Aussie Med Ed- Australian Medical Education

Content note: this episode discusses female genital mutilation, including its physical and emotional effects. Support is available 24/7 through 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

More than 230 million women and girls alive today have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM). It’s rarely covered in Australian medical training, yet GPs, emergency doctors, obstetricians and registrars will meet these women, often without realising it.

Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Gavin Nimon talks with Dr Fariba Behnia-Willison, an Adelaide gynaecologist specialising in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, founder of the not-for-profit Desert Flower South Australia, and a South Australian nominee for the 2027 Australian of the Year awards.

In this episode:

• The WHO definition and classification of FGM (Types I–IV)
• Why the practice continues, and why a non-judgemental approach matters
• Immediate and long-term complications: menstrual problems, recurrent UTIs, dyspareunia, obstetric issues and fistulas
• Antenatal planning and what Australian law allows after childbirth
• Mandatory reporting obligations when a child may be at risk
• A practical approach for GPs: routine trauma history, confident vulval examination, and knowing when to refer
• The role of psychological and social support alongside medical care

Disclosure: Dr Behnia-Willison provides restorative surgery through Desert Flower South Australia and her private practice.

This episode is general medical education for health professionals and students, not individual advice. It reflects one clinician’s approach; practice varies, and may differ from what is taught or offered in your area. Always seek advice from a health professional where you live.

Aussie Med Ed is sponsored by -HealthShare:

• is a digital health company providing solutions for Health Professionals.

🎙️ Proudly Supported By Our Sponsors

Aussie Med Ed is independent and free — made possible by these amazing Australian organisations. 

• HealthShare — Australia's health information and referral platform, connecting GPs, specialists and patients. Visit HealthShare
• Avant Medical Defence Organisation — Protecting over 80,000 Australian healthcare professionals. Visit Avant
• eMedici -an Australian-made medical education platform for med students, junior doctors, and IMGs. Visit eMedici.com/MEDED
• Better Medical- GP clinics across QLD, SA, VIC and TAS – offering you the freedom to practise your way, backed by a strong support network. Visit BetterMedical
  
  

Thanking the organisations that make Aussie Med Ed possible. Visit our full Sponsors page

Close to four in ten Australian women experience urinary leakage. Many quietly change how they live and assume it’s simply part of having children or getting older. In this episode, Host, Dr Gavin Nimon (Orthopaedic Surgeon), interviews Adelaide gynaecologist Dr Fariba Behnia-Willison, who explains why prolapse and incontinence are common, but not something women should be expected to put up with.

Fariba specialises in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery. She walks through:

• The difference between pelvic organ prolapse, stress incontinence and urge incontinence (overactive bladder)
• Risk factors, including childbirth, menopause, chronic cough, constipation, smoking and raised intra-abdominal pressure
• The key history questions a GP or registrar can ask in every consultation
• A sensitive, trauma-informed, consent-based approach to vaginal examination
• POP-Q staging, and why surgery is considered for symptoms rather than stage alone
• The central role of pelvic health physiotherapy, before and after any surgery
• How pessaries work and the types available
• Surgical options
• Practical vulval care, continence products and lifestyle measures

The conversation is aimed at medical students, junior doctors and GPs, but it will be useful to anyone who has wondered whether their symptoms are “just normal”.

Aussie Med Ed is sponsored by -HealthShare:

• is a digital health company providing solutions for Health Professionals.

🎙️ Proudly Supported By Our Sponsors

Aussie Med Ed is independent and free — made possible by these amazing Australian organisations. 

• HealthShare — Australia's health information and referral platform, connecting GPs, specialists and patients. Visit HealthShare
• Avant Medical Defence Organisation — Protecting over 80,000 Australian healthcare professionals. Visit Avant
• eMedici -an Australian-made medical education platform for med students, junior doctors, and IMGs. Visit eMedici.com/MEDED
• Better Medical- GP clinics across QLD, SA, VIC and TAS – offering you the freedom to practise your way, backed by a strong support network. Visit BetterMedical
  
  

Thanking the organisations that make Aussie Med Ed possible. Visit our full Sponsors page

Almost every anaesthetic involves a decision about ventilation — and the patient’s lungs shape every one of those decisions. The asthmatic needing an appendicectomy, the COPD patient listed for a knee replacement, the patient with undiagnosed sleep apnoea whose riskiest period is two nights post-op on the ward, and the patient whose record says “previous difficult intubation”.

