When Dr Daniel Brimm moved from Vancouver, Canada, to Brisbane to study his Doctor of Medicine at UQ, he was attracted to the research opportunities available to students like him. He was surprised when he discovered that Brisbane’s lifestyle, nature and natural surroundings had benefits beyond his expectations.
“The four years that I spent at UQ were some of the best times of my life. It was nice moving to Brisbane from Vancouver because they’re similar cities in a lot of ways, they’re both surrounded by beautiful scenery and really lend themselves to outdoor activities.”
Opportunities in rural medicine
Upon graduating in 2021, Daniel explored opportunities further afield in Queensland, undertaking his intern year in Rockhampton to gain a thorough general medical education and crucial hands-on experience.
“I didn’t know where I was going to end up after medical school but I went to Rockhampton for my intern year, which I really enjoyed. I’d never lived outside of a major metropolitan area before, so a town of 80,000 people was uncharted waters for me. The hospital itself was great, the staff were very friendly and I really appreciated the extra opportunities afforded to me because of the rural location.”
Healthy body, healthy mind
When Daniel isn’t working, he tests the boundaries of his physical strength by competing in powerlifting and strongman events. He says it’s very important for people in medicine to have interests outside of the hospital.
Developing the talent of the future
An educator at heart, while Daniel learned a lot from his intern program and the community in Rockhampton, he also made sure to give back and help train the next generation of health professionals - work which the Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education Councils recognised.
“Last year I was lucky enough to win the 2022 Queensland Junior Doctor of the Year Award, which was surprising, to be honest, and I’m very humbled by it. The selection criteria were mostly around teaching experience. Recently I’ve been teaching a lot of suturing workshops but throughout medical school, I was also teaching things like casting and how to do physical exams on patients.”
Medical internship and beyond
As he progresses in his career, Daniel has moved back to southern Queensland to specialise in orthopaedics.
“I recently started working at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital as a Senior House Officer in the orthopaedic surgery department. I really love the job and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
It’s a busy and varied role, testing his knowledge and offering more experiences and responsibilities.
“I spend most of my time holding the on-call phone, representing the department and answering questions from other departments or from GPs. I also get to go into fracture clinic quite frequently and sometimes into the operating theatre to help out.”
Completing his medical education at UQ enabled Daniel to forge connections across Queensland and grow as a Doctor in a supportive community.
“Studying medicine at UQ has been a life-changing experience. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here living in Queensland and I’m excited for what the future holds.
Interested in a medical career like Daniel? Explore our Doctor of Medicine program.
