After 20 years in Gympie, doctor now flying solo

WORKING in partnership with other general practitioners throughout her 22-year career, Dr Mary Piepers is now stepping out with her own solo practice.

Dr Mary Piepers has opened a new practice in Gympie. Picture: Renee Albrecht

WORKING in partnership with other general practitioners throughout her 22-year career, Dr Mary Piepers is now stepping out with her own solo practice for the first time.

After 20 years working at the Gympie Clinic, Dr Piepers spent the past 16 months working in areas outside Gympie including Noosa, Cooroy and Imbil.

"It's really broadened my horizons,” she said.

"It's just lovely to have all those different inputs, and I've learned a lot.”

Dr Piepers said she was thrilled to be back practising in Gympie, allowing her the chance to reconnect and care for patients she has been seeing her entire life.

"Gympie's home, and it has been since 1995,” she said.

"My husband and I want to live here for at least another 20 years or more.”

She said she was attracted to the region by the immense opportunity for doctoring it provided, where GPs would often also perform roles including delivering babies and working as an anaesthetist.

"It was a wonderful time in our lives to do that extensive amount of work.”

For Dr Piepers, the love of medicine is driven by the challenges she is faced when providing care.

"I love working with people who have got lots of complex medical troubles,” she said.

"Things that need nutting out and you go backwards and forwards and you eventually get the person on an even keel.”

Open since Wednesday, while she hopes to eventually attract more GPs, she hopes to keep the Young St practice a small business focused on the personal connection with patients.

She was grateful her career had given her the chance to see not only her patients, but also their extended families who came through the area as well.

"That's a really lovely thing.”