In a remote community some 175 kilometers from Broken Hill, a band of local volunteers are cleaning up after a Christmas event, when young Leroy Henderson’s life is changed forever…

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Thanks so much for listening to the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us.

There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners and those we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. 

Please join the conversation at our Facebook Group called the Flying Doctor Podcast Community 

And if you haven’t already done so – catch up on our extensive back-series as there are some ripper yarns, incredibly brave and strong people, and many-a-story that are so typically Aussie in terms of resilience, innovation in times of crisis, and of course humour.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They were in the middle of the remote Birdsville track. Sandy dunes and red desert stony plains...and steaming hot thermal springs. Nigel climbs out of the 4WD for a rest break and then hears a scream like he has never heard before…

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Thanks so much for listening to the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us.

There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners and those we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. 

Please join the conversation at our Facebook Group called the Flying Doctor Podcast Community 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Opal miner, Richard Hawkins, lives in one of the harshest environments on the planet - Andamooka in remote South Australia. Though he knows well the protocols to prevent deadly dehydration in the extreme desert heat, Richard has learnt some lessons in recent years.

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We hope you enjoyed this special episode, which we’ve shared from our incredible archive of 140 Flying Doctor yarns! It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us and we look forward to bringing you an exciting new Series 15 of the Flying Doctor Podcast this September!

There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. 

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or story ideas through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first week in September is Jean Hailes Women’s Health Week - Australia’s largest event dedicated to the health and wellbeing of all women, girls and gender-diverse people. To celebrate and support Women's Health week in the bush, we'd like you to meet a very special Mum, who was interviewed by the Flying Doctor Podcast back in 2022! Kate Napier lived on a remote cattle station and was expecting her second child. She was supposed to move into town four weeks early, but life got in the way and a week out from her due date, she went into labour and was more than 150km from the hospital. The journey of the labour and then the arrival of Lilly was challenging in more ways than one.

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Thanks so much for listening to the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners and those we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. Please join the conversation at our Facebook Group called the Flying Doctor Podcast Community 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

RFDS Emergency Physician and GP, Dr Katrina Starmer, is a true inspiration within the field of rural and remote health care. This month, to celebrate Dr Katrina's recent 'Community Bush Champion' nomination at the National Bush Summit, we re-visit Katrina's fascinating journey to becoming an Outback Doc. From growing up in Townsville to fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a part of the RFDS. In this episode, Katrina shares her experiences working in emergency medicine and as a GP in remote areas have shaped her perspective and inspired her to make a difference in the lives of young people.

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Thanks so much for listening to the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners and those we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends.

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au and you can join the conversation at our Facebook Group called the Flying Doctor Podcast Community 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel and Blake Bartlett were many months into a wonderful journey of travelling around Australia with their three kids in a caravan. While snorkelling on the coast at Coral Bay, everything changed when their 10 year old son Jackson was bitten by a shark.

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We hope you enjoyed this special episode, which we’ve shared from our incredible archive of 140 Flying Doctor yarns! It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us and we look forward to bringing you an exciting new Series 15 of the Flying Doctor Podcast this September!

There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. 

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or story ideas through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Sally Edmonds talks of the RFDS response to the severe boat accident that occurred in May 2022 in the remote location of Horizontal Falls - where there was no access by road and some 26 patients had to be transported to hospital.  

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We hope you enjoyed this special episode, which we’ve shared from our incredible archive of 140 Flying Doctor yarns! It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us and we look forward to bringing you an exciting new Series 15 of the Flying Doctor Podcast this September! There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or story ideas through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Joe and his instructor drifted down from 12,000 feet, it was serene and peaceful, until his parachute suddenly collapsed 10 storeys from the ground, and they plummeted... 

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We hope you enjoyed this special episode, which we’ve shared from our incredible archive of 140 Flying Doctor yarns! It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us and we look forward to bringing you an exciting new Series 15 of the Flying Doctor Podcast this September! There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or story ideas through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gladstone warmth. Blue, blue day. Dogs, birds, horses and kids. Rachael is out for a pleasant ride with a friend but the unexpected occurs.

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We hope you enjoyed this special episode, which we’ve shared from our incredible archive of 140 Flying Doctor yarns! It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us and we look forward to bringing you an exciting new Series 15 of the Flying Doctor Podcast this September! There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or story ideas through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Immense stands of Iron-Bark. Crisp sunny morning. 16 yr old David Donavon is checking for storm damage along the 15km boundaries of a remote property, but has no idea that shortly he will be gasping for oxygen and on a dash to save his own life…

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We hope you enjoyed this special episode, which we’ve shared from our incredible archive of 140 Flying Doctor yarns! It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us and we look forward to bringing you an exciting new Series 15 of the Flying Doctor Podcast in September 2025!

