Working in Aboriginal Health can be extremely rewarding and satisfying for a general practitioner. Many patients have complex health needs and the care provided by skilled and dedicated GPs can have a very positive impact on individual patients and on their communities. Illness and mortality rates are significantly higher in the Aboriginal population and GPs have a major role in closing this gap.
While most GPs have some Aboriginal patients in their practices there are several ways of working predominantly with Aboriginal people and becoming more specialised in this area.
Aboriginal Health is an area of work which is especially suited to doctors who enjoy:
• practicing within an holistic care model
• working within a multi-disciplinary team environment
• managing complex and challenging clinical cases
• using a wide range of clinical skills and expertise
• learning new skill-sets