Charlotte’s new chapter
After 16 years of working in neonatal, paediatric and
maternity units in Adelaide and Sydney, Dr Charlotte Middleton decided it was
time for a change of pace.
Now a GP Registrar in
Wollongong, her new direction was motivated by a desire to spend more time with
her young family and pursue her interest in nutritional and integrative
medicine.
“I spent 10 wonderful years working in a
private hospital maternity unit. Mums and bubs became my thing. It was an
amazing job and the team was great, but I felt being a GP was the only
profession that would really suit this stage of my life and enable me to
practise the type of medicine I was interested in.”
However, with the move came a new set of medico-legal considerations.
“I’d been in hospital roles for my whole career so
far, so didn’t have as much of an idea of what I needed to be aware of
medico-legally in general practice. And because I have an interest in
integrated health I wanted to find out what treatments I could safely prescribe
and administer as a GP Registrar and private practice employee."
Dr Middleton called Avant’s Medico-legal Advisory Service to
find out how to safely transition from working in a hospital to general
practice.
After receiving advice on her cover, rights
and responsibilities, she was directed to Avant’s Getting Started in Practice
online resource for doctors and practice managers.
“It was
valuable for someone new to general practice. One thing it highlighted that
I’m very aware of is that general practice hinges on good communication. I’ve
worked as an educator, a TV presenter and even acted, so I like to think I’m
strong in this area. But I know there will always be more to learn down the
line, especially if I ever open my own family practice.”