Recorded live from the 13th Australasian Symposium of the Perioperative Medicine Special Interest Group, in collaboration with Summit III and the PeriOperative Quality Initiative (POQI). The theme of the meeting is 'Improve the quality, enhance the value, protect the future'.

This piece provides insights into our guest's career, the intersection of medicine and writing and the importance of compassion in healthcare. She discusses her background, including her education, her writing for The Guardian, and the content of her recent plenary session about shared decision-making and medical paternalism. We end with some focus on empathy and kindness in patient care, illustrated by a poignant email our guest received from a terminally ill patient.

Presented by Desiree Chappell with Ranjana Srivastava, OAM, Medical Oncologist, Monash Health, Melbourne, Fulbright Scholar, Harvard University, a two-time recipient of the Fulbright Award, writer and columnist for The Guardian Newspaper.

Enjoy our guest's writing here: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/ranjana-srivastava

Buy our guest's books here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Dr.-Ranjana-Srivastava/author/B00IMYJJPI