9 minute read
Interview with Tim Ovens – Emerald, Queensland
From city practice management to regional small business ownership, sonographer Tim Ovens has built a career defined by adaptability, community connection, and a passion for delivering quality healthcare where it’s needed most. Now based at Emerald Radiology in Central Queensland, Tim shares how he transitioned from therapeutic radiography to ultrasound, what makes rural practice uniquely rewarding, and the opportunities and challenges of providing essential imaging services in regional Australia.
My journey to Emerald Radiology is a culmination of a career working in hospitals, suburban practices, tutoring, and the unexpected death of my mother. When my mother passed suddenly, I was helping manage a private practice in Brisbane but looking to invest in a small clinic. It was a daunting prospect that had been put on hold until my family circumstances had changed, when my mother’s death sparked me into taking some action. An opportunity arose to purchase a single machine practice in Emerald, Queensland, and after a rapid tour of the community, my wife and I decided to take the plunge into small practice ownership.
What makes working as a sonographer in Emerald different from practising in metropolitan areas?
Regardless of where we work, we all make a significant impact on people’s lives and their health outcomes. After years of improving my scanning, including upskilling in MSK and vascular studies, I was fortunate to take these skills to a regional community.
Can you share what first drew you to sonography, and how you came to be working at Emerald Radiology in Queensland?
I started my career as a therapeutic radiographer working closely with medical imaging facilities, utilising CT scanners for radiotherapy planning purposes. Over time, I built a rapport with the medical imaging teams, including the sonographers who encouraged me to pursue a career in ultrasound. At the same time, radiation oncologists were discouraging me from pursuing a medical career due to the time required to qualify, the commitment, the duration of study, and the massive hours required as a junior doctor. Sonography appeared to offer a better lifestyle, good remuneration, job security, the opportunity to upskill, challenge the intellect, and become a vital part of the diagnostic team with significant input.
Encouraging sonographers to work remotely is challenging due to the numerous opportunities available on the coast or in the city.
I’ve found the work to be similar in both settings, although when working regionally, it helps to be a good all-rounder with experience. Sonographers working in regional settings are often by themselves and without a radiologist on site. Although the work is similar in both locations, the connection to the community and other health professionals is vastly different; a good comparison would be working within radiology in a small hospital. When there are findings that require immediate action, we can’t simply send them to a large emergency centre as we would in the city. We are often called upon and encouraged by our radiologists to ‘make the call’ and liaise with the requesting practitioners and emergency centres so our patients get the appropriate help and best health outcomes. Many of our patients travel up to four hours (one way) to be seen at our practice, so they need to be directed immediately to the appropriate medical professionals to seek help. Our referrers and our surrounding hospitals want to be contacted directly; therefore, our sonographers have corresponding phone numbers to expedite the process. Referrers in regional communities seem eager and accommodating to speak with technicians and will often step out of a consult to take a call. We are a small community, and there is certainly a strong sense of camaraderie among the healthcare workers.
What are some of the biggest opportunities you’ve experienced, as well as the challenges, in delivering ultrasound services in a rural community?
The biggest opportunities I’ve experienced are practice management/ownership, community connection, and the opportunity to improve radiology access for our region. Owning a practice has plenty of challenges, with the majority being financial, staffing, and finding time to do all the administration required to keep a practice running effectively. There are no human resources, marketing, accounts payable, IT, payroll teams, etc., for a single regional practice! Our small team of 10 does all we can to make these things happen, and over the last 5 years, I’ve learnt plenty in this space.
Sonographers are hard to come by, so much like our metropolitan colleagues, running at capacity can be challenging. Encouraging sonographers to work remotely is challenging due to the numerous opportunities available on the coast or in the city.
To ensure our growth, I’ve been fortunate to help train a few sonography students who have continued with the practice upon graduation. Emerald Radiology is also blessed to have a few experienced part-time sonographers who have worked in the practice for years, offering flexibility and experienced hands to lean on.
We currently fly in radiologists to perform steroid injections for the region, being the only local clinic to do so. It’s a fantastic community service, saving thousands of hours of driving, financial savings, and reducing inconvenience for our patients. Due to the lack of cytotechnologists in the region, we do not offer FNA services. We will endeavour to offer this service in the future, but we need to overcome a few hurdles to do so.
How does providing ultrasound in a rural setting allow you to make a direct impact on your patients and the wider community?
Being able to provide a regional ultrasound service in Emerald reduces the need for the community to travel to Rockhampton or Mackay. It’s extremely inconvenient to travel 6–8 hours for an examination that takes 30 minutes. With the help of the other private imaging provider in town, the 2 radiology clinics can accommodate most ultrasound services for a 700 km radius. Patients can take less time away from their family and work commitments, with the additional benefit of reduced accommodation and travel costs.
What role does collaboration between health professionals play in delivering ultrasound services in your area?
Strong collaboration between health professionals in a rural community is vital to the best health outcomes for our patients. This is particularly important in urgent situations. Like most regional settings, high-end medical services are not available, and patient transportation time can be the difference between life and death. In urgent situations, it’s imperative that imaging is provided with haste and that all healthcare professionals involved work closely together to give referrers/ specialists access to imaging and reports so the appropriate medical advice can be given, and if required, patients are airlifted to the appropriate healthcare facility rapidly. We work very closely with the main and satellite hospitals in the region to make this happen.
What changes or support would make the biggest difference for sonographers working in regional, rural or remote areas in Australia?
I think we are rather lucky to work in this profession at this moment in time. In the last 5 years, our professional bodies have offered some amazing professional development online, reducing the need for any of us to travel. We often watch these clever individuals present after hours from the comfort of our own homes! This is particularly important for remote sonographers, as the time it takes to travel and the ability to take time away from the practice are very difficult. As previously mentioned, many remote sonographers are the only source of ultrasound services for a community or hospital, so without them on site, this service is no longer available. More online professional development would not only help our remote sonographers but everybody in the profession.
Financial limitations to enhance professional development for remote sonographers can be a significant hurdle to improving their scanning. Various professional organisations offer financial help to support sonographers located outside of metropolitan centres to attend conferences, etc., The ASA has offered scholarships and support for remote sonographers for many years, and you will often find funding for conferences and professional development in places you never thought to look! In my very first week in Emerald, a local doctor asked how I could make a difference in the region, so I asked where he felt medical imaging was currently lacking. He was quick to respond with MRI (oh yeah), but paediatric and vascular ultrasound were also flagged as major hurdles for the community. With the aid of this medical professional and Health Workforce Queensland, my master’s in paediatric and vascular ultrasound was funded, and in time, we could offer those services to the community. Eventually, we got there with MRI!
Working remotely can be isolating, so perhaps more collaboration between remote sonographers would benefit not only the individuals but the practices they work in. Remote sonographers face unique challenges, and it would be great to liaise with others in a similar situation about the issues faced and how they’ve gone about improving their work environment. From personal experience, I’ve found locum work to perform a similar role, as at times you get to work in clinics with other sonographers who tackle issues differently from yourself. A sonographer exchange would be great to broaden our horizons (for all parties) and understand that there are often different or better ways to tackle a scanning technique or other issue. The exchange would give an opportunity for metropolitan sonographers to experience a welcoming rural community and open their eyes to another world.
Can I finish with a cheeky idea? To encourage not only sonographers but all healthcare workers and those seeking employment in any field, a reduction in income tax for those working outside of metropolitan centres would improve staffing shortages in rural communities and provide a great opportunity for those willing to work in those regions. We all know there is a national shortage of sonographers, but there are shortages across most industries in rural communities.
