Meet the Doctor Making a Big Impact on the Smallest Patients
At 3am, while most of Australia sleeps, Dr Devin Deo is rushing between Code Blue emergencies at Westmead Children’s Hospital. If you had asked him as a fresh University of Newcastle Bachelor of Medicine graduate, he would never have predicted he’d find his calling in one of medicine’s most demanding yet rewarding fields: paediatrics.
As the son of two doctors, a career in medicine was an obvious choice for Devin. Choosing a specialty, however, required more of a light bulb moment.
Young doctors get to dip their toes into a variety of medical fields as they rotate throughout hospital departments in the first few years after graduating. After experiencing a range of specialties, Devin initially thought he would pursue adult internal medicine.
“Everything changed during my paediatrics rotation. Looking back, it was one of those moments where things simply clicked.”
“My housemate told me he’d seen me do all the rotations from general surgery and emergency to psychiatry. He noticed that every time I came home from a paediatrics shift, I seemed happier, more enthusiastic, and had more stories to tell. Even on the busiest and most challenging days, I still genuinely loved what I was doing.”
The encouragement and camaraderie from his senior colleagues also played a part, especially after a gruelling shift or a particularly confronting situation.
Devin realised that finding a specialty where he felt inspired and supported was just as important as finding one that challenged him intellectually.
"For me, paediatrics offered both. If you can still love a specialty on its worst day, that’s how you know it’s the one.”
Working with children
There’s a misconception that treating children must simply be like treating smaller adults. In reality, paediatrics presents its own unique challenges. Children respond differently to illness and injury and often can’t communicate their symptoms effectively, making diagnostics more complex.
Another large part of the job, Devin notes, is caring for the family of the patient as they navigate a highly stressful situation. Not only are you an advocate for the sick child, but you must also be an advocate for their parents.
“It's not an easy thing dealing with sick kids, but it's worth it. Children are incredibly resilient. There is something truly rewarding about seeing a child who was sick enough to be in hospital running around the ward a few days later, excited to go home.”
These moments of recovery are what stay with him most.
He recalls caring for a baby early in his career, only six months old, who had been diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Several years later, he saw a mother and child as he walked past the oncology outpatient clinic, trying to place her familiar face in his memory.
"Then I saw the kid who is now maybe three or four years old. He's big, he's got glasses, he can talk and walk and play. I still remember him as a baby and they still remembered me.”
“He came up and gave me a high five,” Devin says.
“Moments like that are the greatest joy, especially when there’s a lot of sadness.”
Shaping the next generation of doctors
When he’s on shift, Devin looks after more than sick children and their families. As a Paediatric Registrar, he’s also taking medical students under his wing through bedside tutorials, clinical skills sessions, and informal teaching on the wards.
“There’s so much to teach, but I’m always thinking back to my time at University of Newcastle and the amazing teachers I had, the amazing teaching I had, and I try to give that to them.”
Devin was previously a Clinical Associate Lecturer with University of Newcastle while working at the Manning Clinical School, where he helped establish a JMO-led teaching program for medical students. It continues to run today as part of the formal curriculum, a fact that brings Devin immense pride.
“Teaching is genuinely one of my favourite parts of being a doctor. The most rewarding part is sharing the joy of medicine, particularly paediatrics, and hopefully inspiring students to consider a career in the specialty.”
Looking back on his own time as a student, Devin is appreciative of the clinical focus within his degree that made him more comfortable with the realities of a career in medicine.
“At every point in my daily work – my interactions with patients, with their families, with staff, how I go about doing my job and carrying myself – is because of my training in Newcastle. It’s the foundation which has made me the doctor I am today and is still shaping how I do my practice today.”
Inspired by Devin's story?
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.