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Keynote: The cost of ambition: a diptych

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Saturday, June 27, 2026
1:45 PM - 2:15 PM

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Dr Katrina Starmer


Speaker

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Dr Katrina Starmer
FACRRM FACEM
Royal Flying Doctor Service

Keynote: The cost of ambition: a diptych

Abstract

It was the perfect storm: a dream job in arguably one of the most remote parts of Australia, a pregnancy, and a tropical cyclone. What could possibly go wrong?
It was this case, displayed side by side with my own life in a diptych that triggered me to think about the personal, professional and community cost of our own ambition.
How quick are we as health practitioners to judge our patients for their life decisions without reflecting on those we make ourselves?

Biography

Dr Katrina Starmer is a dual trained FACRRM/FACEM, working for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) and for The Cairns Hospital Emergency department. She is the inaugural RFDS Statewide Medical Education Officer for Virtual and Digital Health and has worked as a rural GP for the small town of Chillagoe for the last 6 years. She also teaches on the EMET (Emergency Management Education and Training) team for Cairns and Cape York, including establishing a Focussed Echo in Life Support (FELS) course for the Far North. Katrina has 4 children, 2 great dane dogs and a husband with more bikes than required for one person.

Host

RDAQ2026


Presenter

Agenda Item Image
Katrina Starmer
FACRRM FACEM
Royal Flying Doctor Service

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