Doctor NOS

Dr. Monique Mackenzie (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) studied medicine at The University of Otago in New Zealand and graduated in 2006.  She has trained extensively throughout New Zealand and joined a Tauranga private practice after recently completing her specialist dermatology training at University Hospitals Birmingham, United Kingdom and Brisbane Skin, Australia. She is the first and only Māori dermatologist in Aotearoa. She is a scholarship recipient of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and co-founder of the New Zealand Dermatology Registrar Group.  She has presented at a number of academic meetings including the Royal Society of Medicine, London. She is a mother of three children and passionate about her work. Her down-to-earth nature and vast experience ensures her patients have the best evidence-based care covering a full range of skin conditions including skin cancer, inflammatory skin conditions and cosmetic dermatological concerns. 

In this episode, we discuss the journey shifting from finishing her GP fellowship, to starting as a medical registrar again. We talk about her love for dermatology, the prerequisites for training, the mahi and exams involved, subspecialising in Moh's surgery, the balance between public and private sectors, job opportunities for dermatologists and its overlap with plastics. We unpack the responsibilities and opportunities as the first and only Māori dermatologist in Aotearoa. We discuss further her background growing up in a single parent household and her rurality. We also discuss starting a whānau during medical school, and returning from parental leave.

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As always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].

Audio credit:
Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloud
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Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

Dr. Saana Taylor completed dental school before moving up to Auckland to work as a maxillofacial house surgeon for 2 years. She applied to medical school with the intention of studying to be a maxillofacial surgeon and found herself drawn to anaesthetics as a medical student. She is now an anaesthetic fellow in her final year of training, a wife, and a mother to two boys. 

In this episode, we discuss her move from dentistry to medicine, journey into anaesthetics, navigating training and moving with family, failing exams and her approach to passing them, the anaesthetics training program, and her academic work into Māori health inequities.

The paper discussed in this episode can be found here: https://www.bjaed.org/article/S2058-5349(22)00006-3/fulltext

Support the show

As always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].

Audio credit:
Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloud
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
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Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

Professor Stephen Robertson is the Curekids Professor of Paediatric Genetics. He was educated at the University of Otago graduating in Medicine in 1990. He specialized in Paediatrics and Clinical Genetics after training in Auckland and Melbourne. He was the Nuffield Medical Fellow at Oxford University and now heads the Clinical Genetics Group. Some of his work was highlighted in a documentary in 2005 ‘Lifting of the Mākutu’.

In this episode, we discuss his journey into paediatrics and clinical genetics, the making of the documentary, equity in clinical genetics, volunteering with Curekids, day-to-day routines of clinical genetics, genetic counselling, controversies with 23andMe and ancestry testing, and the future of genetics.

You can find the documentary here: https://www.otago.ac.nz/clinical-genetics/news-opportunities-media/lifting-of-the-makutu/
Further information on Professor Robertson: https://www.otago.ac.nz/bhrc/staff/otago115051.html 

NB: my recording software started glitching towards the end of the interview and was unfortunately out of my control. I apologise sincerely for any negative listening experience towards the end of this show.

Support the show

As always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].

Audio credit:
Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloud
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

Dr. Kate Bartlett is a perinatal pathologist currently based in Auckland. Having studied in Otago Medical School, she began her house surgeon years in New Plymouth before then working in Auckland. She completed her perinatal and paediatric pathology fellowship at Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth, before returning to New Zealand where she has been a consultant for more than a decade. 

In this episode, we discuss her choosing pathology, the training requirements and examinations for pathology, subspecialising in perinatal/paediatric pathology, challenges/lowlights/highlights of her career, part-time work, public vs private in NZ vs overseas and job prospects/opportunities for budding pathologists.

Support the show

As always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].

Audio credit:
Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloud
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

Dr. Anna Luo is is a PGY8 training dermatology registrar, beginning her locum journey after her exams in 2020. Her work has spanned across the entirety of Australia - Victoria, Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Tasmania. 

Dr. Briana Wu is a senior house officer from Wellington, New Zealand who has worked and travelled around Australia for a year. She is well versed in guiding other junior doctors through the pros + cons and ins + outs of crossing the ditch. She has worked across Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territories. 

In this episode, we chat about the ins and outs of locuming in Australia, from beginning to end!

