Hawke's Bay local went from medical student to travelling worldwide for work

Major Louise Speedy has travelled around the world as a New Zealand Defence Force Army Reserve Force Medical Officer. Photo / Supplied

As a young medical student, Louise Speedy joined the New Zealand Army Reserve Force just for something to do.

Twenty-six years later, that decision means she has travelled everywhere from Afghanistan to Hawaii.

The major has been deployed on many operations with the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), including the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (Rimpac) in Hawaii this year.

"Going on Rimpac this year," the doctor said, was an "awesome opportunity".

From the Rimpac deployment, Speedy explained that getting on a landing helicopter dock ship was a real education on the health threats at sea, the health threats on a big ship, and what is potentially required from the surgical capability on board.

However, more recently, the 45-year-old was part of a team that participated in a specialist team-building activity at Whanganui Hospital this month.

The team drew together Regular Force and Reserve Force clinical specialists from New Zealand Defence Force Health.

Personnel, who usually operate in different hospital settings, worked as a team to complete elective surgical procedures on adult patients at Te Whatu Ora, Whanganui.

While Speedy joined the Reserve Force by chance, with some second-year medical students convincing her to sign up, she's stayed for the experience.

Every summer through medical school, she was involved in Reserve Force activities.

When she became a junior doctor, she got a bit more serious and deployed to Afghanistan.

While not on deployment Speedy works at Hawke's Bay Hospital.

It was a juggle to fit it all in; the doctor said it was a matter of trying to maintain the goodwill of colleagues who juggled shifts while she was away.

She said that having a supportive husband and children who thought what their mum did was cool also helped.

While fitting everything in, might be a juggle, Speedy said the people kept her doing what she was doing.

"I get to work with people in Regular and Reserve Force units. There are some awesome people in Defence and I love the different dynamic with Defence Force patients too."

Anyone who knows anyone thinking of joining the Defence Force medical team in the Reserve Force should "twist their arm", she said.

"If they have enthusiasm and some get-up-and-go and practise in medicine, this is for you."

The skills learned through working with the NZDF were transferable, and Speedy was part of a three-person team tasked with setting up a Covid-19 Intensive Care Unit in three weeks.

"The skill to do those kinds of things is part of my Defence Force training, such as the critical thinking and the way you analyse problems," she explained.