Porn, lobster and a bag of faeces: The weird and wonderful items patients have brought me
Thinking back over my three-and-a-half decades of GP practice, I have been surprised by the diversity of things my patients have brought along to me. …
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It’s time to stop dancing around VAD and properly integrate it into end-of-life care
Talking about death with patients is never easy, and the topic of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) adds an extra layer of complexity and sensitivity. VAD…
My message to younger doctors: Step up, not away, as your patients reach their end
Once upon a time, a wiser, older and more silvery fox than I began to dabble in the newly recognised area of palliative care. Previously,…
Why are we so quick to criticise other doctors when things go wrong?
Why are we so ready to criticise colleagues? We’re encouraged to develop empathy for our patients. Why can’t we be empathetic towards each other? Why,…
The tragedy of baby Robbie: We need to talk about meningococcal B
Every doctor has patients they can’t forget. Sometimes, they are not even our own patients. But for all kinds of reasons, their stories stay with…
Albanese and Dutton scrub up for a Medicare face-off, but there’s more at stake in this election
With the first full week of the election campaign health has already become a key battleground for votes alongside tackling cost-of-living pressures. Prime Minister Anthony…
CPD is pointless: Here’s the personal experiment that confirmed my belief
At the end of each year, I find myself rushing around helping colleagues summon up enough CPD points to maintain their registration. It makes a…
We need an independent audit of fellowship exams to see if they’re fit for purpose
“Perfect happiness for student and teacher will come with the abolition of examinations, which are the stumbling blocks and rocks of offense in the pathway…
Medicare’s magical number factory: Why do bureaucrats trust doctors to save lives but not prescribe?
“Who are these people?” I wondered after I hung up the phone with ‘Charlene’ from the authority line. She had a cheerful voice and was,…
Why is it so hard to say no when patients demand unnecessary treatments?
We GPs are practical types. Not only do we like to tell people what to do, we also like having the skills to do things…
