Warrnambool Clinical School producing home-grown doctors

The Deakin University Warrnambool Clinical School is starting to produce home-grown doctors with three students completing the first year of their local study.

Linda Anderson, Zoe Baudinette and Rob Reynolds will return for the final year of their four-year post-graduate course in 2016 after completing the first two years at the Deakin Medical School in Waurn Ponds.

The attraction of studying close to home in a highly regarded course has drawn them to the Warrnambool school.

Mr Reynolds was born and raised in Ararat before leaving to study pharmacy at La Trobe University Bendigo. In 2009 he was offered a job as a pharmacist in Warrnambool and worked here for four years before entering medicine in 2013.

The move to Warrnambool was a life-changing moment. He met his wife Rachel, from Hawkesdale, and they now have a son Noah and another child due in April. The move also sparked his interest in medicine.

“The opportunity to complete the final two years of my degree in Warrnambool was a perfect fit for our family. It's also been great to return to Warrnambool as the community is quite welcoming and it has a great country feel about it.”

He was also attracted by the Warrnambool school’s strong history of good results but even then he’s been pleasantly surprised.

“I was unaware how excellent the clinical school was,” he said. “The staff go out of their way to create a welcoming environment and provide us with first class education. Everyone at the hospital is exceptionally helpful, the facilities are superb and the patients have embraced us which has greatly enhanced our learning.”

Mr Reynolds hopes to undertake his internship in Warrnambool and is considering undertaking GP training. “The opportunities that Warrnambool presents are a great fit for my career path,” he said.

Ms Baudinette was born and bred in Warrnambool. After completing Year 12 at Brauer College she moved to the Mornington Peninsula to complete a double degree in nursing/paramedics before working as a nurse at St Vincent's Hospital. “I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of nursing, and the culture and diversity of living and working in Melbourne, however the city was not my forever place,” she said. “I always called Warrnambool home and was back any chance I had.”

“I was thrilled when I got into medicine at Deakin because it not only meant I could achieve my dream of being a doctor, but it had the added bonus of bringing me closer to home.”

Choosing the Warrnambool school was any easy decision. “The school has an amazing academic record, modern facilities and the staff are incredibly supportive,” she said. “In addition, I get to see my friends and family every day and I get to enjoy the Warrnambool lifestyle.”

Mrs Anderson was originally from Perth but has lived all around Australia as a former member of the Australian Defence Force and as an ADF spouse. In 2010 she moved to Warrnambool where her husband Marc has since worked as one of the pilots for the air ambulance service and is now the base manager.

She finished her army service in 2012 and completed the first two years of her medical course at the Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus.

“I bid for the Warrnambool clinical school firstly to get home to my husband and younger son; secondly to benefit from the dedication and expertise of the school and its staff; and thirdly to enjoy the friendliness of the locals and the lifestyle Warrnambool offers,” she said.

“I hope to complete GP training with the goal of eventually providing locum services in regional and rural communities. I also have special interest in emergency medicine.”