The awards took place virtually on October 15 and celebrated more than 30 health professionals from across regional and rural Victoria.
The seed was planted for Dr Harrison's future in medicine when the Year 9 students at Geelong’s Belmont High School had to choose a careers subject.
She thought it would be a nice thing to be a doctor — specifically a paediatrician — and the rest was history.
In 1984, Dr Harrison graduated from the University of Melbourne and moved with her husband Ian to Echuca for his work as a schoolteacher.
Early on, Dr Harrison realised she needed some extra training under her belt to work rurally and went to the United Kingdom for anaesthetics training.
“Smaller hospitals rely on rural generalist doctors — GPs with advanced skills for hospital-based care,” she said.
“I’m on-call at the hospital and still work in the emergency department sometimes.”
Until two years ago Dr Harrison was also providing anaesthetic services to Echuca Regional Health.
The Echuca Moama Family Medical Clinic GP has taken on various medical education roles over the years including as hub educator for the University of Melbourne extended rural cohort, director of intern training at ERH and a supervisor of registrars at her practice.
She currently has governance roles with The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Murray City Country Coast GP Training and The Rural Doctors Association of Victoria.
“What I’ve enjoyed the most is medical education and supervision of students and now working with some of those doctors,” she said.
“I’m particularly proud of my daughter Emily who is in charge of the emergency department in Swan Hill.”
She thanked her husband who she said had put up with a lot over the years living with an on-call doctor.
“When I wake up in the middle of the night, so does he,” she said.
Her other daughter Annie is an architect and has two children, and aside from medicine Dr Harrison said her favourite job was “granny”.
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