In this episode Dr Gavin Nimon, (Orthopaedic Surgeon), talks with consultant anaesthetist Dr Nick Harrington about what happens to the lungs the moment someone lies flat on the table, and how an anaesthetist assesses and plans for respiratory disease. They cover the pre-operative history and examination that matter most, smoking and recent chest infections, when to investigate (and when an echo is more useful than lung function tests), asthma and bronchospasm, COPD and CO₂ retention, interstitial lung disease, how the lungs and the right heart interact under positive-pressure ventilation, obstructive sleep apnoea and positioning, bedside airway assessment and the difficult-airway plan, malignant hyperthermia, lung-protective ventilation, extubation, post-operative analgesia and the role of respiratory physiotherapy — ending with Nick’s three take-home messages for medical students and junior doctors.

Dr Nick Harrington graduated from the University of Queensland while serving part-time in the Australian Army, worked with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in the Pilbara and holds a fellowship of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine. He is now a consultant anaesthetist in Adelaide with fellowship training in paediatric and trauma anaesthesia, a special interest in regional anaesthesia, and is an examiner for the ANZCA primary exam.

This episode is general education for medical students, junior doctors and GPs. It is not medical advice and reflects Australian practice at the time of recording.

Aussie Med Ed is sponsored by -HealthShare:

• is a digital health company providing solutions for Health Professionals.

🎙️ Proudly Supported By Our Sponsors

Aussie Med Ed is independent and free — made possible by these amazing Australian organisations. 

• HealthShare — Australia's health information and referral platform, connecting GPs, specialists and patients. Visit HealthShare
• Avant Medical Defence Organisation — Protecting over 80,000 Australian healthcare professionals. Visit Avant
• eMedici -an Australian-made medical education platform for med students, junior doctors, and IMGs. Visit eMedici.com/MEDED
• Better Medical- GP clinics across QLD, SA, VIC and TAS – offering you the freedom to practise your way, backed by a strong support network. Visit BetterMedical
  
  

Thanking the organisations that make Aussie Med Ed possible. Visit our full Sponsors page

Peptides in Medicine: What They Are, How They’re Used, and Why Australian Regulators have concerns about those that have not been approved for use.

In this Aussie Med Ed episode, Orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Gavin Nimon speaks with Dr Ian Musgrave, a molecular pharmacologist and toxicologist, about what peptides are (short amino-acid chains) and how they are used as major medicines such as insulin, oxytocin, erythropoietin, and GLP-1 receptor agonists. They discuss why  peptide medicines cannot be taken orally, how peptide therapeutics are discovered and developed, and the evidence pathway required for approval in Australia, including clinical trials and manufacturing under good manufacturing practice. The conversation explains why Australian regulators are concerned about unapproved peptide products.

Aussie Med Ed is sponsored by -HealthShare:

• is a digital health company providing solutions for Health Professionals.

🎙️ Proudly Supported By Our Sponsors

Aussie Med Ed is independent and free — made possible by these amazing Australian organisations. 

• HealthShare — Australia's health information and referral platform, connecting GPs, specialists and patients. Visit HealthShare
• Avant Medical Defence Organisation — Protecting over 80,000 Australian healthcare professionals. Visit Avant
• eMedici -an Australian-made medical education platform for med students, junior doctors, and IMGs. Visit eMedici.com/MEDED
• Better Medical- GP clinics across QLD, SA, VIC and TAS – offering you the freedom to practise your way, backed by a strong support network. Visit BetterMedical
  
  

Thanking the organisations that make Aussie Med Ed possible. Visit our full Sponsors page

Every doctor writes notes. At some point in your career, someone will ask you for a report — an insurer, a lawyer, an employer, or a court — and the rules change. You are no longer simply documenting care; you are providing evidence. 

In this episode of Aussie Med Ed, host Dr Gavin Nimon (Orthopaedic Surgeon) welcomes back Dr Mary Obele, Specialist Occupational and Environmental Physician (FAFOEM, RACP), to demystify the medical report. Medical reports sit at the heart of Dr Obele’s day-to-day work — treating doctor reports, independent medical examinations and permanent impairment assessments across the workers’ compensation and personal injury systems — and she explains what happens to these documents once they leave the doctor’s desk and enter the courts and tribunals.

