We caught up with one of our Blugibbon Locum Doctors in Kalgoorlie to hear how she found the location for locuming. She spent a couple of days locuming in Kalgoorlie Hospital so was able to provide us with some great insights into how the emergency department runs. She didn’t have time to check out the surrounding area but is keen to go back and explore!

How did you settle in? Any tips for new arrivals?

I only worked two shifts in Kalgoorlie Hospital so I can't say I fully settled into the hospital, but I did get a brief orientation to how the department operates and what the roles are of the various FACEMs rostered throughout the day. Learning names and roles is hugely important in each new department so you can quickly start acting as a member of the team. If you're unsure of any processes or pathways, the nurse in charge or hospital manager is a valuable wealth of information. If you're unfamiliar with the Goldfields region, then looking up a patient's address on Google Maps will let you appreciate how far many people have to travel for healthcare and may influence your decision to discharge or admit if you know follow up won't be easy for them.

How was the travel, logistics and accommodation?

Like all of my Blugibbon assignments in WACHS I've been impressed with how smoothly everything has run. The FACEM shifts are cleverley rostered so that it's possible to fly in before a mid-morning or evening shift and fly out after a day shift. I flew in the morning of my evening shift, picked up my shiny Kia Sportage from the airport with no hassle and drove to my accommodation, which was only a ten minute drive from the airport. I was pleasantly surprised that my accommodation had a per diem for food and drink (excluding alcohol) at the hotel restaurant, including room service! The spa bath was a nice touch and I took advantage of that to unwind before being on call from midnight-8am. I was fortunate not to be called in, but if I had been, I was only staying a 7 minute drive from the hospital. 

What was the support for locum doctors like in the department?

The department relies heavily on locum doctors to fill rota gaps and has a semi-regular rotation of locums who know the department well, as well as newcomers like myself. I had not been set up on WebPas, the program used to write patient notes and track their progress and location in the department so I had to hand-write my notes. As I was only there for two shifts I was never set up on WebPas, but I hope this would be sorted if I were there for a longer time. 

What specialists were on call? How was access to imaging etc?

Like a lot of regional hospitals, Kalgoorlie has general medical, surgical, paediatrics, psychiatry, orthopaedics and obstetrics/gynaecology teams. There is a FACEM on call overnight as well for emergencies requiring specialist support. The Royal Flying Doctors Service is available for critical transfers to Perth. There is XRay, CT and MRI on site, and routine imaging ends at 7pm, though a radiographer is on call and available to come in after hours if needed. This pushes you to rely on your clinical judgement without easy access to confirmation diagnostics and to make sensible decisions about which patients can wait for their imaging and which need a radiographer called in.

On average, how many presentations were there to the ED each day? How many were you dealing with?

I was told by the FACEM orienting me that they saw roughly 60-90 presentations per day.

Any local inside information we should know about?  Best swimming spots, lookouts, bike or walk trails?

I didn’t have time to check out the area due to the timing of my flights and shifts. I've been told Kalgoorlie has a few interesting spots that I'd be keen to check out if I work there again.

Would you go back? If so, why? Would you recommend the location?

I would, the case mix is an interesting one of adults and paediatrics, complex psychosocial presentations that require a combination of well-honed clinical and "soft" skills. There are lots of worried well but also genuine pathology sprinkled amongst them, so critical thinking and diagnostic skills must be kept sharp.