From hospital groundskeeper to doctor: ‘Some days I miss only having to worry about the lawns’
Dr Marcin Skladaniec swapped a lawnmower for a stethoscope on returning to Lockhart River as a doctor.
When Dr Marcin Skladaniec began with Queensland Health, his greatest responsibility was to keep his local hospital’s lawns flourishing and mowed.
Ten years later the former groundskeeper has swapped the ride-on mower and whipper snipper for a stethoscope and is working as provisional senior medical officer at Tully Hospital in Far North Queensland.
Originally from Poland, Dr Skladaniec began his career as an engineer, then did a science degree once he had moved to Australia in his early 20s.
When his then-girlfriend moved to the remote Indigenous Cape York community of Lockhart River to work as a nurse, he went too, taking up a role as groundskeeper with Queensland Health.Â
