After hours: Not your average registrar

Dr Jomini Cheong is not your average GP registrar. He's a man on a mission. (Sponsored)

---

 

Dr Jomini Cheong is not your average GP registrar. He’s a man on a mission. Part of that involves being an after hours doctor. this is the fourth in our sponsored series on the life and times of ‘after hours’ doctors

Dr Cheong has the immediate feel of someone who one day might be the head of the RACGP or AMA. He’s a graduate of Melbourne University and training now for his fellowship, but in his spare time he is president of the General Practice Registrars Association (GPRA), an organisation of around 25,000 members. He also managed somewhere there to get himself another double degree in pharmacy and commerce from Monash University. He’s got a lot on his plate. But he exudes enthusiasm for everything he does.

He became interested in after hours doctoring after it was recommended by another registrar and his wife working at the same practice who said they enjoyed the work and thought he might as well.

“It’s not everyones cup of tea I’m sure, but some people enjoy doing after hours home visits,” he says.

“There are risks doing work in the clinic, and different risks doing work in the home. It (the work) can be surprising sometimes. This is one of the more rewarding aspects of the job. The demographic between the patients you see in the clinic during the day and those you see after hours is usually quite different too, which adds to the diversity of your experience.”

As a registrar, Dr Cheong isn’t averse to the additional income either.

“Rates of pay vary considerably in your GP training phase. Compared to the GPRA benchmarks, doing this work is a great way to earn extra income while you train. They (NHDS) are very flexible in how you work.”

Dr Cheong says that in the debate over after hours, not a lot is said about the great learning opportunity it presents.

“People look at it cynically and say it’s just a business money-making operation. But there are many aspects to the service that are potentially beneficial for doctors. In particular, there is a lot of potential for doctors to learn as there are so many different types of presentations you see. It’s also great for additional income and very flexible so doctors can fit it into their schedules without much trouble.”

This article was paid for by National Home Doctor Service and developed by TMR. 

If you are interested in joining the NHDS team you can contact their National Recruitment Team at recruitment@homedoctor.com.au, call 1300 643 737 or CLICK HERE.