No two days the same for Mater's obstetrics and gynaecology doctors

16/Jul/2020     HealthMater Group

Meet Divya, a registrar doctor in obstetrics and gynaecology at Mater Mothers’ Hospital, currently completing her fourth year in training and shared with us how her love of maternal medicine came to be.

“I suppose it all began when I travelled from Canada to come here to Australia for medical school,” Divya said.

“Throughout medical school, I thought I might want to be a public health physician but near the end of my degree, I knew I wanted to do obstetrics and gynaecology.”

“I enjoyed the global aspect that it brought—the idea that you could go anywhere and still help women having babies.”

“From the most prestigious hospitals in the world through to a third world country with no healthcare resources, it’s something that can take you across so many different environments and see so many walks of life.”

Applying for internships across Australia, Divya was eventually accepted for permanent residency allowing her to work across rural areas of Queensland.

“I spent a lot of time in Gundy, then onto Toowoomba and then through to Caboolture,” she explained.

“Whilst working in Toowoomba, our referral hospital for high risk pregnancies and births was Mater Mothers, so I saw a lot of these cases and wondered what the next step of their journey looked like after we would transfer them.”

“I think that intrigue drove me to want to come work at Mater and challenge myself with those high-risk pregnancies on a daily basis.”

Divya joined Mater Mothers’ Hospital in February of this year and described the transition as surreal.

“Coming from a rural hospital it was quite a rarity to see a high-risk case, and now working at Mater Mothers’, I see these kinds of cases every day.”

“Being on the receiving end of many hospital referrals, I have been exposed to so many more patients with a much wider range of risk which has definitely helped me develop as a doctor.”

“Knowing I am surrounded by doctors with countless years of experience and people who are at the cutting edge of new research gives me the confidence I need to make really good decisions and remain calm in some of those more difficult, high-pressure cases.”

Divya described an average day as a mix of clinic appointments, birth suites, and surgical theatre, where no two days are the same. 

“With some patients, I am the person who consults with them in clinic, signs off their procedure, conducts the procedure and then follows up with them again in clinic—so it’s one of those great roles where you get to be a part of their journey at every stage.”

“I believe that no matter what stage you are at with a patient, the most important thing is engaging with them, building a good rapport, and really understanding that each and every patient is different.”

When asked about the best part of her job now, Divya said being a part of the birth of a child is always special.

“For many of my patients, I am part of the most important day of their lives and that is just incredible.”

For more information on Divya and the entire team at Mater Mothers' Hospital, meet the rest of our obstetricians here: matermothers.org.au/hospitals/meet-our-obstetricians

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