Opening your mind to a non-linear career journey - Dr Bridget Clancy

How much can you plan your medical career in advance?Dr Bridget Clancy is  an ear nose and throat surgeon who's cared for more than 24,000 patients over the past 20 years. On paper, you'd look at her career and assume she must have strategically planned it out. But in this conversation, she reveals that that's not the case at all. Dr Clancy left medical school thinking she would be more of a rural generalist, than a specialist. However, a combination of mentors and the need to balance family and work life led her down some unexpected, but ultimately very fulfilling career pathways.In this episode, Bridget discusses the tough decisions she made in her career as well how her out-of-the-box thinking led to new opportunities. For instance, she became a pioneer in telehealth, when she mobilised her private practice very quickly during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.Dr Clancy has recently closed her practice in Warrnambool and is now focusing on more governance and policy roles within medicine, including as Chair of the rural surgery section of the College of Surgeons. —For more information about the study and training opportunities across regional Victoria, head to the Monash Rural Health website.The North West Victoria and Gippsland Regional Training Hubs have commissioned this podcast to help medical students and junior doctors learn more about training and practising medicine in regional Australia.  Find your nearest Regional Training Hub here.