Staff snapshot: Jenny Reath

Professor Jenny Reath is the Peter Brennan Chair of General Practice in the School of Medicine on the Campbelltown campus. She has worked in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health for almost 30 years. When not working at UWS, Jenny also works part-time as a general practitioner at the Aboriginal Medical Service Western Sydney.

When did you start working at UWS and what was your first role?
I began in February 2010 as the Foundation Chair in General Practice.

Describe your current job/role:
I lead a busy team developing and rolling out a teaching program with general practices across Greater Western Sydney and also supporting our two rural clinical schools. We are actively engaged in research across clinical, community, health services and preventive health areas.

There are many exciting opportunities to be involved in cutting-edge health reform, hence I am also on the Boards of the Local Health District, one of our general practice training providers (training GPs of the future); the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Faculty; and I am a member of the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council Ethics Committee.

What’s the best thing about your job?
I love having the opportunity to share my passion and to inform and engage others about the importance of primary healthcare. When students come to me after a lecture and share their enthusiasm for General Practice, when I receive rave reviews of their General Practice placements, or when I hear back from past students who are starting their General Practice training, I feel all my efforts are worthwhile.

What do you love most about working at UWS?
I am glad to be part of an organisation that shares my values at so many levels — from the desktop mini-bins and the composting bin in the kitchen to providing real support for students who may not previously have considered a university education and contributing to the debate about issues of national significance, such as refugees’ rights.

What are you going to be working on in the next 12 months?
This job doesn’t get any less busy and in the next 12 months, as well as refining our teaching program, we will be developing a GP mentoring program for students with an interest in General Practice and developing a comprehensive educational curriculum for our GP supervisors. I am looking forward to leading research into the roles of Aboriginal cultural mentors and educators in GP training and either reworking the funding application or starting work on a randomised control trial comparing immediate use of antibiotics with a “watchful waiting” approach when treating middle ear infections in Aboriginal children living in urban communities.

I greatly value our collaborative relationships both within and beyond UWS and am working closely with other university departments of General Practice as well as GP organisations in Greater Western Sydney and our rural areas, including the new Medicare Locals. We are also working closely with communities in Greater Wester Sydney and hope to contribute to improving health outcomes in these communities.