Dr Lisa Altmann, one of Townsville University Hospital’s latest graduates
A drive to help others in difficult circumstances has led a former neonatal nurse to transition to a first year doctor for the Townsville Hospital and Health Service.
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A drive to help others in difficult circumstances has led a former neonatal nurse to transition to a first year doctor for the Townsville Hospital and Health Service.
Dr Lisa Altmann, 37, worked at the Townsville University Hospital (TUH) caring for preterm and critically unwell babies as she juggled studying for a Bachelor of Medicine at James Cook University.
This week she started the new phase of her medical career with the health service as one of 69 interns from across the country and overseas.
As a nurse in her twenties she travelled the world working for different organisations such as Doctors Without Borders in countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Sierra Leone, Libya and Papua New Guinea and this experience of helping others cemented her desire to become a doctor.
“I spent quite a lot of time working overseas with Doctors Without Borders and a few other international organisations, and there were times where I didn’t have a doctor with me, and I just became frustrated that I couldn’t do more,” the doctor said.
“I decided that I could learn to do more, and wanted to go back and become a doctor.
She is both nervous and excited about the next step in her career with her first role as an intern at the hospital’s Emergency Department.
“I am looking forward to it. It’s going to bring lots of challenges, and I think it’s a place where you get to see a little bit of everything and use the knowledge and skills and critical thinking that have been nurtured through university,” she said.
Over the next 12 months, the interns will work across several areas of the health service including general medicine, emergency care, cardiology, surgery, pediatrics, rural health care and cancer care.
They will also work in some of the rural communities within the HHS with each intern doctor spending time in Townsville, Charters Towers, Ayr, Ingham, and Palm Island.
Chief medical officer Dr Niall Small said he was excited to be able to welcome the new cohort of intern doctors.
“The demand for high-quality medical care in north Queensland continues to grow and these junior doctors are part of the next wave to help deliver on that,” Dr Small said.
Having grown up on a South Australian potato and cherry farm Dr Altman hopes to return to the bush to practice rural medicine.
“One day I hope to be able to work in a rural location to do a bit of general practice, emergency, and obstetric work.
“For now, I will spend the next year learning as much as I can while also training Lucy – my labradoodle puppy – to become a therapy dog.”
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Originally published as Dr Lisa Altmann, one of Townsville University Hospital’s latest graduates
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