‘Uncertain’ but positive start for fresh GP

DR James Tan did not expect to start his new job during a pandemic.

Making his general practice debut in March at the city and Buninyong practices of Ballarat Medical Centre, he never could have predicted the help his initial patient would need.

“On my first day, the first person I saw was a fellow GP, from a different practice, who was requesting a coronavirus swab. I absolutely had no clue,” Dr Tan said.

“The pandemic was still quite fresh. No one really knew what was going on…or the follow-up plan. I tried calling the hotline and no one was picking up the phone because they were inundated.

“It was totally daunting.”

Enduring the crisis with positivity, Dr Tan said COVID-19 processes and guidelines have since been smoothed, public panic has settled, and his workplace has taken every challenge in their stride.

“It’s great, on a personal level, starting in uncertain times. Uncertainty is the root of all progress. It’s what keeps me calm, collected and honest.

“When the ship is sailing smoothly, you don’t really see much, but when things go wrong, you see how well an organisation works,” he said.

“General practice can sometimes be a very isolating profession, but this practice is amazing. There’s an open-door policy and everyone’s happy to stop and answer any questions.”

It’s “essential” to him to have these kinds of strong support structures in life, and as a medical professional, especially while establishing a career or making a move.

Having relocated to Ballarat from Launceston, where his brother was also based, Dr Tan said there’s another special, familiar person close by, who has attracted his young family to the area.

“Tiarne is my wife, and her dad, Trevor runs Red Door Pizzeria in Buninyong. He’s the grandad of our kids, so we moved here for his support and input.

“He’s involved in Buninyong, helped me connect with this practice, and integrate into the community much, much quicker than I would have otherwise,” he said.

“The beauty of this practice is that it’s all about contacts, and if someone within the family needs help, then they’ll look for solutions.”

Because Mrs Tan is a nurse, the pair share their own health care aspirations, with vivid pictures in their imaginations of what might be possible one day.

“Our dream has always been to get a little country practice going, with a fireplace in our waiting room, taking care of a butcher, greengrocer, fishmonger… Integrating into the society, going back to the basics, and that bartering type of system,” Dr Tan said.

“We absolutely love that, but it’s not a very viable model to have a one-man practice now, so it’s just a dream that we’re going to integrate into what we have… We’re still working on it.”

Graduating from the University of Queensland a decade ago, Dr Tan has worked rurally, and with limited resources, in towns like Broken Hill and Alice Springs.

But starting a new chapter with general practice in 2020, he recognises there are “so many unknowns” for students beginning their own medical careers in this climate, and getting a feel for their own professional dreams.

“There are potentially brand new things that we’ve never had experience with. If I was faced with this five years ago as a relatively young doctor, I would have been totally thrown off because at that stage of my life and career, I hated uncertainty and everything in my life was planned,” he said.

“As for the pandemic side of things, it’s unexpected, and there’s nothing you can do to prep yourself for it. But if it happens, we work with it.

“My advice would be to take one day at a time, always plan around your family and focus on what’s important to you. There’s always a solution.”