Meet Your GP VMO Team
We are proud to have such a highly experienced team of consultants working in the Rural Generalist and Hospital space in Australia.
With 44 years of medical recruitment knowledge between them, Phil, Paul, Nicole, and Scott take some time out to chat about their purpose, providing insights into how they use their experiences to best serve the Ochre community of doctors.
Both Phil and Paul have had the opportunity of spending time in rural and remote townships across Australia. The benefits of being able to speak about their experiences and give a first-hand picture of what to expect are extremely useful for our community of doctors.
I’ve been fortunate to have visited many of the hospitals and practices I recruit locum Doctors for in remote parts of Queensland, New South Wales, and Tasmania.
This part of the job is invaluable in terms of getting a feel for what it will be like for the Doctors on the ground. Whether it is what the team of staff are like and how they interact, the resources available, the community feel, accommodation the Doctors will stay in or the travel involved, often over vast distances that are hard to comprehend from just looking at Google Maps.
Visiting remote towns in Western New South Wales in the midst of a mouse plague, or driving between hospitals up the rugged West Coast of Tassie with 4 seasons in one day, I find it really useful to be able to talk to Doctors about potential placements warts and all so they can decide if it is for them or not. Phil Dixon, Senior Recruitment Consultant
Paul, you’ve worked with a number of recruitment agencies during your career. How is working with Ochre different given Ochre is part of a broader healthcare business
Working for and with a broader healthcare business is completely different to anything I’ve experienced before as a recruiter because I get to directly see the impact the work I do has on these rural communities, which makes it extremely rewarding. By having close ties to the practices, hospitals, and towns I’m able to give a more personal service to the locums and the hospitals.
During Nicole’s 12 years of working in medical recruitment, she has worked with doctors across a range of specialties. What are some of the differences, endearing traits you’ve picked up on when working with GPs?
The Generalists I’ve had the pleasure of working with are nothing short of incredible. They know their services are critical, sometimes being the difference between a department or small rural practice staying open or closing, and they will do whatever it takes to get there. That could mean having to isolate on their way home, extend their locum to bridge the gap or move from one site to another with very little notice. Their ability to adapt, to stay positive
Scott Rogers, Para Consultant Manager, coordinates all the credentials, traveling for doctors, and provides admin support to the team. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in your crucial support role over the past year and how have you overcome them?
It’s been in the main both a challenging and satisfying year. On the one hand we’ve had to tackle last minute border closures, cancellations due to doctors having to isolate for 14 days when they get home rather than going directly to their next locum, flight cancellations and focus on finding doctors that are in locations that allow them to travel freely. The rewarding, albeit tiring part of the challenge, is the thanks you get from the practice or hospital after you manage to get a locum on the ground and working.
For the most part we have managed to overcome this by keeping informed and up to date with the latest travel restrictions and case numbers to provide an idea of how difficult it may be for a doctor to travel. We have also shortened our booking time for their travel closer to the commencement of their placement to reduce changes due to flight cancellations etc. Between myself and the recruiters we have been managing expectations of both the doctors and clients where the doctor may have to drive a bit more, fly a day earlier with the better flight path or a day later and the client being accommodating.
Ochre has a proud history of providing key rural employment opportunities for GPs and offers a comprehensive range of GP VMO Locum roles in Australia.
If you’d like information on pay rates or you need help in planning your next outback locum adventure get in touch with our team at [email protected]
