Dr Catherine Sloan
Can you tell us a little about your journey into medicine and what brought you to general practice in Australia?
I’m not somebody who was always set on medicine. I had no medics in my family, growing up. I took a year off between school and university, and spent half of it working in Mexico. By the end I was debating between medicine or social work – it wouldn’t have taken much for me to have stayed in Mexico and never started uni at all.
However, I did come home and went off to Birmingham University Medical School. Inspired by a surgeon I knew, I started down the pathway to ENT. After the initial excitement of operations (grommets, tonsillectomies, and finally a thyroidectomy) wore off, I realised that I preferred the outpatient clinic to the operating theatre. Also, that I didn't want to spend 40 years looking through an auroscope, and that I wasn’t that keen on hospital culture. In fact, what I really needed was to change career path to a specialty that looked holistically at everybody... general practice!
In total, I was a GP in Britain for 15 years, in rural and city practices, first as a salaried GP and then a practice owner. In 2019, my husband was offered a job in Australia, and we decided to embark on an adventure.
What was the transition to practising medicine in Australia like for you as an international medical graduate?
Hard work at first. We arrived in Melbourne in January 2020, just in time for COVID-19. One effect of COVID-19 was that clinics weren’t taking on any new GPs, and I needed a new clinic because the IMG rules had just changed – meaning that I was unable to work in the clinic where I’d been offered a place. I had 10 months of being a stay-at-home mum before my first day of work.
And then, on the first day, I felt like a new trainee all over again, having to ask for help with every patient, about real basics: drug doses, the referral system, how to book a follow-up appointment with me. But my supervisors were friendly and generous with their advice, and the human body is the same whichever country you’re in, so I soon started feeling more at home.
What motivated you to step into the role of co-chair of the RACGP Victoria IMG committee?
I’m passionate about improving life for IMG GPs. We make up around half of the workforce, and often accept jobs that home-grown graduates don’t want. Unfortunately the reality for many is that the regulations and pathways are confusing, and the support can be less than ideal. We need to change this!
What advice would you give to other IMG GPs building their careers and communities in Australia?
Australia is an amazing place to live and work, with a really strong GP community.
Don’t go too rural as your starting point – you can be more adventurous later if you want to. Ask for help when you need it: Ozzies are a friendly bunch!