In this episode we catch up with Casey Parker from Broome Docs. Casey is a world renowned Rural Generalist, medical educator, podcaster, blogger and all ’round nice guy and in this episode we talk about the trials and tribulations of rural and remote trauma. Casey works in Broome, in north-west Western Australia, which is thousands of kilometers from the nearest tertiary hospital (they do have a CT scanner though), which means sick trauma patients often have to travel a long way to get there, so they arrive with established trauma complications such as acidosis, hypothermia and coagulopathy. The local population are also quite stoic, so will often not attend for some hours or even days after serious injury, and once at Broome hospital, doctors like Casey must act as the ED doctor/resuscitationist, anaesthetist, and retrieval co-ordinator, which adds to the challenge but also the satisfaction of the job. For the ultrasound nuts, he also delivers some great trauma ultrasound pearls!
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Nice post lads. CT scanner in the bush, eh? Luxury…
Highlights a few key things, not least how standard courses do not meet the needs of the experienced doctor, whether in metro ED or out in the sticks (and I speak as an EMST director).
EMST is great – but it’s set at the lowest common denominator and we owe it to our patients to deliver the very best care that we can – FOAMed helps, and am sure course like ETM will be popular…
Of course practicing in the bush as prehospital doctor, ED doctor, radiographer & radiologist, then anaesthetist makes this such a great job. Love the pearls on ONSD USS etc – useful practical tips for the rural doc.
After all, critical illness doesn’t respect geography…nor do Pap smears