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NEWS 5
Meet the obstetrician treating large four-legged patients in his spare time
Dr Mark Schembri tells the story of how he went from vet to doctor .
NEWSPIX
Carmel Sparke DR Mark Schembri always loved horses but also wanted to be a doctor , and so at the age of 36 , he sidelined his thriving veterinary career to begin medical training .
The final push to commit to human medicine came with the birth of his second baby , which turned into a medical emergency that could have cost the life of his wife and newborn .
“ My wife had a placental abruption and emergency caesarean with our second child ,” Dr Schembri told Australian Doctor .
“ That was when I saw doctors and midwives at their best .
“ This was life-changing ; this was superherotype work in my view .
“ And being an outsider — I was still a veterinarian then — it was enough to tell me it was time to do medicine .”
That was eight years ago , and he is now a second-year O & G registrar at Sydney ’ s Royal North Shore Hospital .
But he has not left his animal doctoring behind — on the weekends , he is a vet for the Australian Turf Club and works at the Sydney Royal Easter Show .
His dual career has its roots in his childhood , being raised by a father who loved thoroughbreds and horse racing .
“ During high school , I could not decide between doing veterinary science and medicine ,” he says .
“ Someone said to me , ‘ Do veterinary science first because you will be able to go from veterinary to medicine , but medicine to veterinary is a lot harder .’ “ So that is what helped make the decision .” Finishing his veterinary science studies at 21 , Dr Schembri then pursued a “ wonderful ” career for the next 14 years as an equine veterinarian .
His roles took him around the world — from Royal Randwick Racecourse to Dubai . He also helped the Australian equine Olympic team prepare for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing .
Along the way , he squeezed in a master ’ s in public health at Harvard University and concentrated on the reproductive side of horses — mostly dealing with fertility , breeding and foaling .
But in his 30s , Dr Schembri came to a crossroads when it was time to buy into a veterinary partnership or start his own business .
“ My father-in-law is a gastroenterologist , and he said , ‘ Well , why don ’ t you consider medicine — that was your dream .’
“ So I enrolled in medicine and kept it very much on the down-low for the first year .
“ It was scary because I was now going to leave an income , become a medical student and have to work other jobs to top up the medical student life with a family .
“ And I kept telling myself to avoid working in O & G because of the lifestyle involved . I
was thinking of doing something more family friendly .”
But another turning point came at the end of that first year of medicine during the birth of his second child .
“ The first thing I remember is seeing a lot of bleeding from my wife ,” Dr Schembri recalls .
“ But being a vet — and I hope this does not sound inappropriate — that amount of bleeding is very normal for a horse during periods of their labour .
“ It was not until everyone rushed in the room that I realised we had a true emergency .
“ I know that I very likely would have lost my wife and baby if it was not for the medical staff .”
‘ I remember seeing a lot of bleeding from my wife . But being a vet , that amount of bleeding is normal for a horse in labour .’
The experience gave him clarity that he was on the right pathway and cemented his decision to go into O & G .
He gave up his full-time veterinary practice to concentrate on medicine .
“ It was the right thing to do . I never looked back and thought I was doing the wrong thing .”
Although his time as a vet helped with some
Dr Mark Schembri with Frank the dog at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in 2015 .
of the procedural elements of his medical studies , there were differences .
“ Veterinary science involves several species , so there is a lot of comparative anatomy as part of the learning .
“ You have to be able to differentiate the type of placental creation for a pig versus a horse versus a goat versus a bird versus a cow versus a cat . “ That was difficult . “ But with human medicine , you go into a lot more depth , particularly with medicine , pharmacology and treatment .
“ I would not say it was harder ; I would say it was much more enjoyable , much more satisfying .”
He and his wife have just had their fourth baby , so life is now even busier .
“ Some people love lying on the beach . Other people love Netflix . Other people love playing golf .
“ My equivalent of that is working at the races ; that is how it works .
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