Junior doctor wins top award for identifying improvement areas in First Nations pre-operative care

One of Townsville University Hospital’s junior doctors has taken out a top award at the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) rural SIG meeting in Airlie Beach.

Resident medical officer Dr Jack Hopkins won Best Poster and Oral Presentation for his presentation on pre-operative health disparities for First Nations patients at the conference, which brought together professionals from regional and rural anaesthetics.

Dr Hopkins said his topic was inspired by the stark differences he noticed in First Nations health care after completing his studies on the Gold Coast and moving to Townsville for his intern year.

“There was less exposure to the challenges First Nations people face compared to communities in north Queensland,” Dr Hopkins said.

“It’s about both the department and the individual looking at ways we can provide culturally safe and sensitive care to people who have differences.

“Despite earlier interventions for First Nations patients for conditions like diabetes, we’re still seeing significant disparities pre-operative control; my presentation discussed what other factors needs to be optimised.”

Dr Hopkins said the feedback from peers at the conference validated his findings in the presentation.

“I was presenting from a Townsville point of view, looking at our catchment of where our patients come from,” he said.

“Attendees from Mackay, Cairns, other regions of north Queensland, as well as rural parts of New South Wales all said our data, presented anecdotally, seemed to be reflected within their practice as well.”

Dr Hopkins said he hoped the win would prompt further research and development into best practices for First Nations patients.

“The plan would be to look at our findings and identify what we can actually change,” he said.

“Then touching base with our non-anaesthetic teams and asking what we can optimize and make it a multi-disciplinary project.”