Putting Down Roots in the Central West 

Longreach has become home for doctors Dr Samantha Campbell and Dr Garry Cheng, who have chosen to build both their careers and their young family in the Central West while delivering broad, hands-on care to remote communities. 

Dr Campbell’s connection to the region began during medical school.  

“As a fourth-year medical student, I elected to come to Longreach for my rural placement,” she says. 

“I had never been out west, and the idea of small rural communities had a large appeal to me as I grew up in a smaller rural town.” 

She later returned for a sixth-year placement and completed her junior doctor training with the intention of coming back permanently. The experience of working closely with patients across the region shaped that decision.  

“I was attracted to the area by the warmth, kindness and generosity of the people in the area and the continuity of care and rapport you are able to develop with patients, some over their lifetimes,” she says. 

Dr Cheng followed a similar path into rural medicine. After studying at the University of Queensland and working for three years at Caboolture Hospital, he moved to Goondiwindi to complete GP Rural Generalist training, where he met Dr Campbell during the COVID-19 period when she was seconded to the town to support GP anaesthetic services.  

Dr Cheng later joined her in Longreach after completing his training. He is now a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners with advanced skills in emergency medicine. 

Together, the couple now practise across both hospital and primary care settings while raising their one-year-old daughter. Despite coming from different backgrounds, Dr Campbell growing up on a beef cattle property near Gin Gin and Dr Cheng being born in Canberra, both say rural medicine offers the career they want long term. 

“Training and practising in Longreach provides wide clinical exposure across the full spectrum of care,” Dr Campbell says.  

“We are very fortunate in Longreach as we get to work in both the primary care general practice setting, work in outreach clinics including Muttaburra and Isisford. We also get to work in the hospital both ward and emergency medicine and take part in pre anaesthetic clinics, use anaesthetic advanced skill for obstetrics, emergencies and visiting specialist surgeons and working in the Stress Test clinic.” 

She says the variety of practice is a key reason many doctors choose the Rural Generalist pathway.  

“Being a rural generalist is a great career where we get to do something different every day and help our patients across a broad facet of health care.

"Working in a rural and remote community also offers the unique opportunity to see and manage a lot of clinical presentations you may not have the chance to working in a more urban area. We are really at the forefront of primary health care, trauma and clinical medicine.” 

Beyond the clinical experience, the Central West community has played an important role in their decision to stay.  

“We thoroughly enjoy the friendships we have made in this area. We have created a fantastic group of friends that we like to call our western family,” Dr Campbell says, adding that community support has been especially valuable as they raise their young child while working demanding medical roles. 

For students and junior doctors considering rural generalist training, she encourages early exposure to regional placements.  

“My greatest piece of advice is to take every opportunity you can to immerse yourself in a community,” she says.  

“Go on as many rural placements as you can – stay in the town, go to park run, meet all the staff at the hospital, go to your local bakery and library, and talk to your patients. Working in Central West has been a great opportunity for our family to feel as though our work every day is helping people and making a difference.”