Many GPs try to avoid running into patients outside of work — I’m the opposite
I’ve just learned an amazing strategy for dealing with the desires of a five-year-old child when out shopping. If he spies something that he wants,…
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Antidepressant withdrawal or depression relapse? Here’s what I want GPs to know
There is increasing evidence that antidepressant withdrawal symptoms (or ‘discontinuation’ symptoms) are common and can be severe and long-lasting. Yet in the past, these symptoms…
The media horror stories about spinal cord stimulators risk denying my patients a better life
Pain medicine is what I do every day. The art of pain management is difficult, and the journey is long. When it comes to spinal…
Do NSW psychiatrists deserve a 25% pay rise? Here’s my take as an emergency doctor
Watching from afar, the new US regime’s changes to the management of healthcare, superimposed on an already dysfunctional system, elicit a sense of foreboding. The…
My first year of medical school was sudden death — an era of big egos and elitism
Recently, I was given a copy of a paper, published in the Australasian Annals of Medicine in November 1962, entitled ‘The Art of Medicine’. It…
Has a patient asked to record a consultation? It’s worth thinking twice before saying no
Ever been faced with a patient asking if they can record the consultation, or suspected that a patient is recording covertly? Recording healthcare consultations is…
Social media is awash with medical lies: As doctors, we have a moral obligation to fight back
A tweet on X, dated 2 January 2024 and attributed to Elon Musk, stated that “heavy use of C-sections allows for a larger brain, as…
Sharing my personal history brought me closer to my patients — some boundaries are meant to be broken
In these troubled times, I feel a responsibility to increase awareness of history’s lessons and the role of the individual in fighting tyranny to create…
The doctor–patient tango: How I avoid a misstep before the consult turns frosty
Dr John Launer recently shared his favourite question to throw in mid-consultation: “How is this conversation going for you so far?” It helps him figure…
Doctors missed patient’s MI after attributing symptoms to exercise bike mishap: coroner
Doctors missed an AMI diagnosis because they assumed a woman’s abdominal and ribcage pain was related to a fall onto her stationary bike handles, a…
