GP Communique – Update from Dr Laura Baxter

Dr Laura Baxter

General Practice Gold Coast (GPGC) Directors and General Practice Registrar

Foreward by Dr Kat McLean (GPGC Board Chair)

Over the next few issues of GP communique we are taking the opportunity to introduce our GPGC board, why we do what we do, and opportunities for local GPs to become involved and link in with the organisation. This month I am going to hand over to Dr Laura Baxter who will provide an update on our planned events, soon to launch website, and tell you a little bit about herself.

I’m Laura Baxter, I’m one of the General Practice Gold Coast Directors and a General Practice Registrar. I have been on the board for almost 18 months and that time has been the most turbulent time for GPs through the pandemic. As a board we have been supporting GPs through advocacy and communication and a little bit of education. Now that restrictions are easing we are planning some more education events including a Dermatology dinner on Thursday 22 July (you can register here) and a Breastfeeding/Antenatal/Infant Care dinner on Thursday 26 July.

A little more about me:

• I grew up in the UK where I studied Biomedical Sciences at the University of Southampton and then went on to study Medicine. I worked as junior doctor in the UK for two years before emigrating to Australia in 2013.
• I worked in Emergency for four years between Gold Coast and Tweed before beginning General Practice training in 2017. I have also been teaching medical students at Bond University since 2014.
• I passed my fellowship exams in 2019 and am returning from maternity leave to complete my training at Mullumbimby Medical Centre, in Northern NSW, in August.
• My special interest is in Breastfeeding Medicine and am currently training to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). My other areas of interest are Antenatal and Infant Care as well as Preventative Medicine.

The other thing that the board has been busy doing over the last year is creating a new website. This website will be a searchable directory of GP members, open to the public to enable them to find the right GP for them, in the right place and with the right language or special interest skills. The GP profiles will be controlled by themselves and will have a link to their own practice’s contact details and website.

The website will also house some of the latest blog articles by our local GPs.

If you are a GP in the Gold Coast/Tweed region and are not already a General Practice Gold Coast member, then email us: admin@gpgc.com.au

Kind regards,
Dr Laura Baxter