throughout this wide brown land of Australia there are Rural Eoctors providing not just primary care, but also procedural skills – surgery, obstetrics and anaesthetic services. This means rural communities can be 24/7 Caesar-capable as well as utilise theatre for low level elective cases (herniorrhaphy, orthopaedic, dental, gynae, urological and of course endo-/colonoscopy etc). The …
An Affair of the Heart – Valentines Day Message to Clinicians
Community leadership. As clinicians we have a wonderful opportunity to educate – not just in the consulting room and on the wards…but also to get out there and make a difference. On 14th Feb (Valentine’s Day) it’s only appropriate that we consider the importance of the heart! Sudden cardiac death is estimated to affect over …
Snake Bite in Rural Hospital
We’ve had a spate of snake bites on Kangaroo Island over the holiday period. So I thought it would be worth reviewing snake bite management. Not least because I’ve had some sensible suggestions from my colleagues at Raptor Domain / KI Birds of Prey who run South Australias only ‘in-flight’ bird display AND offer a …
Rural Generalist, Swiss Army Knives & Waiting Lists
I’m proud to be a rural doctor. My training is in not just Primary Care but also in Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics and Anaesthesia. To be able to serve their communities best, rural doctors need broad brush skills across the board. Rather than the finely-honed precision instrument of the specialist (akin to a scalpel), rural generalists …
Gameshow or Desert Island Supraglottic Airway Devices?
There are over 20 different supraglottic airway devices on the market, each with their own pros & cons. This can lead to confusion when choosing preferred supraglottic airways to stock on emergency trolleys, with proponents favouring one device over another based on various performance characteristics or bias towards situational practice (e.g.: OT vs ED) How …