Dr Megan McKeown - Lean On Me
“I enjoy being a doctor to the forgotten population. The poor, the vulnerable, the people who deserve care. There is no bigger motivation for me than knowing no-one else will do it.”
Megan McKeown is a remote area doctor working for the Australian Antarctic Program who enjoys making something work when others have walked away because they couldn’t find an obvious or simple solution.
Meg co-founded a charity called Sportula Microgrants that does just that for the medical students at the University of Tasmania (UTAS) who simply required a place to ask for help that would respond and provide the help. This charity now acts as an auspicor for other projects aimed at helping vulnerable Tasmanians. The Street Medicine Outreach service is a mobile medical service that brings General Practice care to people living homelessly in Hobart.
What’s one of your greatest accomplishments to date and what impact did it have on you, others, society or the world?
Taking my philosophy of “do what you can, with what you have, where you are” and applying it to all situations. This has helped me work in under-resourced settings and also to be innovative in any setting and do more with less. I now have the Street Medicine Outreach in Hobart running on a shoestring budget but doing more by collaborating with other services and inviting philanthropic involvement. As Medical Director for Moreton Group Medical Services I direct the service but also work on it as one of the General Practitioners. It is confronting, oftentimes upsetting, vulnerable work that I am committed to and encourage others with the same values as me to come to work in. We are caring for a population that has been squeezed out of the housing market and out of healthcare as attending the GP has become more and more ill affordable.
What’s one of the greatest lessons you’ve learnt in your journey so far?
To always be proud of what I’ve achieved and if we feel like we haven't achieved what we hoped, then it’s never too late to be a leader, create a goal for the future or even join someone else with their venture. I didn't plan to be a leader but now here I am and it isn't too bad - it makes getting things done a whole lot more likely.
What’s one of the biggest challenges you’ve experienced and/or overcame in your journey as a leader?
My biggest challenge is that I came out of nowhere and stormed to the front of a crisis. The crisis was the loss of several medical students to suicide at the University of Tasmania. Many didn’t trust I had the goods or that my ideas were sound as they were innovative and untested. I had to roll up my sleeves and get the work done to help people to trust me and back me with my next plan. I am not sure if being an unknown woman made this harder but I have strived to be known, I have written articles, spoken to gatherings and media, taken extra roles and worked tirelessly to raise my profile.
Who do you turn to for guidance, advice or support?
Finding “your people” is important. People who have similar values, can support you with new ideas and be the sounding board for the bad ideas too! My people are varied, from colleagues in the medical profession, to people I meet and collect along the paths I tread. Ladies in Antarctica, business women, politicians, other not for profit ladies and family and friends. If someone stands still long enough I will ask their opinion. I love storytelling and listening to story tellers. We can learn a lot from others, not just from people in the same circumstance but people from all walks of life. I often get called to see a patient because they have high blood pressure and now I just have a yarn until the blood pressure returns to normal. Make opportunities to yarn and then collect the people who are in your corner.
Complete this sentence … “A leader is someone who …”
Enables those they lead to be well resourced and supported so that they meet their goals and experience personal growth along the way.
Why do you want to share your story?
Sharing my story will hopefully inspire others, empower others to take their own leap of faith. Storytelling is a human experience. It creates connections and I hope that people would learn from my first hand experience. I also like people to know about Tasmania, how it is the most beautiful place on earth but it is struggling with the lowest life expectancy of any Australian State now and a lot of sadness behind the closed doors and on the streets. I have been away from home with work for a few years but I am home now and I have the energy and the ideas to enable a turn around for Tasmania.
You can connect with Dr Megan McKeown through email, LinkedIn, Facebook or in person. “I want people to know that this state of affairs in Tasmania is unacceptable and if you want to collaborate on any of my projects in street medicine, secondary triage, urgent care or homeless health advocacy, then please get in touch. If you have an idea and need my help please also contact me. Mostly the action I would like is for others to see the things that are not working and get noisy to advocate for change. Disrupt, ask questions and roll up your sleeves, real action can lead to real change.”
drmeg@moretongroup.com