Are you ready if your next patient asks you about voluntary assisted dying?
Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) is now available for patients who fit legal and health criteria in all six states of Australia, and will be available…
Medical Observer
Unique doctor-written opinion and analysis
Don’t look like a mafia don: My advice to the RACGP presidential candidates on being a ‘media tart’
Advice to the RACGP presidential aspirants: The content of what you say is not enough, you need to be an expert communicator and an effective…
‘Doctors are at breaking point’: A day in Gaza’s last hospital
Relentless bombings and airstrikes by Israeli forces continue to kill hundreds of people across Gaza, while medical staff in hospitals are stretched to their limits…
I don’t need the medical board to tell me when I’m too old to practise
I am a one legged, pacemaker-driven, 80-year-old GP, and I am still working three days a week in a busy, CBD practice. I also do…
The gentle probe of the tongue that changed a patient’s diagnosis and my perspective on medicine
“Dance with the one who brought you.” This phrase is often attributed to legendary American football coach Darrell Royal. There have been lots of interpretations…
Not just about sex: The case for funding access to sex workers under the NDIS
The National Disability Insurance Scheme aims to fund all the supports needed to improve a disabled person’s quality of life. It is separate from the Disability…
‘130 patients a day’: Is assembly-line dermatology headed our way?
My daughter in Toronto just shared how she arranged a timely dermatology appointment. She had been to her GP, who was unable to diagnose her…
Do you have a screw loose if you date another doctor?
It is not a secret that dating (or being married to) a doctor is difficult. Whether you’re non-medical, in allied health, or a doctor yourself,…
My patient travelled to the Kimberley to have his penis cut and smoked over a fire
The Kimberley is a vast, spectacular area of rivers, mountains and nonstop surprises. On arrival at the hospital for a locum, I noticed the reception…
Why I apologised when a patient paid only half my fee
The growing gap between doctors’ fees and Medicare rebates is constant fodder for news outlets these days. It is getting too expensive to have babies…