Topics include:

·       How a medical report differs from clinical notes 

·       Who requests reports and why

·       The three main types defined: treating doctor’s report, independent  and permanent impairment assessments

·       Whole person impairment: what the percentage measures, what it does not, and why two 20% impairments do not equal 40%

·       The AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment 

·       Training, accreditation and ongoing reaccreditation for permanent impairment assessors

·       The standard structure of a medicolegal reportonduct and AI disclosure

·       Where reports end up 

·       The expert witness’s primary duty to the court, and what examination-in-chief and cross-examination actually involve

·       Practical take-home messages for a junior doctor or GP writing their first report

Suitable for GP CPD, junior doctor education, medical students, and any clinician or health professional who may be asked to write a report or attend as an expert witness.

Aussie Med Ed is sponsored by -HealthShare:

• is a digital health company providing solutions for Health Professionals.

🎙️ Proudly Supported By Our Sponsors

Aussie Med Ed is independent and free — made possible by these amazing Australian organisations. 

• HealthShare — Australia's health information and referral platform, connecting GPs, specialists and patients. Visit HealthShare
• Avant Medical Defence Organisation — Protecting over 80,000 Australian healthcare professionals. Visit Avant
• eMedici -an Australian-made medical education platform for med students, junior doctors, and IMGs. Visit eMedici.com/MEDED
• Better Medical- GP clinics across QLD, SA, VIC and TAS – offering you the freedom to practise your way, backed by a strong support network. Visit BetterMedical
  
  

Thanking the organisations that make Aussie Med Ed possible. Visit our full Sponsors page

People with intellectual disability represent approximately 2% of the Australian population, yet they experience some of the worst health outcomes of any group — with a life expectancy 27 years shorter than the general population and twice the rate of preventable deaths. 

In this episode, Host Dr Gavin Nimon (Orthopaedic Surgeon)  is joined by Dr Hannah Wu, GP and consultant with the South Australian Intellectual Disability Health Service (SAIDHS), and Stephanie Searle, OT and Service Manager at South Australian Intellectual Disability Health Service, to discuss the practical clinical knowledge every health professional needs when caring for this population. 

Topics include:

• Communication strategies and person-first versus identity-first language
• Consent, capacity, and the role of guardianship
• The HELP framework for assessing behavioural change
• Diagnostic overshadowing and cognitive bias
• Psychotropic prescribing, chemical restraint, and NDIS reporting obligations
• The Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (CHAP) and relevant MBS item numbers
• Screening, immunisation, and preventative health considerations

Suitable for GP CPD, junior doctor education, and any clinician/ Health Professional seeking to improve care for this underserved group.

Aussie Med Ed is sponsored by -HealthShare:

• is a digital health company providing solutions for Health Professionals.

🎙️ Proudly Supported By Our Sponsors

Aussie Med Ed is independent and free — made possible by these amazing Australian organisations. 

• HealthShare — Australia's health information and referral platform, connecting GPs, specialists and patients. Visit HealthShare
• Avant Medical Defence Organisation — Protecting over 80,000 Australian healthcare professionals. Visit Avant
• eMedici -an Australian-made medical education platform for med students, junior doctors, and IMGs. Visit eMedici.com/MEDED
• Better Medical- GP clinics across QLD, SA, VIC and TAS – offering you the freedom to practise your way, backed by a strong support network. Visit BetterMedical
  
  

Thanking the organisations that make Aussie Med Ed possible. Visit our full Sponsors page

Occupational and environmental medicine sits in a strange blind spot in medical training, even though work-related presentations turn up almost daily in general practice, emergency departments and on the wards. In this episode of Aussie Med Ed, host and Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Gavin Nimon sits down with Dr Mary Obele, specialist occupational and environmental physician with  expertise in work capacity, causation and medicolegal reporting, and Dr Berni Cameron, occupational health nurse practitioner and academic at Edith Cowan University with over 25 years' experience across mining, industry and work health and safety education.