·      Reasons for locuming/crossing the ditch

·      Registration process & paperwork involved - AHPRA registration

·      Accounting: 

• TFN/ABN/GST
•  Accountants

·      Medical indemnity providers

·      Red flags in hospitals/jobs

·      Where you worked and what you learned from your experience

·      Student loan and payments

·      KiwiSaver/salary packaging/superannuation

·      Reimbursable expenses (e.g. travel, accommodation, but not indemnity, registration, etc)

·      Work-life balance

Dr. Briana Wu's handy document can be found here (version 2.2):
https://bit.ly/3Ofhd6N

Support the show

As always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].

Audio credit:
Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloud
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

Dr. Ben O’Keeffe (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua) is a professional rugby union referee and ophthalmology registrar. Originally from Blenheim, he attended Malborough Boys’ before headed to the University of Otago to complete his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. He is also the co-founder of the social enterprise oDocs Eye Care, which aims at creating medical technology to prevent blindness. The other co-founder is Dr. Hong Sheng Chiong, whose interview you can catch as episode 16, released in November 2021.

In this episode, we discuss his journey into professional refereeing, his masterful balance of the two, finding ophthalmology, returning to clinical medicine after time away and his social enterprise oDocs.

Support the show

As always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].

Audio credit:
Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloud
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

Professor Marie Bismark is a medical practitioner, health law academic, company director, and mother- of-three. She heads the Law and Public Health Unit at the University of Melbourne where her research explores the intersection between health practitioner wellbeing and patient safety. Her research has been published in leading peer review journals and has influenced regulatory policy in Australia and internationally. 

In addition to her academic role, Prof Bismark works as a psychiatry registrar at the Kapiti Mental Health Clinic. She serves as a board member of The Royal Women’s Hospital, GMHBA health insurance, and Summerset retirement villages.

Prof Bismark has previously completed a Harkness Fellowship at Harvard University and is the recipient of an NHMRC Investigator Grant. In 2019, Prof Bismark was named as one of the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence. She is the first author of a recently published book "Experiences of Health Workers in the COVID-19 pandemic: In their own words". 

In this episode, we discuss her intersecting journeys in law and medicine, venturing into both public health training and psychiatry training, and her experiences on multiple governance boards and leadership roles, including ACC and the Health and Disability Commission (HDC). We discuss her aforementioned published book, and her next steps looking into the future. 

Support the show

As always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].

Audio credit:
Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloud
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

Associate Professor Sonya Burgess is an interventional cardiologist based in Sydney, Australia, having graduated from Otago Medical School with distinction, before finishing her fellowship with RACP. She completed her interventional fellowship in Liverpool hospital, Sydney, and her PhD in the University of New South Wales. She has 90 peer reviewed publications, but she is passionate about medical education and teaching, and on addressing workforce gender equity issues, particularly in cardiology. 

In this episode, we discuss her journey into choosing medicine and interventional cardiology, the roots of her passion for academia, her research in gender equity issues in cardiology and in particular, interventional cardiology, and of course - all things intervention. 

Support the show

As always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].

Audio credit:
Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloud
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

Dr. Dermot Coffey is originally from Kerry, graduating from medical school in Ireland before migrating to Aotearoa 20 years ago. He is a GP/general practitioner working in student health at the University of Canterbury. Dermot has had an interest in climate change for many years, and joined OraTaiao seven years ago, and since 2020, has been co-convenor. He joins us today to talk about the work of OraTaiao and what we can do as health professionals to advocate for an equitable climate response.

In this episode, we discuss the contrast between training in Ireland and New Zealand, his journey to NZ, venturing into GP and student health, and his work with Ora Taiao - this includes what they do, and what they recommend we should do to get involved and active in climate change! 

Mentioned:
Ora Taiao: https://www.orataiao.org.nz/
Practical tips for addressing climate change: https://www.orataiao.org.nz/practical_tips_for_health_professionals_to_address_climate_change

Support the show

As always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].

Audio credit:
Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloud
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

Professor David McBride was a registrar in ENT and a trainee GP before becoming a trainee occupational physician with British Coal in Stoke-on-Trent. His training course then led to a job offer as Clinical Lecturer at the University of Birmingham (Edgbaston) and eventually to Otago University, where he has been since 1995. His part time job has been with the Army Reserves, with four operational tours of duty, and he is passionate about improving the health of Veterans. His hobby is anything with wheels on that is broken, or capable of being broken, and being at sea. 

In this episode, we discuss his movements from ENT and GP into occupational medicine, the routines, highlights and challenges of occupational health, its crossover with public health, what is involved in its training, and a touch on his work in military medicine and the nuances of PTSD. 

Support the show

As always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].

Audio credit:
Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloud
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y