Welcoming Dr Tamara Scott

Tamara will join the Ochre Medical Centre Scottsdale in July where she will spend 13 weeks exploring rural medicine in a program funded by the Federal Department of Health.

The Rural Junior Doctor Training Innovation Fund is a community-based program designed to encourage more doctors to choose a rural general practice career. The program is the first of a number of programs that train, mentor and support doctors as they acquire experience in rural medicine through different stages of their training.

We asked Tamara a few questions about herself:

Where are you from? 

NSW but now call Launceston home.

Where did you do your medical degree? 

University of Wollongong.

What made you decide on medicine as a career?

I wanted a career with lots of human interaction and I find the human body absolutely fascinating. Modern medicine is so clever and I love being a part of what keeps people at their best.

What did you do before embarking on a medical pathway?

My first degree was in Sport Science and I worked as a gymnastics coach full time afterwards until I settled on medicine. I travelled a lot, did some backpacking around Europe, North America and South America then decided to come home and do med school!

What do you think you will enjoy and gain from your rural placement? 

I really enjoy the challenges that rural practice brings, the self sufficiency of both the patients and the doctors and the incredible resilience of the rural population. I look forward to seeing a wide range of pathologies and people in my rural practice.

What specialties interest you?

I love critical care medicine and have spent most of my initial medical years between Emergency and Intensive Care. I look forward to gaining experience in Obstetrics and Paediatrics as well as community management of chronic health conditions.

What are your impressions of the region where you are going to do your rural placement?

Rural with lots of primary industry but also a close by blossoming mountain biking community in nearby Derby.

Have you been there before?

No! I only moved to Tasmania in January and am still yet to explore the Scottsdale area.

What hobbies and interests do you have outside of your career? 

I’m an active outdoors person and love to climb, surf, hike and ski but will generally turn my hand to anything that allows me to spend time outside! I’m an enthusiastic sketcher and reader and love to spend my downtime doing these two activities.