Together they unpack what occupational medicine actually involves, how the occupational health nurse, GP and occupational physician each fit into the return-to-work pathway, and how to approach that first consultation: take a good history, examine carefully, focus on function rather than incapacity, and complete the certificate of capacity with clarity. Along the way they cover environmental exposures such as silica, why early communication with the workplace matters, the evidence behind keeping workers meaningfully engaged during recovery, psychosocial hazards as the new frontier of workplace health, and practical tips for young GPs walking onto a worksite for the first time.

Whether you're a medical student, junior doctor or GP, this episode offers a pragmatic framework for managing work-related presentations — starting with one simple question: "Tell me about your work.

Aussie Med Ed is sponsored by -HealthShare:

• is a digital health company providing solutions for Health Professionals.

🎙️ Proudly Supported By Our Sponsors

Aussie Med Ed is independent and free — made possible by these amazing Australian organisations. 

• HealthShare — Australia's health information and referral platform, connecting GPs, specialists and patients. Visit HealthShare
• Avant Medical Defence Organisation — Protecting over 80,000 Australian healthcare professionals. Visit Avant
• eMedici -an Australian-made medical education platform for med students, junior doctors, and IMGs. Visit eMedici.com/MEDED
• Better Medical- GP clinics across QLD, SA, VIC and TAS – offering you the freedom to practise your way, backed by a strong support network. Visit BetterMedical
  
  

Thanking the organisations that make Aussie Med Ed possible. Visit our full Sponsors page

Polio, the condition that spurned innovations from Physiotherapy, vaccines, Intensive Care Units and Rehabilitation Medicine is one of those diseases we’re taught as “solved”, yet the people who survived Australia’s epidemics are walking into clinics right now with new weakness, pain, fatigue and loss of function. That gap between what we remember and what patients live with is where this conversation sits, starting with iron lungs and ending with the very practical question: how do we recognise post-polio syndrome and the late effects of polio before we dismiss them as ageing?

Join host Dr Gavin Nimon ( Orthopaedic Surgeon) who interviews  three guests who each bring a different lens. Associate Professor Anupam Datta Gupta (Rehabilitation Medicine) breaks down how poliovirus moves from a gut infection to selective damage of anterior horn cells, and why the long compensation phase can collapse decades later. Michael Jackson (Polio Australia) shares what people affected by polio report about stigma, separation, and the day-to-day realities of pacing, equipment, and living with a progressive condition. Associate Professor Bruce Thorley (Doherty Institute, WHO Polio Reference Lab) explains where global eradication stands, why vaccination coverage still matters, and how Australia uses acute flaccid paralysis surveillance, laboratory testing and wastewater surveillance to stay polio-free.

We also trace polio’s outsized impact on modern healthcare: the shift from negative pressure ventilation to the birth of ICU, the evolution of orthotics and rehabilitation, and the role of Sister Elizabeth Kenny in reshaping physiotherapy. If you’re a GP, allied health clinician, or student, you’ll come away with red flags to ask about, the logic of diagnosis by exclusion, and management principles that prioritise function, safety, and quality of life.

If this helped, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so more clinicians find it. What’s one sign of post-polio syndrome you’ll start asking about this week?

This is approved for 1.5 hour RACGP CPD - accredited activity
to complete - click on registration link after listening
remember to provide RACGP member number and email
registration link

Aussie Med Ed is sponsored by -HealthShare:

• is a digital health company providing solutions for Health Professionals.

🎙️ Proudly Supported By Our Sponsors

Aussie Med Ed is independent and free — made possible by these amazing Australian organisations. 

• HealthShare — Australia's health information and referral platform, connecting GPs, specialists and patients. Visit HealthShare
• Avant Medical Defence Organisation — Protecting over 80,000 Australian healthcare professionals. Visit Avant
• eMedici -an Australian-made medical education platform for med students, junior doctors, and IMGs. Visit eMedici.com/MEDED
• Better Medical- GP clinics across QLD, SA, VIC and TAS – offering you the freedom to practise your way, backed by a strong support network. Visit BetterMedical
  
  

Thanking the organisations that make Aussie Med Ed possible. Visit our full Sponsors page

Pregnancy is a common and often straightforward physiological process—but it also has the potential to become complex, requiring careful clinical assessment and timely escalation.

In this episode of Aussie Med Ed, Dr Gavin Nimon is joined by Adelaide-based obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Allison Munt for a comprehensive discussion on the practical management of pregnancy, tailored for medical students and general practitioners.

