Interview-Dr Sarah Corbett
Dr Sarah Corbett currently enjoys her Registrar position at Counties Manukau District Health Board and shares with us her experience of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology training programme in Auckland.....
My passion for O&G arose from the time I spent in Central
America on my medical elective. Seeing the lack of skilled care
available to most women in the world, and realising that many women
are dying young of preventable causes is what initially interested
me.
The thing that I enjoy most about O&G is that the
majority of our patients are young and relatively healthy, and you
are often meeting them at important times in their lives: during
pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, infertility, and diagnosis of
cancer. On top of that there are many obstetric emergencies which
require quick action and clear thinking to prevent death and
disability. For me, O&G is a specialty that through
communicating well and gaining the skills to deal with the
emergencies, you feel you make a tangible difference.
I am currently working for CMDHB as part of the team on
the delivery suite. We have amazing support from our consultants
who are on site 24 hours, and who are very approachable and willing
to help. It is great working with such good midwives, often in
challenging circumstances. We have the busiest delivery suite in
NZ, and see a lot of high risk patients, and a lot of women who
present late, or with limited antenatal care.
It is hard to get bored in O&G. There is always more
to learn, more skills to gather, and more research to do. It is
also a very flexible specialty with part time options. As a
consultant you can sub specialise, work in private, be a generalist
at a smaller centre, or be an academic.
Training involves 4 years of basic training, where you are
allocated through out the Auckland Region to O&G training
posts. There is a written exam in year 3, and a clinical exam in
year 4. Following this, you have 2 elective years where you have to
find a job in an area you want to learn more about or are
interested in pursuing. We also have a research project we have to
complete by the end of our training.
If you want to move in to O&G I would advise you to
apply for the Postgraduate Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
from Auckland or Otago and work as an SHO in O&G while you are
studying. You will soon know if O&G is for you.