Clare GP Dr Gerry Considine named Rural Doctor of the Year by RDAA

A Clare GP – lauded for his work treating skin cancer throughout country SA – has been named the rural doctor of the year for 2020.

Clare GP Dr Gerry Considine, pictured with his family, has been named Australian Rural Doctor of the Year for 2020. Picture: Supplied

Providing crucial treatment to skin cancer patients isolated in remote and rural areas has been a passion for Dr Gerry Considine.

Now, that passion has been given national recognition.

The Clare GP was named Rural Doctor of the Year for 2020 earlier this week by the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA).

Dr Considine was presented the prestigious award in recognition of his service to his community and his distinct work on treating skin cancer in rural South Australia.

Dr Considine said – in a year full of surprises – the award was unexpected but “happy news”.

Dr Gerry Considine who was awarded Rural Doctor of the Year 2020, by the peak rural medical body, the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA). Picture: Supplied

“It's been very humbling, I’ve been to a few RDAA conferences seeing some amazing rural doctors win, so to be counted among those guys is fantastic and a real honour,” Dr Considine said.

The Clare doctor was nominated for the award by Cancer Council South Australia for his considerable work in the field of skin cancer medicine.
A lack of skin cancer services in regional South Australia such as the mid-north, Eyre Peninsula and Mallee prompted Dr Considine’s particular interest in the field.

“I’m passionate about patients that live in remote areas and don’t have access to these services, because the skin cancers that people can get are quite common, especially in rural areas,” said Dr Considine.

“Patients were travelling long distances, often back to Adelaide from those areas to get check ups and treatment for skin cancers.”

Dr Considine said his training experience in Wudinna highlighted the inadequacies of skin cancer detection.

“I saw quite a few patients that had skin cancers on them for a long time, which made me think that it was something that could be fairly preventable, not only through skin checks but also through education,” he said.

Upon recognising the shortfall, Dr Considine obtained grant funding and, through community outreach, offered free community skin check consultations in Clare and surrounding regions.

In conjunction with Cancer Council SA, Dr Considine also took presentations on the road to rural towns across the state in an effort to educate residents on how to prevent skin cancer.

RDAA chief executive Peta Rutherford said Dr Considine had done some amazing work.

“He’s well ingrained in the community with his family living in Clare, and more broadly he’s been a strong advocate for rural doctors in South Australia,” Ms Rutherford said.