Dr Simon Fleming is an orthopaedic hand and wrist surgeon at Rockhampton Hospital. Dr Fleming loves his job; from being able to improve a patient’s quality of life, to the supportive culture of his colleagues.
If you cut your hand accidently trying to get the pit out of your avocado, or injure your wrist when doing work in the garden, there is a good chance you will be seeing Dr Simon Fleming sooner rather than later.
So, what does it take to be an orthopaedic surgeon in regional Queensland?
After completing medical training in the United Kingdom and working in London and Sydney, Dr Fleming now calls central Queensland home.
Working as an orthopaedic hand and wrist surgeon at Rockhampton Hospital, Dr Fleming loves his job, particularly being able to improve a patient’s quality of life.
“My job is to improve people’s function and quality of life and reduce their pain. Basically, my job is to fix stuff so it works better, or at least, doesn’t cause as much of a problem,” Dr Fleming said.
“Whether it’s people’s bones or joints, the culture I work in, or the way we train surgeons, my battery gets re-charged every day by having the opportunity to identify things that could absolutely be better if someone were only willing to step up and go, ‘yeah, I can improve that’.”
Culture is king
The supportive culture of his colleagues is also another reason Dr Fleming enjoys going to work every day.
“There’s a really respectful and supportive culture in the orthopaedic surgery unit here. Not just amongst the surgeons either, but the nurses, anaesthetists, podiatrists, hand therapists and physios; the list goes on,” he said.
“It’s knowing that I can ask for help and it will always be given. It’s knowing that someone is always looking out for you.
“And it’s great to see that orthopaedics in Australia has a real growth mindset when it comes to how we train, support, listen to and mentor surgeons.
“If we improve training and culture, we improve patient care. Its win/win, and for me, there’s nothing better.”
Health advice people should know
While accidents can happen and are often unavoidable, Dr Fleming said developing healthier lifestyle habits meant people could avoid unnecessary trips to hospital.
“If you want to avoid emergency surgery, sometimes you just can’t; accidents happen,” he said.
“But wearing safety gear when doing manual work, wearing a seatbelt, not cutting towards your hand with a knife, like with avocados, not punching walls/windows – or people – and using trampolines as you are supposed to would drastically reduce the number of operations I need to do.
“Not smoking, staying as active as possible, eating a balanced diet, doing what you can to stay at a healthy weight and managing any chronic conditions as best you can, such as diabetes, are also important.
“Prevention is nearly always better than cure.”
However, he said it was just as important to not suffer in silence.
“If you have a problem, see someone about it. So many things in my line of work respond well to hand therapy or anti-inflammatory injections, but only if we get to them in time.”
Building memories
Dr Fleming said he has made many positive memories and learnt a lot in his nearly 18 months at Rockhampton Hospital.
“There’s so many – from running my first ‘big’ major trauma case to having my first patient thank me for making a meaningful difference in their life; they all sound like cliches, but I guess that’s where core memories come from,” he said.
“I am just really grateful to have the opportunity to treat patients in Queensland.
“It may sound a little cringe – probably because it is – but it is really glorious to drive to work in the sunshine, help people get the use of their hands back, and spend my weekends in beautiful surrounds, with great beef to BBQ in the little community I have become a part of.”