A DEDICATED rural doctor who has served the Victorian alpine communities of Mount Beauty and Falls Creek for the past 17 years has been named the Telstra Health RDAA Rural Doctor of the Year for 2015.
The Award was announced during a gala dinner held in Adelaide on Saturday night as part of Rural Medicine Australia 2015, the national conference of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM).
“Dr Jeff Robinson’s commitment to providing quality medical care in his local region, his efforts in building the medical workforce in the area, and the significant community work he undertakes, make him an extremely deserving recipient of this year’s Award,” new RDAA president, Dr Ewen McPhee, said.
“Jeff has been a partner in both the Mount Beauty and Falls Creek Medical Centres for the past 17 years. Being based in the Victorian ski-fields, he and his colleague, Dr Mark Zagorski, also teach local doctors the skills required to provide quality care in the alpine ski resorts.
“In other roles as Director of Medical Services at Alpine Health and Chairman of the area’s Medical Consultative Committee, Jeff works hard to continue to improve both the quality of care provided at the region’s hospitals and the range of health services provided to the local communities.
“He co-ordinates the area’s Grand Rounds Programme that provides teaching from local specialists to GPs and nurses from Mt Beauty, Bright and Myrtleford on a range of topics, designed to continue to improve the quality of care being provided and ensure up-to-date clinical knowledge.
“Jeff also works as a Senior Medical Officer at Albury Base Hospital Emergency Department and supervises the running of the Department for one day each week. In this role, he helps improve the quality of care to the local community who often access this service as the nearest tertiary hospital.”
Dr McPhee said Dr Robinson has been actively involved in recruiting new doctors to the Victorian alpine area, with eight GPs now working in the town of Mt Beauty alone.
“The doctors recruited to the service as registrars have a high retention rate due to the quality of teaching and mentorship provided,” Dr McPhee said.
“The quality of teaching provided to medical interns at Mt Beauty Medical Centre is consistently rated as excellent. Jeff’s fantastic teaching skills are also highly valued by junior doctors in the Emergency Department at Albury Base Hospital.
“Jeff has been closely involved in setting up and maintaining the services of a visiting cardiologist, general surgeon and geriatrician to Mt Beauty, and ensuring access via telehealth to an endocrinologist.
"Additionally, at Mount Beauty Medical Centre, he co-ordinates the provision of allied health workers including a podiatrist, diabetes educator, dietician and two mental health workers.”
Dr Robinson is actively involved in teaching the Radiology for GPs course which is run by Monash University every year.
He has also recently qualified as an ALS2 (Advanced Life Support) instructor. He formerly taught as an instructor at the Australian Ski Patrol Association (ASPA) ski patrol courses and remains involved with the Falls Creek Ski Patrol.
Additionally, he provides services in Albury-Wodonga where there is a large Indigenous community. He and his wife Libby (also a rural GP) worked in remote Indigenous communities prior to moving to Mt Beauty.
“Jeff and Libby are parents to three girls, and manage to run a small farm in their ‘spare’ time,” Dr McPhee said.
“Jeff is also an active member and Training Officer of his local branch of the Country Fire Authority. He co-ordinates the Brigade’s training program and regularly provides first aid training to his crew.
“In North East Victoria, Jeff Robinson’s name is synonymous with the highest qualities of a Specialist Rural GP.”
Dr Robinson said he considered himself "very fortunate to have what I think must be one of the best jobs in the world, and it is a privilege to be able to work in such a beautiful part of the world".
"I enjoy the challenges and the sheer variety of rural practice. A day doesn’t go by when I don’t see something interesting and thought provoking," Dr Robinson said.
“I sincerely appreciate the support of my medical colleagues, nurses and staff at our practice and local health service. A successful rural practice requires effective teamwork and Mount Beauty Medical Centre is a very coherent team.
“Above all, I recognise the support of my wife and family, who are understanding enough to share me with my work as a rural GP.
"I am very lucky to have Libby as my partner — together we share the demands of work and family, while living a life which is truly rewarding.”
Dr McPhee also thanked and recognised Telstra Health, who sponsor the national awards.
