Dr Michael Thomas at Royal Perth Hospital.
For 17-year-old Kalgoorlie local Michael Thomas, a perfect summer’s day longboarding with friends in the hills of Spearwood (Perth) twisted into a life-changing ordeal when he was then hit by a car. The accident left Michael with serious injuries, including several fractures and a complete tear of the brachial plexus from his spinal cord, rendering spontaneous recovery in his dominant right arm impossible.
Transferred to Royal Perth Hospital’s (RPH) Trauma Unit, Michael recalls sitting in a wheelchair on the pedestrian bridge that connects two blocks of the hospital campus, contemplating his future.
Could a career in medicine, something he’d long dreamed of, still be possible without a functioning right arm? Would he be able to walk the same inspiring path as his parents, both of whom are doctors?
Riddled with doubt, Michael says he didn’t discard his ambitions to become a doctor; but focused instead on completing Year 12 and graduating alongside his incredibly supportive friends.
He achieved this – and subsequent milestones. After Year 12, Michael took a gap year and then moved to Perth from his family home in Kalgoorlie. He learnt how to live independently, all the while working hard with his occupational therapist to develop strength and skill in his non-dominant left hand.
It took him six months to be able to write legibly, and about two years to learn other skills – including all the little things that we take for granted.
Medical school at Curtin University was next on the radar, followed by an internship at RPH.
Since then, Michael has completed rotations across some of the busiest departments in the hospital, been named the RPH Goatcher Intern of the Year, inserted countless cannulas, and undertaken tricky lumbar punctures.
Now in his third year at RPH, he’s already had a strong start to 2026, having just been accepted into Basic Physician Training – one of only 22 doctors to make it through in the State out of the hundreds that apply.
Undecided between specialising in Haematology or Neurology, Michael says he ultimately aims to be the type of doctor who engages with his patients meaningfully and with compassion.
“I want to break out of that algorithmic approach to patient care,” he explains.
“I value that side to the art of medicine where you take the best possible evidence base on how to treat this person; then as a clinician, you adapt it to that patient based on their social and geographical circumstances, and their co-morbidities.”
Read on for more of our interview with the inspiring Michael.