There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. 

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or story ideas through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hot and sticky. Experienced Ranger is fishing in the Cape when a crocodile launches out of the water and mauls him, hundreds of kilometres from a hospital… Katrina Starmer, RFDS Medical Officer recalls the retrieval. 

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We hope you enjoyed this special episode, which we’ve shared from our incredible archive of 140 Flying Doctor yarns! It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us and we look forward to bringing you an exciting new Series 15 of the Flying Doctor Podcast in September 2025!

There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. 

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or story ideas through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Young mother of two Michelle Dowsett suffered a shocking and confronting accident that stunned first responders. Michelle’s rare and life-threatening scalp injury required fast action to save not just her, but her unborn baby’s life as well!

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We hope you enjoyed this special episode, which we’ve shared from our incredible archive of 140 Flying Doctor yarns! It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us and we look forward to bringing you an exciting new Series 15 of the Flying Doctor Podcast in September 2025!

There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. 

Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or story ideas through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the safe arrival of her second baby, Poppy, Lil Bryant was anxious to return home from hospital to the peace and sanctuary of Mount Doreen Station - some 400km northwest of Alice Springs. Eagerly awaiting her return was her toddler son Dawson and hubbie Sam, along with Lil's beloved outback 'station family' of employees. But just nine days after Poppy's birth, Lil awoke in the middle of the night and immediately knew that 'something wasn't right'. Still half asleep, she turned on the bathroom nights and was greeted with a confronting sight. Lil was experiencing a significant Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) - and everyone at the station that night would have to work together to keep the terrified young Mum alive.

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Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Brooksby is in a good place. The fifth generation SA farmer - and founder of the Naked Farmer social media phenomenon - and his partner have just welcomed a beautiful baby girl into their family. And their passion and commitment to sustainable farming is literally blossoming before their eyes! But life wasn't always this good. As a young rural man, Ben tackled bouts of severe social anxiety and self-doubt. The tragic loss, by fire, of his family's homestead in 2016, felt like a dangerous and frightening tipping point. Which is why, in 2017, Ben took off all his clothes and jumped into a truck full of lentils - and the Naked Farmer movement was born! The images of Ben and his rapidly growing band of fellow farmers and young rural workers soon went viral on social media, under the tagline 'It takes guts to get your gear off...and it takes guts to talk about mental health'.

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Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. You can find out more about Ben and the Naked Farmer at HOME | Thenakedfarmerco If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or are with someone who is, call 000 if it is an emergency. For direct and ongoing support, call Lifeline Crisis Support (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636). There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Zealand’s Fergus Gunn considers himself a very lucky man. He is still working in a job he loves, he has a great bunch of friends and a loving, close-knit family…and he’s alive! Because on the day he rolled a 4WD while checking fences on the remote NT property of Brunette Downs, back in October 2015, it was only thanks to a series of ‘lucky’ incidences that ‘Ferg’ made it through the day. After being discovered by a fellow station worker, who then raised the alarm, Ferg’s initial, lifesaving first aid was administered by a local vet. The RFDS would again save his life, by giving Fergus a blood transfusion in the field, before he could be airlifted to hospital. The story of this Jackaroo's remote station accident would make national headlines.

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Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us...and we’d love to hear from you! We'd also like you to tell us what you’re loving (or not so much) about the podcast by completing our quick 5-minute survey here : https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/Podcast-Survey-2025/. Your feedback will help shape future seasons of The Flying Doctor Podcast. As a thank you, you’ll also go in the draw to win an RFDS prize pack filled with merch and other goodies! (Survey closes June 20, 2025). The winner will be contacted via email and/or text on June 21. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The stunning images and videos that WA cattle farmer Camille McClymont shares with her Instagram followers each week, perfectly capture the epic landscapes, red dust sunsets and daily farm chores of remote station life. Camille and her husband Jack, along with their young son Lachlan, manage some 16,000 head of cattle over many thousands of hectares - and their days are often spent mustering, checking fences and savoring every second of their time together. But Camille's isolated lifestyle wasn't always this idyllic. As a teenager, facing time away from her family's farm at boarding school and grappling with her brother's illness, she became trapped in a cycle of dieting, depression and body dysmorphia. Like so many other young Australians who - often in secret - battle eating disorders that can quickly overwhelm their lives, Camilla faced a terrifying battle with Anorexia Nervosa.

