ACEM is proud to congratulate the three 24.1 Buchanan Prize award winners, Dr Roxanne Dubash, Dr Gareth Ryan and Dr Laura Castle.
The Buchanan Prize is awarded to the highest scoring candidates in a cohort of the Fellowship Examination (Clinical), also known as the ‘OSCE’, on their first attempt of the examination.
218 candidates sat the 24.1 Fellowship OSCE exam, which was held in Sydney.
Dr Laura Castle
“I was actually on shift dressing a very unglamorous chronic wound when I got the notification about the prize,” says Dr Laura Castle, who is currently working in Epworth Richmond emergency department in Melbourne.
“After some thorough hand hygiene, I checked my phone, and it came as a lovely surprise! Getting through exams is a tough slog for everyone so it means a lot to be recognised like this. I think my mum has told half of Scotland, so it’s been great hearing messages of congratulations from back home.”
The main piece of advice Laura says she’d give to others facing the OSCE is “to try and find a study group who you get on with, trust and, most importantly, who are more interested in getting everyone through rather than competing with each other”.
“I was also lucky to work with an excellent mentor and educator, who helped me so much,” she says.
Laura also recommends approaching each question as you would in the workplace.
“No one is asking you to reinvent the wheel, it’s more about demonstrating a safe, prioritised approach to team leading any scenario you face - always think about what needs to happen and in what order to get the best patient outcome.”
Dr Roxanne Dubash
For Dr Roxanne Dubash, “there’s so much to love about emergency medicine” – and finding out she had passed the OSCE was met with welcome relief.
“I was literally walking into work when I checked my phone, so it was very special to be able to share the news with my work team and so many people who helped get me through the exam,” Roxanne says. “I had to recheck the email multiple times because it didn’t feel real!”
She sees her role in emergency medicine as “a huge privilege” and says “it makes for really meaningful work”.
Another thing I love is the teamwork - it’s incredibly gratifying working in a highly effective team to deliver a good outcome for a person who is unwell, using not just our knowledge but skills in communication, prioritisation and procedures,” Roxanne says. “It can be really challenging work, but the best days are truly the best - inspiring, perspective-shifting and fulfilling.”
Dr Gareth Ryan
Dr Gareth Ryan explains his passion for emergency medicine by acknowledging the “camaraderie of this specialty” that has “always amazed me”.
“It took a while for the disbelief to fade when I read the email from ACEM (I must have refreshed and re-read it a dozen times),” he says about learning the news of his Buchanan Prize recognition.
“Passing the exam a few weeks earlier was reward enough, but receiving this is an honour. After telling my partner and family, the next thing I had to do was share the news with the mentors, friends and colleagues who had given me so much of their time over the past year. Their support has been invaluable, and I'm looking forward to trying to pay that forward.”
He’s currently working in Bunbury Regional Hospital, in WA's south-west and says that, post-training, he hopes to “continue working across emergency medicine, education, and retrieval”.
To help others facing the OSCE exam prepare, Gareth says “practise papers/stations again and again - with different people, in different environments, back-to-back, when you feel great, and when you're exhausted!”
“The more uncomfortable you make yourself during your preparation, the less uncomfortable you'll be on the day,” Gareth says. “Prepare for the reality that you will make a mess of at least 1 station, just don't let it affect the rest.”
“A few weeks out from the exam, while driving home after yet another long day of practice, I felt distinctly exhausted. I remember being struck by how impressive it was that every FACEM I know has been through this process. Sometimes these exams can feel like they are more a test of your mental fortitude than of your knowledge. The whole process is unavoidably stressful, and your morale will fluctuate. Appreciate your small wins, and don't forget to do the things that keep your spirits high.”