthFix I am choosing which issues to take on,” she says. “It’s hard sometimes because I am very conscious that there are still problems out in the country, but this time I am not the one charged with fixing them.” Power couple Mr Kim Snowball and Dr Felicity Jefferies
Rural general practice, and getting the right
The report, titled Western Australia: A Sorry State for Medical Education and Training, estimated the State has a shortage of 950 doctors. It again highlighted that this shortage is more acute in rural and regional areas.
“While increasing the number of medical school graduates will help, what we also must do is make sure that they are going into the specialties and communities that need them the most. We need to make sure we are creating the workforce that the community needs, rather than leaving it to chance. We want to be able to get medical students into areas like general practice, because we know there is a need.” While she admits to missing the cradle-to-grave medicine of general practice, particularly telling a woman who has been trying to start a family that she’s pregnant, policy is her future. “I really do feel that I can make the bigger difference by doing what I am doing now.”
By Ms Shannon McKenzie
Photo courtesy Whe
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Taking care of Western Australian rural medical practitioners for 25 years Rural Health West offers a diverse range of programs so general practitioners can take care of their communities: Business and Practice Support Service z Locum Placement Service z Access to financial incentives
Contact us to find out how we can help you take care of others. W www.ruralhealthwest.com.au | T 08 6389 4500 | E info@ruralhealthwest.com.au 16
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