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Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us...and we’d love to hear from you! To find immediate resources and help with an eating disorder, head to Support for Eating Disorders and Body Image Issues | Butterfly Foundation You can also check out Camille's Insta stories at Camille McClymont (@camille_monica_) • Instagram photos and videos We'd also like you to tell us what you’re loving (or not so much) about the podcast by completing our quick 5-minute survey here : https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/Podcast-Survey-2025/. Your feedback will help shape future seasons of The Flying Doctor Podcast. As a thank you, you’ll also go in the draw to win an RFDS prize pack filled with merch and other goodies! (Survey closes June 20, 2025). The winner will be contacted via email and/or text on June 21. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this very special episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast, we're taking you on a remote rural road trip to the famous outback community of Broken Hill. And we have a Golden Ticket to one of the region's premier events! From Priscilla, Queen of the Desert to Mad Max, the remote red dirt region made world-famous on the silver screen is known as outback Australia's 'city in the desert'. It is also home to the largest RFDS base in Australia - operated by the RFDS's South Eastern Section - and providing medical services across NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, southwest Queensland and Northern SA. As Australia's first ever heritage-listed city, and the longest continuous mining community, the remote far West NSW community of Broken Hill and surrounds is tight-knit, hard-working and resilient. And while the original RFDS base was first established back in 1936, the Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary was founded soon after that - with a mission to raise funds, education and awareness around remote and rural health services and the work of the RFDS...including via its celebrated annual Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary RFDS Ball!

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Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us...and we’d love to hear from you! Tell us what you’re loving (or not so much) about the podcast by completing our quick 5-minute survey here : https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/Podcast-Survey-2025/. Your feedback will help shape future seasons of The Flying Doctor Podcast. As a thank you, you’ll also go in the draw to win an RFDS prize pack filled with merch and other goodies! (Survey closes June 20, 2025). The winner will be contacted via email and/or text on June 21. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together. And if you're keen to track down the Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary and their world-famous Christmas Puddings, you can find them on Facebook at Royal Flying Doctor Service Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary | Facebook

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Melbourne-born Dave Rogers first caught the flying bug as a teenager, he wasn't even sure where a pilot's license might take him. But after honing his skills and flight hours as an instructor - and then spending three years flying small aircraft over (and onto!) the most remote and treacherous landscapes of Papua New Guinea - today Dave is a highly respected RFDS Senior Base Pilot at Broken Hill, NSW. But what does it actually take to become an emergency retrieval pilot and what happens when things don't exactly go to plan? On his very first day in Broken Hill, after applying for the RFDS pilot role during Covid, Dave was called to fly out to a devastating fire at the Tibooburra hotel, where a gas tank explosion caused the historic Two Storey Hotel to set alight, injuring four people. But this was just the beginning of Dave's incredible outback adventure...

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Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From childhood memories of travelling the remote Kimberley landscapes of the 1960's, to arriving in a skirt and heels onto a remote WA airstrip in Kalgoorlie as a freshly minted RFDS Doctor, Dr Elizabeth Green's new memoir is an engaging, time-travelling treat. While Elizabeth was only 'officially' with the RFDS for two and a half years in the last 1980's, her love of medicine and the bush, along with a lifelong romance with her Flying Doc husband, Dr Stephen Langford, has gifted her with a swag full of incredible and often outrageous outback yarns. After working for 35 years with the RFDS Western Ops, as well as in Port Hedland, Stephen also wrote the iconic 2015 book, The Leading Edge: Innovation, technology and people in Australia’s Royal Flying Doctor Service. Just like the shadow of the RFDS plane's she would often watch from the window of her many RFDS clinic and retrieval flights, Elizabeth believes the stories and communities of the RFDS have followed her throughout her life.

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Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. You can find more details and links to Dr Elizabeth Green's new book at No Time for Makeup: The life of a flying doctor and paediatrician - Green, Dr Elizabeth | 9781923011090 | Amazon.com.au | Books There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many of us have probably dreamed of running away to a deserted island! But what if you actually lived on one, 365 days of the year? Ruby and Heinrich (and their toddler Lucas) are the full-time caretakers of Qld's remote One Tree Island. But as well as dealing with the daily and often extreme 'remote work' challenges of keeping an island - and all its visiting scientists - running smoothly, they are also the official custodians of an RFDS Medical Chest. There are around 3500 RFDS medical chests located all around the country - often on remote outback stations and tiny townships across rural and remote Australia. But for Ruby's baby son Lucas, access to an RFDS medical chest became critically important - on the day that Scarlet Fever came to visit One Tree.

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Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.