AMA VICDOC Winter 2025 - Magazine - Page 38
P RO F A LL E N C H E U K-S E N G C H EN G AC
maker taking advice, making decisions
and implementing policy. What we did
hadn’t been done for a century since the
Spanish Flu – implementing and coming
out of a lockdown and how to manage
specific population groups, like children
Unfortunately, the pandemic is the
and essential workers. There were a lot
starkest example of what did happen in
of stakeholders and interested groups to
other countries, but what didn’t happen
consider as we tried to work out what
in Australia. Public health experts have
the epidemiology was telling us. There
estimated that, if Australia had had the
death rate of the UK or the US, which are were many other skills that were new to
countries that are not that different to us me. We certainly don’t get taught how to
give press conferences in medical school!
in many respects, we would’ve had 10
or 20,000 more deaths from COVID,
I BELIEVE THAT IN LIFE THERE ARE
even after the first year. By mostly
THINGS THAT ARE INTERESTING,
holding off COVID until most people
THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT AND
had been vaccinated, these differences
THEN THERE ARE THINGS WE GET
have persisted over the subsequent years.
Although control measures were a great
PAID FOR.
burden on many people, what we went
through in Australia with COVID
Work is a lot more fun if you’re open
was relatively light on compared to
to constantly learning and extending
some other countries. I’m proud to
your skills. I encourage students and
have played a part in helping guide
early career doctors to put their hand
Australia through that.
up for jobs that are interesting or
seem important to them; to take those
STEPPING INTO GOVERNMENT AT
opportunities that come along and learn
A DIFFICULT TIME FOR VICTORIA –
from them. I really had no insight when
IN 2020, DURING THE PANDEMIC –
I was a junior doctor that I would move
into research then statistics and then
WAS A MAJOR CHALLENGE.
public health. Nothing you learn is ever
wasted and over time, just by having
I hadn’t worked in state government
experience in those additional things,
before, so it was a crash course in how
you accumulate knowledge and
government works. It’s a very different
perspective that will lead to more
role to what I had been used to as an
advisor – instead I was the decision
new and interesting things.
WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT THE PUBLIC
HEALTH PARADOX – WHERE PUBLIC
HEALTH OUTCOMES ARE MEASURED
ON THINGS THAT DON’T HAPPEN.
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