Together, they explore the continuum of care from the initial GP presentation through to delivery and the postpartum period, with a focus on clinical reasoning, risk stratification, and shared decision-making. 

This is approved for 1 hour RACGP CPD - accredited activity
to complete - click on registration link after listening
remember to provide RACGP member number and email
registration link

Key topics include:

•  What constitutes a low-risk vs high-risk pregnancy, and how this influences models of care 
•  The role of the GP in the first trimester, including history, examination, and initial investigations 
•  Current approaches to screening, including non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and morphology ultrasound 
•  Identification and management principles for common complications such as gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and fetal growth restriction
•  Monitoring strategies in the second and third trimesters, including when additional imaging or CTG assessment may be indicated 
•  Considerations around timing and mode of delivery, including induction of labour and caesarean section 
•  The importance of postpartum care, including pelvic floor rehabilitation, breastfeeding support, and perinatal mental health 

This episode emphasises a balanced, patient-centred approach, acknowledging that pregnancy care varies depending on individual circumstances, patient preferences, and local resources. It also highlights the importance of multidisciplinary care involving GPs, obstetricians, midwives, and allied health professionals.

⚠️ Important Disclaimer

The information discussed in this episode reflects the clinical experience and perspectives of the speakers and is intended for educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice and should not be used as a substitute for independent clinical judgment.

Management of pregnancy and obstetric conditions may vary based on local guidelines, patient factors, and evolving evidence, and clinicians should refer to current recommendations and consult appropriate specialists when required.

Aussie Med Ed is sponsored by -HealthShare:

• is a digital health company providing solutions for Health Professionals.

🎙️ Proudly Supported By Our Sponsors

Aussie Med Ed is independent and free — made possible by these amazing Australian organisations. 

• HealthShare — Australia's health information and referral platform, connecting GPs, specialists and patients. Visit HealthShare
• Avant Medical Defence Organisation — Protecting over 80,000 Australian healthcare professionals. Visit Avant
• eMedici -an Australian-made medical education platform for med students, junior doctors, and IMGs. Visit eMedici.com/MEDED
• Better Medical- GP clinics across QLD, SA, VIC and TAS – offering you the freedom to practise your way, backed by a strong support network. Visit BetterMedical
  
  

Thanking the organisations that make Aussie Med Ed possible. Visit our full Sponsors page

Every day we rely on our hands for the simplest tasks — typing, cooking, driving, even holding a coffee. But when injury or surgery affects the hand, wrist, or elbow, even basic activities can suddenly become impossible.

In this episode of Aussie Med Ed, Host and Orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Gavin Nimon sits down with Charlotte Nash, accredited hand therapist and occupational therapist, to explore the fascinating world of hand therapy and upper limb rehabilitation.

Charlotte explains how occupational therapists help patients rebuild meaningful function after injury — and why early rehabilitation can make the difference between full recovery and long-term stiffness or pain. 

Hand Therapy- what is it

We cover:

• What occupational therapy actually is
• How hand therapists work with surgeons and GPs
• Why early movement and rehabilitation matter
• The surprising role of splints, desensitisation, and oedema control
• When injuries should be referred urgently
• The psychological side of recovery
• New technology in rehab including VR and 3D splinting

If you're a medical student, GP, or clinician managing upper limb injuries, this episode will give you a clearer understanding of what happens after the diagnosis and surgery — and how multidisciplinary rehabilitation helps patients get their lives back.

Aussie Med Ed is sponsored by -HealthShare:

• is a digital health company providing solutions for Health Professionals.

🎙️ Proudly Supported By Our Sponsors

Aussie Med Ed is independent and free — made possible by these amazing Australian organisations. 

• HealthShare — Australia's health information and referral platform, connecting GPs, specialists and patients. Visit HealthShare
• Avant Medical Defence Organisation — Protecting over 80,000 Australian healthcare professionals. Visit Avant
• eMedici -an Australian-made medical education platform for med students, junior doctors, and IMGs. Visit eMedici.com/MEDED
• Better Medical- GP clinics across QLD, SA, VIC and TAS – offering you the freedom to practise your way, backed by a strong support network. Visit BetterMedical
  
  

Thanking the organisations that make Aussie Med Ed possible. Visit our full Sponsors page