A CHANGE in career direction has seen Bathurst’s former Wallaby and long-time physiotherapist Marty Roebuck become a doctor.
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Dr Roebuck is now working as an Orange Hospital intern where he will rotate through the various disciplines during the next two years.
In January he started in accident emergency and he said yesterday that he liked the diversity and the strong team environment that came with that assignment.
“I am so excited about what my eventual path will be,” Dr Roebuck said. “I have spent five weeks in Orange now and have found it to be a fantastic experience.”
Dr Roebuck said he had received incredible support in his new career from faculty, staff and fellow interns.
“But then I am the oldest intern by some margin,” the 51-year-old said.
Before studying medicine, Dr Roebuck was a physiotherapist for close to 20 years.
He said he decided he wanted a change well before he decided to study medicine.
He was 47 when he began his studies and said he had no idea if he could cope with the demands.
Dr Roebuck spent four years at the University of Notre Dame.
“I was a bit of a novelty as the old man of the group,” he said.
Dr Roebuck’s wife Su and four children have been behind him all the way.
Two of his kids finished the HSC while he was studying and the youngest is sitting for the HSC this year.
He admitted he was away a lot, adding it was their support that allowed him to achieve what he has.
“I was lucky – very lucky. Compared to many I had an armchair ride,” he said.
Dr Roebuck said it might be a cliche, but he went into medicine because he wants to make a difference.
“I can’t imagine a more satisfying role where I can make that happen,” he said.
Dr Roebuck is well-known in the local community as a fullback for the Wallabies when they won the Rugby World Cup in 1991.
He was a student at Stannies and had just finished his degree in physiotherapy when he started playing for Australia.
Dr Roebuck returned to Bathurst in 1996 at the end of his amateur sporting career. He went on to become a partner at Bathurst Physiotherapy and still has links with the practice.
Dr Roebuck did a four-week elective at Bathurst Hospital last year to complete his studies. “There was a wonderful level of support and professionalism there,” he said.
