The broadness of general practice attracted Dr Pauline Hector to the profession. The satisfaction of providing stable, long-term care to her patients at Queen Street General Practice, and endless opportunities to learn, has kept her there.
How long have you been a GP and how long have you been practising in the Campbelltown LGA?
I’ve been practising in Campbelltown for about 29 years, and as a GP for about 35 years.
When/why did you decide you wanted to become a GP?
I wasn’t one of those people that was always driven to do medicine but I did well at school and had the opportunity to do medicine. Once I’d graduated, I worked out pretty quickly that I wanted to do general practice. The broadness of it appealed to me, rather than focusing in on any one particular specialty.
What do you love most about being a GP/what part of the job gives you the most satisfaction?
On a personal level, it’s the breadth of things that you see, that you are exposed to and have to think about – I find that satisfying. Every day there’s something new to learn. I enjoy the challenge of keeping up and learning new things all the time. I also enjoy giving patients continuity of care, being somebody they know they can continue to call on for whatever problem they might have. You are their first port of call – you’re the one that they seek help from first and as you get more experience, you get much better at directing people to who they need to see if you can’t help with their problems. I enjoy the whole cradle to grave side of things, seeing people through different stages of their lives. When you’ve been a GP for a long time you are seeing three and four generations and that’s very satisfying too.
What is the most important thing you/your practice contributes to this community?
It’s about providing quality care and confidence for people. I had my own practice for a long time and I moved into this practice coming up to five years ago. This practice has a very similar ethos to what I had in my own practice – it’s all about seeing the patient in their community, in their culture and providing them with overall care. It’s not just about looking at their medical issues but making sure that what we’re doing fits in with their place in the world. That’s our biggest service to the community. I also have a particular interest in women’s health and mental health. I think the community in general benefits from people receiving holistic care with an emphasis on prevention and well thought out management plans.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like being outside, that could be swimming, going to the beach, walking locally or in the bush. I do as much of that as I possibly can in my spare time. Hanging out with friends and family and doing grandparent things with my granddaughter are also highlights of my spare time. One of my other great pleasures is going to the cinema to see all sorts of movies from the mainstream to the oddball to documentaries, I love getting lost in a story for a couple of hours.
Tell me about your ideal day…
My ideal day would start with a swim. An ideal work day is a day where I’m challenged but not too much! It’s an interesting day that’s not overwhelmed by paperwork or red tape or a greater than usual load of those heartsink patients we all have. A day where you can have a little bit of time to share a laugh with your colleagues is a good day, and an ideal day finishes with seeing my family and enjoying a nice cup of tea.
What do you love most about Campbelltown?
For me partly it’s a sense of feeling at home here even though I’m not a Campbelltown native. I grew up in the western suburbs of Newcastle in a very working class area in a single parent household which I feel helps me relate to the various struggles that a lot of our local families are faced with. The demographics of Campbelltown these days is very broad as well and that’s good from a medical point of view because you see a whole range of conditions. I think that what has kept me here is the long-term relationships with patients. Also, when you’ve been in the one area for a long time you start off seeing lots of babies and lots of kids but then you see those kids grow up and you move more into caring for elderly people. Professionally, it’s very rewarding. Interestingly I have recently discovered from my aunt who is interested in family history that when my father’s family first immigrated from England in the 1840s they settled in Campbelltown and my great great grandfather was born here in 1859. Maybe that’s why I feel so at home here.
What advice do you give your patients about maintaining good health?
Lots!
I try really hard to get people to look at their lifestyle and I try to impress on people the importance of activity, whether it’s physical or mental activity. I also try to help them to see the positives, especially when I’m treating patients with mental health concerns. In my own life when I’ve had major setbacks, I have always found looking for small positives a very helpful strategy. I think even when we are at our lowest if we can find some small pleasure to enjoy we can build from there. I try to get people to go outside and get some sunlight and hear the birds singing and occasionally I might throw in a quote from the Dalai Lama!