Associate Professor Jane Smith

The first time was a long time ago, possibly 2001 or 2002. I was elected Queensland Chair and then Queensland Provost [from] 2010 to 2016. My ‘Queensland council retirement’ was short lived, when in 2018 I got asked to Chair the Queensland Research Support Committee, and lo and behold, I was back on the RACGP Queensland faculty council.

Share some corporate knowledge and wisdom, [and] bring GPs, general practice organisations and medical schools together.

I like general practice as I like people, medicine, challenges, complexity, independence and problem solving, so GP is an ideal career for me. I’ve never stopped learning new things in clinical general practice.

I don’t think I can say there’s been one best moment as a GP – there have been so many, such as opening my own practice was one of many, getting FRACGP, becoming an academic GP, chairing RACGP Queensland, sitting on interesting committees, getting papers published, being quoted on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald, and being appointed Head of General Practice at Bond University Medical Program. I also enjoy other GPs’ best moments; I try to mentor success in GP colleagues.

Stay as calm as you can, true to your values, and keep strong on honesty, ethics and integrity. It makes it much easier to sleep at night.

I spent a lot of time outside the headmistress’s office at high school, until I had realised, I wanted to be a doctor and not leave school at 16. So I got serious about studying and following rules, and two years later got into medical school on my first attempt.