Written by Harvey Lew
Hi, I’m Harvey, a third year (almost) medical student at Charles Sturt, and clinical placement has taught me many things, including how quickly your dignity can evaporate in a hospital corridor. I learned this especially in Griffith and Hay, where everyone knows everyone, and where you can walk into the supermarket after placement and run straight into the patient whose abdomen you examined that morning. It keeps you humble very quickly, and it also teaches you that rural medicine is one of the best classrooms you can get.
My first lesson was that confidence is optional, but willingness is essential. In small country communities, people can tell immediately if you care, and they appreciate effort far more than slick medical student energy. I didn’t always know what was going on, and sometimes I had no idea where equipment lived, but the nurses in Griffith could read my panic from across the ward and would very calmly point me toward the right cupboard. They always knew before I did.
Another discovery was how kind rural patients can be. They know you’re a student. They know you’re learning, and they often want you to succeed. I once stumbled through a respiratory exam in Griffith, and the patient gently reminded me that I should listen to their chest. It should have been embarrassing, but instead it felt reassuring, like we were all in on the same joke.
Asking questions became my survival tactic. Doctors in small towns are incredibly generous with teaching, but only if you show you want it. When I stopped nodding like a confused dashboard toy and actually admitted when I didn’t understand something, everything suddenly became easier. People explained things. People checked in with me. People took the time to walk me through procedures instead of assuming I already knew them.
Most of all, I learned that placement is supposed to feel uncomfortable. You will stand in the wrong spot. You will forget steps. You will accidentally call a very senior doctor “mate” because that is how everyone else talks in town. It’s fine.
In places like Griffith and Hay, you learn fast because you’re part of the community, and everyone helps you grow. It’s messy and awkward and completely worthwhile, and somewhere in the chaos you start realising you are actually becoming a real clinician, and that’s a little exciting.
Charlie blog is a SSAF funded initiative.
