DOCTOR David Chessor has been judged the outstanding young doctor from a field of more than 6500 registrars Australia-wide.
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Dr Chessor works at the Durri Aboriginal Corporation Medical Service in Kempsey.
He was awarded the prestigious General Practice Education Network national Medical Registrar of the Year prize at a ceremony in Perth last week.
Dr Chessor was applauded for his work in the field of indigenous health.
Originally from the Bowral area in southern NSW, Dr Chessor wanted to be an emergency physician but changed to general practice.
This led him to seek out a position at Durri ACMS, where he has worked since January this year.
“Durri in Kempsey has a long history as I think the second oldest AMS in Australia and one of the leading indigenous health care organisations, and I wanted to come here to work,” Dr Chessor said.
‘It has a great team atmosphere and Kempsey itself is one of the major centres of Aboriginal culture and community in Australia so it is an ideal place to work.”
Dr Chessor said being multi-skilled was important for doctors in all regional and rural communities, but there were also some special qualities needed to work effectively in indigenous health.
“Lack of access to specialist medical services is the most common problem for doctors in smaller towns, so you need to have a wider range of skills to be able to deal with that,” Dr Chessor said.
“Building a level of trust with the patient is also something I work very hard at.
“Aboriginal people feel strongly about their sense of family and community and when they talk about their own health, they are also talking about the health of their family and community more broadly.”
Dr Chessor said he hoped to be in Kempsey for a while yet while he completed his medical training.