14th August 2007

British student doctor flies high in New Zealand

There have been plenty of headlines about doctors leaving New Zealand for greener pastures overseas recently; however some overseas doctors are arriving to experience some unique medical opportunities.

Justin Gould, a British medical student, is seeing a lot of New Zealand airports and hospitals while he is flying with the Auckland-based Life Flight Air Ambulance.

He is in his final year at Guy's, King's and St Thomas’ School of Medicine at King’s College, London, the largest medical school in the United Kingdom.

Justin says, “In our final year at university we are fortunate to have the opportunity to undertake a medical elective which involves studying medicine in a different environment to what we are used to. Some students choose to go to developing countries, others even work on the sets of medical dramas, and I decided I would be keen to gain experience with an air ambulance service. Initially, I thought of the Royal Flying Doctors in Australia; however they only offer places to Australian medical students these days. I was then delighted to discover Life Flight. New Zealand had always been top of the list on my places to visit, so it was an amazing opportunity when I managed to secure my placement with Life Flight.”

Justin has flown a number of missions in his first few weeks with Life Flight. “One of my first trips was to retrieve a seriously ill patient from Invercargill. We left at 8 pm, and got back to Auckland at 7am the next morning – with a three hour flight each way on the Metroliner and time stabilizing the patient for transport. Since then we have had missions to Dunedin, Christchurch, Kerikeri, Kataia, New Plymouth and Gisborne.”

The Auckland-based Life Flight air ambulance covers the country and works closely with Auckland Hospital, particularly Starship Children’s Health. It flies over 400 missions each year ensuring critically ill patients all over the country get to the specialist medical they need.

“Working with the air ambulance teams has been an incredible experience. They deliver a high standard of care to very sick people at 14,000 feet. It can be challenging to transport a critically ill patient from ICU, but the equipment on the aircraft is impressive. We also return patients back to their home hospital when their conditions have improved and I get the impression that they are all very thankful to the Life Flight team.”

When he is not flying, Justin is working at Middlemore Hospital. After completing his elective in New Zealand, Justin is off to Fiji to work in a small medical clinic to gain more experience.

“When I get back to the UK, I will start applying for a house officer position. After two years as a junior doctor, I will then decide what area of medicine I wish to specialize in. At this stage I am looking at anaesthesia, emergency medicine and cardiology, although aeromedical care is now definitely an interest. I am also very keen to return and practice in New Zealand in the future,” says Justin.

ends

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