Rate My Professor Susan Burslem

Susan Burslem, MBChB, serves as Senior Professional Practice Fellow at the University of Otago's Centre for Rural Health within the Division of Health Sciences. Based in Raglan, New Zealand, she practices as a rural doctor and general practitioner at Raglan Medical, a vocationally registered teaching practice accredited by the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners for hosting registrars and medical students on placement. In her academic capacity, she co-convenes the postgraduate paper GENA 724: The Context of Rural Healthcare. This 15-point distance learning paper, restricted to students in PGCertRCP, PGDipGP, PGDipPHC, and PGDipRCP programmes, examines the context of clinical care in rural settings relative to the person, the doctor, and the community. Delivery includes up to seven 1.5-hour videoconferences and a three-day in-person residential during the non-standard teaching period from 9 February to 31 July.

Dr Burslem graduated from the University of Leicester Medical School, where she grew up knowing little of the institution before applying. Raised in Kathmandu, Nepal, her training encompassed structured lectures, study groups, dissections, and early patient exposure in three world-class hospitals, fostering her enduring passion for medicine. She completed an intercalated BSc year, benefiting from excellent support by university and hospital supervisors. Post-graduation, her career spanned Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, and Bhutan, where she worked as a rural hospital doctor and general practitioner. Her skill set includes managing orthopaedic emergencies such as reducing broken wrists, neonatal resuscitations, and coordinating palliative pain relief for cancer patients. This breadth has enabled practice in ski resorts, outback Australia, and small surfing towns like Raglan. Her global rural medicine experience directly supports her teaching role in Otago's rural postgraduate programmes.