Dr Maelle Morgan is originally from Currumbin on the Gold Coast and completed a postgraduate medical degree at The University of Queensland. During her degree she undertook an eight-week GP rotation in Brisbane’s southern suburbs and an eight-week rural placement in Surat, Queensland. Both experiences confirmed her love of community-focused medicine.
"You can see how you make a difference when you are part of a place."
As a house officer at the Royal Brisbane Hospital, Maelle took rural relief rotations to Cloncurry and Augathella. She loved the independence and connection, and she enjoyed stepping away from big hospital hierarchy and competitive training pathways.
LIC role
Maelle is a GP Visiting Medical Officer and supervises students in the Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC). She helps set up the rotation and teaches across general practice, emergency medicine and the acute inpatient unit.
Image: Celebrating a first prize win at the Moree Photography Awards, a proud local moment surrounded by scenes of the region.
Why Moree?
For Maelle, the LIC gives students time with senior doctors who know their communities and can tailor learning to a student’s goals. Moree also offers clinical access. With only two medical students in the hospital, students often get early exposure to high impact experiences, including retrievals, surgical emergencies, and vaginal and caesarean deliveries.
Continuity of care is a standout. Students can see a patient in GP, follow them through the ED, stay involved during admission, then review them after discharge in the community. It is also common to run into patients around town, which helps students see what recovery and function look like in real life.
"You don’t meet a constant stream of medical conditions, you meet the actual people that the conditions affect."
Placement life
Moree has three GP practices, and students spend about six weeks with each. Most days begin with a ward round in the acute inpatient unit with the supervisor from the attached practice, then students head to GP or ED for the rest of the shift. The structure is two sessions per day, with a one hour lunch break from 1 to 2 pm, and flexibility to step out for university teaching.
Depending on interests, students can attend theatre with the anaesthetist or surgeon, antenatal clinic, specialist clinics and community health. There is also scope to try a weekend shift or night shift, or to adjust the work week to support learning goals.
Every second Monday at lunchtime, the Moree GP team gathers for Journal Club, with lunch provided and teaching. It is also time for colleagues to connect, share stories and support each other.
Image: Enjoying the Glacial Area on a family outing, one of the region’s best spots to slow down and explore outdoors.
Keeping skills broad
Maelle values rural generalism because it is relationship based. Patients are friendly, invite you in, and sometimes drop off eggs or home-grown produce. She also loves being able to put her own spin on each consultation and encourage practical health changes.
"Medicine is a choose your own adventure, and rural medicine provides the opportunity to create your own area and style of practice."
She has enrolled around 20 patients in her local parkrun and gym, and helped people connect through clubs and sport. Outside work, she jokes she has too many hobbies, and medicine often comes second.
Looking ahead, Maelle hopes the LIC helps students cement learning across their degree and build confidence across all areas of medicine, so they feel able to choose any career path. She is passionate about maintaining broad clinical skills, and sees rural training as a way to keep practical capability alive.
Her final reassurance is about culture. The Moree team is friendly, there is a no stress policy, and if something goes wrong in or out of medicine, the team will help fix it. Fridays are casual dress Fridays too.
Image: Dr Maelle Morgan and family at Run the Plains Moree, enjoying a community day out.
