Dr Ash Bowden: "locum work allows me to pursue my passions"

Dr Ash Bowden AKA “Doctor Do More" lost his dad to a brain tumour, now, he is encouraging the Central Coast to participate in his annual #MoveAgainstCancer Step Challenge this September. 

Locuming with Medrecruit gives Dr Bowden the flexibility he needs to not only work as a doctor, but also follow his passions, and give back to the community.

“I lost my dad to a brain tumour. He survived for four years with it, which was unheard of. It was a prognosis of which 90% of people die within the first year. He was very fit and we ran a lot of races together and I remember actually being his guide dog on his last 10 kilometre run. It was me, my brother, and him but I ran just ahead of him because he had a blind spot due to the tumour so I was his guide dog the whole way, and it was a real motivator to keep fit.”

It was this experience that prompted Dr Bowden to get involved with the Cancer Council and start the Step Challenge.

“This challenge just epitomises everything I am about, getting people active, connecting people, and the benefits of exercise for everything but especially for cancers in terms of prevention, survivorship, and reduction in symptoms. Exercise also has a huge impact on our mental health, something we all need right now” Dr Bowden explained.

During last year's event, Bowden was juggling a full-time job and also managing the event which saw 800 participants and raised over $13,500 for the Cancer Council but almost left him in burnout.

“Last year it took a lot out of me. I was running this alongside work and I was genuinely overwhelmed! I was sleeping four hours a night to try and run this challenge because it was going so well, but I was also working full time, whereas now, I’ve just scheduled fewer shifts in September and around the build-up to September and it’s perfect."

Instead of burning out, this year, Bowden took his health and wellbeing into his own hands and chose to locum with Medrecruit instead of working full time.

"I have one more night shift tonight and then I’ve got four days off and this is the perfect time to just be hitting all the socials and all the other stuff, so yeah, that flexibility means I’m not going to burn myself out and I can put the most into this which is my other passion."

The challenge starts on Wednesday, September 1st, and will run to Thursday, September 30th. 

"I hope to achieve as many people getting active as possible because it is a step challenge, people only have to get out and walk, everyone can get involved even people with disabilities"

Medrecruit and our partner company Medworld will be sponsoring this event.

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