KEEP IN TOUCH
(07) 3105 7800
Turrbal and Jagera Country
Level 4, 348 Edward Street
Brisbane QLD 4000
Dr Nalini Rao is a dedicated general practitioner who runs her own practice in the small town of Mullewa, Western Australia. With seven Health Workforce Queensland workshops under her belt, Nalini continues to travel from Western Australia to Queensland for her professional development. We caught up with her at the recent Emergency Mental Health workshop in Cairns to discover what inspires her to return time and again.
HWQ: Dr. Rao, can you share a bit about your background and how you came to work in rural healthcare?
Nalini: I do have a connection to Queensland. I went through the University of Queensland, graduated in 1999, and did a rural scholarship for 4 years. I did my interning in Townsville, then I went to Mt Isa for a year as JHO, then to Weipa as an SMO. From there I’ve just about covered every town between Thursday Island and Bowen, and Mt Isa to Palm Island. Back in the day, you were often sent out as the only doctor in very remote areas – places like Richmond and Hughenden - and it was quite scary. You didn’t have telehealth at the time, so you just rang people, and managed everything yourself.
After that I moved to Western Australia, which was supposed to be temporary! I originally moved there to support my mother, who was a GP dealing with a health issue. The practice she worked at had 10,000 patients and only 4 doctors, so I went there to help for a couple of years - that turned into 18! When my mum retired in 2010, we had intentions of moving back to Brisbane, but there is a big shortage in the rural areas, so I decided to stay and ended up as a solo doctor in a town called Morawa. I was in Morawa for the next six years, it is 4.5 hours north of Perth, so I did everything from x-rays to inpatients and nursing home care for a catchment of about 2000 people, it was 24/7.
From there I moved to another town, Mullewa, which is an hour closer to Geraldton. It has about 840 people with about 40% Aboriginal population, and a high chronic disease burden. Then, about 3 years ago, I also started running a pharmacy from the practice, as the local pharmacy had closed down, which was essential for the community since the nearest pharmacy is a 200 km round trip.
HWQ:It sounds like you are very busy. How do you maintain work-life balance?
Nalini: In my spare time I do Army Reserves, and I have a 16-year-old daughter who is in boarding school, along with elderly parents in Geraldton that I am a carer for. So, I split my week between Monday to Thursday in Mullewa, then Friday, Saturday, Sunday I spend in Geraldton having a good social life, with Bollywood dancing, yoga and tennis. This makes it more viable for me now. I’ve been working for about 15 years in the midwest, which I couldn’t do if I didn’t get that break.
HWQ: What is it about HWQ's workshops that sets them apart from others and keeps you coming all the way from Western Australia?
Nalini: To start with, I don’t know of any other Emergency Mental Health Workshops, anywhere else in Australia, and it is a very important part of our job. This is the second one I’ve been to, and there is always good revision and new things I learn each time. The other thing is with your Rural Emergency Medicine courses, I find them very well paced and they cover a lot of different topics. I find it a very supportive environment where there are lots of opportunities to ask questions or share our experiences. I don’t find that in other workshops, which are often pretty intense, very content heavy and didactic. We [HWQ] do cover so much, and yet it just feels more relaxed and supported, which is why I keep coming back.
HWQ: What is the best thing about HWQ workshops?
Nalini: They are always well organised and they are held in great locations, like the Gold Coast, Cairns, and Brisbane. The content is excellent, it is taught by actual specialists, who are working at the coal front, and so I prefer to learn from them because they are the experts in the area, they are current with the all the latest research. And the resources you provide are fantastic.
HWQ: What would you consider to be the best takeaways from HWQ workshops?
Nalini: I think the practical skills have been invaluable. I had the opportunity after the last Rural Emergency Medicine workshop, within a couple of months, to deliver a baby in a very high-risk situation. We had practiced on mannequins during the workshop, and that gave me the confidence to handle it. I find it very useful, very practical.
HWQ: Do you often utilise the skills learned at our workshops in your everyday practice?
Nalini: Yes, absolutely, absolutely. Delivering a baby might happen every 5 years, so you really need to keep current, you need to keep practicing over and over again because you forget and protocols change! I know there is a little bit of difference in the mental health act between Queensland and Western Australia and the other states, but they are pretty similar, and the principles are the same, so I can apply this back home.
HWQ: You have mentioned, this is the second time you have attended the Emergency Mental Health workshop. Are you still finding this one educational?
Nalini: Yes, yes, there is new content we hadn’t covered before, and it is a changing landscape, and also good revision. I would recommend it to anyone. There is someone here from the NT and from Victoria, and I think you’ll probably find more and more interstate people coming. You offer unique workshops. I’ve been to workshops everywhere and keep coming back to these, it is worth the 6 flights here and back, so you’ll be seeing me again.
At HWQ, we take immense pride in making a difference and being part of the solution for rural healthcare professionals. It's incredibly rewarding to see the value in our Professional Development Workshops reflected in the consistent, repeat participation each year. Based on feedback from each event, we tailor our workshops to ensure they remain relevant and impactful. We’ve just released our 2025 workshop calendar, which you can access via the button below to start planning your attendance!
