I first came to Australia in 2011. We wanted to come somewhere that we could do medical
education, as well as our own specialties. So Cairns just fitted the bill perfectly.
We fell madly in love with the community and the people and it felt as if we were always
supposed to be here. I didn't really know much about Cairns. I visited a few times,
to do some scuba diving and you know other things around the region, so I really arrived
quite new and blind, I guess by the community. I found that being at a smaller facility is
being really positive for me, getting to know clinicians a little bit better, getting to
know how the hospital works. I feel like I can engage a bit more and just be at the bottom
end of the totem pole. I think the main thing for me is how supportive
and approachable and down to earth all my supervisors have been. You're never restricted
to one specialty and you can certainly pick up a lot of extra skills and everything that
you might be interested in. Cairns in particular is so exciting because
it is a university city, so as such we have access to lots of research, if that's an interest
of yours, teaching as well, lots of support from academics, medical educators, but also
gives the city a bit of vibrancy you know having students coming in and out in seasons,
it gives a fantastic energy to the city. I've really lucked out being here in that the diversity
of what we see just because we are the only sexual health clinic for Cairns and Torres
and Cape really, is phenomenal being able to learn from that has been really cool.
You've got a good mix between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and there's a lot of
farmers, and it's pretty multi-cultural up here. We get all sorts of people coming to
work on bananas for example. You've got the best of almost every world,
you've got fantastic country side, you've got the reef on your doorstep, part of my
community in Cairns is a really fantastic running club. Lots of doctors and it's fantastic
to be part of something that you wanna get up in the morning and go and meet people and
you've got that support. A lot of the people here, especially the medical community, they're
your friends as well, friends for life. I'm quite involved in the moment in our local
theater production. It's been fantastic just to have the opportunity to sing and dance
but then meet people outside of the health medical community has been fantastic.
In terms of the region, if you enjoy exploring or hiking or photography, you've got a lot
on offer. So yeah Port Douglas is this beautiful little
beach village. In actual fact, we've got registrars who are situated up there, we've got training
practices there. You go south you go to Mission Beach and Innisfail, Tully and again we've
got registrars who live in Mission Beach because it's so beautiful but it's within you know
a stone's throw of our training hospitals and training practices.
The drive every day, I'm sort of feel like I'm just in awe of where I'm actually living.
I've got mountains on one side, the ocean on the other and in between there's the cane
fields and it's harvest season right now so you've got that whiff of that sweet smell
throughout the air and it's magical. And I remember coming to Cairns and my daughter
and I were in the hotel pool and floating on our backs and sort of palm trees above
us and my daughter turned around and she said "are we really allowed to stay here" and I
said "yes" and she said "this is like paradise".