A daughter of Dubbo has experienced a homecoming with a difference at the city’s Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern (RFDS SE) Section base.
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Dr Shannon Townsend and two other newcomers to the base have taken part in an intense yet simulated emergency training exercise. It required them to treat “a woman suffering chest injuries and a broken leg after her vehicle overturned” in the outback.
Dr Townsend and her fellow emergency medicine registrars, Dr Alexander Matthews and Dr Karen Furlong, worked alongside other RFDS SE Section doctors and flight nurses. Senior RFDS SE Section medical officer Dr Peter Brendt revealed the intensity of the training. “Doctors and nurses had to work together to provide shelter and shade, treat broken bones and secure the patient’s airways – all while distraught family members looked on,” he said.
Dr Townsend grabbed the chance to work beyond hospital walls. “Most training simulation exercises take place in hospital environments but given the nature of the RFDS SE Section’s work, we have to prepare for a whole different set of challenges,” she said.
Dr Townsend has been working in Orange for the past four years after completing her medical studies in Armidale, Tamworth and Newcastle.
I’ve always wanted to come back so to be able to do it working for such an iconic Australian organisation, while training to specialise in emergency medicine, is really great.
- Dr Shannon Townsend
Dubbo North Public School and St Johns College were the starting blocks for a career already marked by dedication and skill. While working at Orange Hospital in 2014, Dr Townsend received the state title of Junior Medical Officer of the Year from the Health Education and Training Institute, acknowledgement of her contribution to the education and support of her peers.
The doctor with a familiar face is happy to be working for the RFDS SE Section, and to be home. “I’ve always wanted to come back so to be able to do it working for such an iconic Australian organisation, while training to specialise in emergency medicine, is really great,” Dr Townsend said.