Meet a member – Dr Christine McConnell OAM

Many people dream of combining their work with their passion, and Dr McConnell was able to achieve this through her dedication to rural healthcare and travel.

After completing her studies and taking a year off to travel, Dr McConnell developed a sense of wanderlust. Shortly after returning to Victoria, she landed a medical officer position in Antarctica and continued to explore the continent, visiting Heard Island on an Australian National Antarctic Expedition resupply voyage.

“I spent a year at Macquarie Island, a World Heritage site with heaps and heaps of wildlife, and that was a pretty fantastic year,” Dr McConnell said.

“I then reapplied, and in the meantime, I got a ship's doctor position in Heard Island among a few of the other bases, which is a very rarely visited place.

“Then, I went to Mawson Station and had a 16-month rotation there, which was a really enjoyable experience with the scenery, the wildlife and just the people we work with.”

Dr McConnell returned to Victoria again to work locally as a GP, but after a few years she could not ignore the feeling of itchy feet and applied for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) in Western Australia.

“I saw an ad for the Royal Flying Doctor Service over in Western Australia and applied for that. They took me on a very entertaining interview weekend where I flew across from Melbourne to Perth and then up into the outback to Meekatharra, went to a country race meeting, back to Meekatharra, back to Perth, back to Melbourne, all in one weekend. It was a very surreal experience,” she said.

“When I got that position, I enjoyed it so much I stayed there for 27 years based at Meekatharra in the outback, one of the more remote bases that RFDS has in Western Australia.

“It had a population of about 800 people or so by the time I left, so it's not a big place. But it was a very interesting career in that regard, as you never know what you're doing from one day to the next.

It was through chance she landed her dream career with the RFDS where every day was another chance to support a patient in need and satisfy her sense of adventure. Revelling in a challenge, being able to support women in labour in some of the country’s most remote regions was a clear highlight.

“I delivered babies. I haven't delivered a huge number, but there's a lot of women who live a long way from a hospital, so they get caught short,” she said.

“Sometimes we pick those women up in labour and take them to the nearest hospital. Other times, it's too late, and if they're far enough along, then we deliver them there.

“It's always good when you have something like that and it goes well, you have a happy, healthy, squealing baby, and a happy, relieved mother. That's always lovely.

“Nearly all the people you pick up are very happy and grateful for the service you're providing them, and you’re working with a dedicated small team of people, it was all just wonderful.”

Working life for Dr McConnell has never been boring. She retired in April 2023 and humbly received an OAM in this year’s Australia Day Honours.

“It is a great honour, as there are many worthy people in the profession,” she said.

“I’ve been an AMA member since 1983. I joined as soon as I graduated.

“I feel it's necessary to have a political say and the AMA, I think, does a good job in representing our interests and our patient's interests to the government and the powers that be.”

AMA Queensland is incredibly proud of its members and their diverse experiences and wishes Dr McConnell a restful retirement.