Doctor NOS

Dr Simon Rowley is a senior Consultant Neonatologist at Auckland City Hospital (originally National Womens’ Hospital). His basic  training was in Dunedin and Christchurch and his postgraduate studies –FRACP paediatrics - were completed in Oxford, U.K. . He is currently a senior Neonatal Paediatrician in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at National Womens’ Health, Auckland City Hospital.

He also practiced General Paediatrics in private for 30 years, looking after children of all ages.   He is the former chair of the Paediatric Vocational Training Committee for the Auckland and Northern Region and a Director of Physician Education a position held for 12 years. One of his main interests is the effect of early childhood experience on infant  brain development- the neurobiology of human brain development- and this interest extends to him being a trustee and presenter for the Brainwave Trust. Other interests include early childhood behavioural and developmental outcomes, and medical ethics. In particular he is interested in how we make decisions about end-of-life care in the vulnerable sick or new born infant. He is an honorary lecturer at the Auckland School of Medicine and a recipient of the Denis Pickup Teaching Award 2014 and a Distinguished Clinical Teacher Award 2015.  He is married with 4 adult children. In 2021 he received a Companion of the NZ Order of Merit at the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

In this episode, we discuss his journey into neonatology, his work in private and public paediatrics and how it contrasts, the differences between neonatology and paediatrics, his love for volunteering and passion for brain development, his mahi with the Brainwave Trust, and how he spent his sabbatical.

Brainwave Trust:
https://brainwave.org.nz/about-us/
https://brainwave.org.nz/article/wiring-the-brain/

 Mind That Child: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40196256-mind-that-child
https://www.penguin.co.nz/books/mind-that-child-9780143771982

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Dr. Emily Chang is a paediatric palliative care specialist at Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland. She whakapapas back to Taiwan where her parents were born and raised. They emigrated to Aotearoa over 40 years ago and raised their family, now calling Aotearoa their home.

In this episode, we discuss her journey into paediatric palliative care, how to get into training and what it looks like, their day-to-day in palliative care and the conditions they see that differ to adult medicine. We also discuss her approach to palliative care conversations, the challenges around funding and hospice, what euthanasia means for paediatric palliative care, and her signs of compassion fatigue. 

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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].

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Dr. Maria Poynter is a public health medicine specialist and Medical Officer of Health. She is currently the clinical director for the Auckland Regional Public Health Service and will be the director of transformation in the National Public Health Service. She has previously been a council member for the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine and is passionate about equity and health-enabling system design. Outside of work, she is energized by family, cooking and exercising in nature. 

In this episode, we discuss her journey into public health medicine, the differences between training with the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, what it means to be a medical officer of health and the diverse work involved in being a public health specialist. Finally, we discuss her work-life balance, the balance of have a double medical parent household, and the transition of returning to work after being a stay-at-home mum for five years. 

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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].

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Dr. Sarah Hart graduated as a doctor from Otago University in 1994. She has been practicing Cosmetic Medicine since 2001 and is now an international trainer and key opinion leader. She is passionate about natural results, and improving standards and safety in Cosmetic Medicine Dr Hart became a member of the New Zealand Society of Cosmetic Medicine (NZSCM) in 2006. NZSCM is the only body recognised by the Medical Council of NZ to train and regulate cosmetic doctors.

Dr. Hart also has postgraduate training in Psychiatry. This gives her a unique position in the world of Cosmetic Medicine and has inspired her holistic approach. She now serves as Censor on the Executive Board of NZSCM, as a valued member of the NZSCM Education Faculty, and on the Botox, Juvederm and Belkyra Advisory Boards. Her passion for raising standards has led her to develop an international career lecturing about cosmetic injectables. She presents at top conferences around the world and trains practitioners across Australasia and China.

Dr. Hart was truly honoured to be selected to represent NZ and Australia as one of twelve doctors internationally for personal mentorship by Dr Mauricio De Maio, one of the world’s leading authorities on injectable treatments. She enjoys sharing the benefits of Cosmetic Medicine with a wide audience and has been able to do so with her work on three seasons of the TV series “Ten Years Younger in Ten Days”.

Outside work, Dr Hart loves to enjoy time in nature with her doctor husband and two children, doing sports such as skiing, mountain-biking and horse-riding.

In this episode, we discuss her journey from psychiatry to cosmetic medicine, the daily work and training involved, the overlap between aesthetic medicine/dermatology/plastic surgery, regulating the industry, social media trends and effect on the psyche of our youth, and navigating mental health in this space.

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:
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Born to a Jewish yenta from Brooklyn with aspirations to be the next Barbra Streisand, and a doctor from the suburbs with public service aspirations but accommodation of theatrical yearnings due to said yenta’s unparalleled sense of humour, Dr. Hall acknowledges the privileges she has been granted, with a keen eye on leveraging them for change.

