Carmel Sparke WITH an endless run of news

stories about long-running practices closing down , a young sibling GP duo are fighting back .

Dr Emma Shoemaker and her older brother , Dr Jay Shoemaker , have opened a family practice in Hobart , with the

place to work and there is plenty of support .

“ General practice can be isolating if you do not have friendly faces around that you can trust and you know .

“ We have done up the building nicely too .”

After renovations , the leased

site has 16 rooms to allow more GPs to join as demand grows .

The siblings hope their great working relationship will help the practice succeed .

“ We definitely had our differences growing up , like any siblings do . But I think , when you get to a certain age ,

everything levels out ,” Emma says .

“ Once we both started medical school and helped each other through , we naturally became close .”

As Jay quips : “ We are working together now , so we better get on well .”

Dr Emma

Shoemaker with her brother ,

Dr Jay Shoemaker .

first patients walking through

the doors at 8am on a Monday

last month .

“ It has been a long-term

goal that goes back years , when

we were in the beginning of

med school , if not earlier ,” Jay

says .

“ It is something we have

always talked about doing

together .

“ Now we are up and running

, we are keen to get the

show on the road ,” adds

Emma .

Almost everyone working

at the mixed-billing practice is

related . Emma ’ s husband , Connor

, has taken annual leave to

man the reception desk for a

week while the pair secure a

permanent employee .

Their mum , Beth , is doing

the books , while dad , Fritz ,

has provided financial guidance

— he lectures in business

at the University of Tasmania .

A practice manager ,

not part of the Shoemaker

clan , also brings valuable

experience .

For Emma and Jay , the

path to general practice was

almost identical despite their

four-year age difference : University

of Tasmania medical

school and then working as

GPs at multiple clinics around

the state .

“ Throughout training , we

have been able to help each

other through a lot , with our

Objective Structured Clinical

Examination and things like

that ,” Emma says .

“ It has been wonderful to

have someone to go through

that with .

“ A bit of sibling rivalry

helped too .”

They know the usual story

is about GP practices closing —

especially in Tasmania — but

they are confident they will

buck the trend .

“ One of the big things is

that we have grown up in Tassie

; we went to university here .

So we know a lot of people ,”

Jay says .

“ Medicine is a small world ,

so we have got lots of connections

, which has helped .

“ I have been at two practices

that have been taken over

by corporates while I have

been there , and it does kill the

vibe a little ,” Emma says .

“ One of the things that we

want to do with the clinic is

to make sure that it is a great