Heartsink, slapstick and the human touch: Why I love my patients
According to the author Haruki Murakami, writing a novel is like ET assembling a transmitter out of junk in the garage. You need to collect…
Medical Observer
Unique doctor-written opinion and analysis
I’m a doctor with hearing loss: Here’s my story…
How do I begin to explain how it feels to grieve the loss of something intangible? I remember that first moment in the waiting room,…
The weapons industry causes immense human suffering, so why is Melbourne University in bed with its biggest player?
The University of Melbourne, like many universities around Australia, is deeply entwined with the weapons industry. This industry that has a profoundly negative effect on…
‘Revenge fantasies’: Dr Screwloose on the surge in CPD-related mental health issues
The esteemed psychiatrist, Dr Screwloose, has made his speciality one that focuses on helping his beleaguered fellow medical colleagues. Never have his services been more…
The tribulations of a hair-challenged doctor
If they can put a man on the moon, why can’t they cure male pattern baldness? It’s not easy being bald. In winter, you freeze;…
GPs can help tame the NDIS beast, so why are we an afterthought?
As GPs, we have an integral role to play in coordinating the care of our patients. This is a role we are used to doing…
The medical board’s plan for mandatory health checks on older doctors is age discrimination
The Medical Board of Australia proposal for mandatory examinations and cognitive assessments for doctors aged 70 or older raises critical ethical questions. Profiling a specific…
Aussie lawyers are claiming PPIs cause gastric cancer – have they really got a case?
An old metaphor says, “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Lawyers are a bit like that. × Welcome to…
You want to know what’s wrong with the Cass Review? Muddle-headed, error-strewn and flawed
On Monday, we published an article by Dr Andrew Amos defending the Cass Review, an independent review of gender identity services for children that resulted…
I’m sitting on a cardiac time bomb — and that’s not the end of my tale of woe
In the Alan Bennett play, The History Boys, a teacher asks one of his students, a North Country lad, why he doesn’t like studying history. “History?”…