A lifelong pursuit of critical self-reflection was born during one long hot high school summer cleaning M16 assault rifles for the Israeli Army, at the behest of her assimilated Jewish parents. If a young girl, with little understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict, could be enticed to send soldiers off to kill with sparkling clean weapons, what other global catastrophes might ensue with the help of hapless minds susceptible to demagoguery? And thus a university entrance essay was produced that gained her matriculation to the hallowed halls of Brown, then Harvard Universities.

With an honours degree in The Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics and a Doctorate of Medicine, Dr. Hall built her career in the specialty of Emergency Medicine. Her work is fueled by a dedication to improving lives, grappling with inequities, and bearing witness to human suffering with humility and gratitude. Her calling to serve has taken her to the rural outposts of Haiti, the public hospitals of inner-city America and both Auckland and Middlemore Hospitals- with a side trip to climb Mt. Everest along the way. She is a lover of languages (determined not to let Google translate rob her of her pride in hard-earned fluency in Spanish, French and competence in Russian), a mum, and a fierce advocate for subverting the status quo.

Her involvement with The Observatory is the culmination of several decades of thought and work around what it means to actually care for a population’s health; something much more profound and complex than routine healthcare. It also marks her increasing transition into the realm of innovation around problems of inequity.

If she thought jumping out of rescue helicopters was scary, she’ll be the first to admit that changing the world for the neurodiverse, her own children included, is even more terrifying. Because nothing worth doing could be anything else.

In this episode, we discuss her journey into medicine from quantum mechanics, the inspirations she drew from her late father, Professor Rosenberg, linked in the episode description below. We also discuss comparisons in the state of education and healthcare between New Zealand and the United States, and her decision to move to New Zealand. We talk about parenting and a work-life balance in the setting of emergency medicine, and raising neurodiverse, foster children. Finally, we talk about what neurodiversity looks like in medicine, and her mahi in The Observatory.

Organisations mentioned:
www.theobservatory.foundation
www.brainbadge.org

Professor Rosenberg (Dr. Hall's father): 
The Rosenberg Annual Lecture: https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/public-health-now/events/2021-rosenberg-lecture-healthcare-quality

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
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Dr. Sally Ayesa is a dual trained radiologist and nuclear medicine physician working in Sydney and the NSW Central Coast, specialising in chest and oncology imaging. She is an academic at Sydney University, where she is completing a PhD in medical imaging education. Sally is also on the editorial board for Radiopaedia, recently co-convening the international Radiopaedia 2022 virtual conference. She is passionate about radiology education and training, currently a member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiology curriculum assessment committee and a director of radiology training on the Central Coast. Sally loves to engage in conversations about education and gender diversity in medical imaging, and is the proud mother of two children.

In this episode, we discuss her journey into radiology and nuclear medicine combining her love for physics with her love for clinical medicine. She discusses the importance of role-modelling within radiology and what movements gender representation has made within radiology, as well as her passion for medical education and work in Radiopaedia. Sally also provides some tips for passing radiology examinations, as someone who topped the radiology part two examinations across Australia and New Zealand.

Radiopaedia: https://radiopaedia.org/

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

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
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Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

Dr. Himali McInnes is a general practitioner who works in a busy Auckland clinic and a prison. She writes short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. Her book of medical essays, The Unexpected Patient, was published in September 2021 by Harper Collins. Himali is an avid reader, a constant gardener, and an urban chicken farmer and beekeeper.

In this episode, we discuss her work in general practice and women's correctional facilities, her process in writing, the model minority and the struggle with balancing two cultures, intergenerational trauma faced by our patients, and the challenges of social mobility and punitive structures of correctional facilities in New Zealand. You can find links to her most recently published book 'The Unexpected Patient', and some of the articles mentioned in the podcast episode. 

Articles written by Dr. McInnes:
The Guardian, Intergenerational trauma: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/14/we-dont-live-in-isolation-our-ancestors-trauma-can-affect-our-health-generations-later
The Guardian, Auckland terror attack: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/06/as-a-sri-lankan-new-zealander-i-know-my-adopted-country-can-find-compassion-amid-terror
The Unexpected Patient: https://www.harpercollins.co.nz/9781775541707/the-unexpected-patient/

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

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
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Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

After a severe car accident in 2008, Dr. Olivia Ong was told she would never walk or practice again. As a paraplegic her dreams were shattered. After an intensive three-year recovery process, she walked again. Today she shares her experience with others.
  
Dr. Olivia Ong, now known as the Heart-Centred Doctor, is a professional speaker, a published author and established pain physician. She runs programs helping doctors transform their lives, moving from burnout to brilliance, and is about to write her second book “Radical Resilience”.
 
Dr. Ong’s authentic and warm approach has made her a sought-after speaker and online educator. Being able to speak from her own unique life experiences gives her presentations a deeply authentic feel. 
 
Dr. Ong has been featured in and written for Thrive Global, Yahoo Finance, International Business Times Singapore, and Australian Business Journal. Dr. Ong has appeared in media regularly such as Sky News, Studio 10, and ticker TV. She has spoken at industry leading events including Australasian New Zealand College of Anaesthesia and Faculty of Pain Medicine. Originally from Singapore, Dr. