Trailblazer
Old Dog , New Tricks
It may have been the long way round to medicine , but for GP registrar Dr Graeme Fitzclarence , the journey has made him a better doctor .
��Dr Graeme Fitzclarence at work . Below : with sons and wife , Dr Cherelle Fitzclarence .
Dr Graeme Fitzclarence has come a long way since his boyhood days on a farm near Bencubbin in the WA Wheatbelt . How ’ s this for a quirky CV ? Panel beater , spray painter , mustering pilot and stockman in the Pilbara , paramedic in the Northern Territory and throw in a heart transplant along the way . And all this before he became a medical student .
Graeme was nearly 40 when he began his studies at UWA ’ s medical school . Eight years later he ’ s in South Australia as part of his rural GP training and he recently applied to WAGPET for an anaesthetist traineeship . His early years as a mature-age student brought some interesting insights into the world of medicine along with a few light-hearted moments .
“ I was the oldest male but not the oldest student . There were two women who were even older than me ! I always felt respected by my fellow students but that wasn ’ t always the case with some of my professional colleagues . There were a few registrars in the hospitals who caused a few problems and that led to some difficulties on occasions . I ’ ve certainly been in situations where I ’ ve been older than the consultants .”
“ For some of my younger female colleagues I was something of a father figure . There was an amusing evening in Kalgoorlie when a few of the local guys were becoming overly-attentive with a couple of the young female graduates . Both of them asked me if I ’ d mind pretending to be engaged to them . One would ’ ve been okay , but two was stretching it a bit .”
Being a mature-age student is not uncommon these days but Graeme ’ s premedicine background is unconventional to say the least .
“ I was heading towards being a farmer and then my parents decided to sell the farm . So I enrolled in a pre-trade Year 12 automotive engineering course and then transferred to Newcastle , NSW , where I continued my trade training and also did my private pilot ’ s licence . I ended up working on cattle stations in the Pilbara combining aerial stock mustering and jackerooing . And then a friend of mine who was flying a helicopter fell out of the sky right beside me and was killed . I lost my nerve .”
“ So we went back to the east coast , I built up a panel-beating and spray-painting business and supported my wife , Cherelle through medical school in Newcastle . [ Dr Cherelle Fitzclarence is Deputy Director Prison Health Services , WA . See Medical Forum March 2013 ].”
Once again , life had another twist in store .
“ I had my own smash repair and sandblasting company but I was working too hard and breathing in a lot of nasty isocyanates . At the age of 26 cardiomyopathy brought my life as a tradesman to a screaming halt . A cardiologist said to me , ‘ you ’ d better go home and get your affairs in order because you ’ ll be dead in 12 months .’ We sold up everything we had , travelled around Australia and when we got back I still hadn ’ t died . In fact , I felt a lot better .”
“ Cherelle applied for a job in the NT and , in a round-about way that ’ s what led to medicine . After I had my heart transplant in 2000 , I couldn ’ t go back to breathing in toxic fumes so I did a nursing degree at the NT University and did a lot of paramedical work offshore and on mine-sites .”
“ And then I thought , why not medicine ? I did the interviews , the AMSAT and walked into UWA at the ripe old age of 39 .”
Bringing both maturity and life-experience to the world of medicine is a good thing , says Graeme .
“ My background and , in particular , my illness has shaped me both as a person and as a doctor . It ’ s provided me with empathy and wisdom that I wouldn ’ t otherwise have had . I can vividly remember gathering our children around before my heart transplant to tell them I was going into hospital and the outcome was a little uncertain .”
“ I ’ ve just finished speaking with a patient who ’ s staring down the barrel of a kidney transplant . She was in real turmoil and I was able to draw upon my own experience to make it easier for her .”
“ I also think that coming to medicine as an older person can give you an enhanced understanding of the profession . When Cherelle was training we had three young children and , at the time , I had no idea how hard it must ’ ve been . Medicine does take a toll on families , there ’ s no doubt about that . I reckon one of the most important skills a doctor can develop is the art of selfpreservation .”
And the future for Graeme Fitzclarence ?
“ There was a 20 year warranty on the heart transplant , and that was 13 years ago . At the time it seemed a lot but right now it doesn ’ t seem like anywhere near enough and I ’ m very aware of that . But , with new drugs and improved monitoring , a lot of transplants are pushing well past the 20 year mark .” �
By Mr Peter McClelland
medicalforum 21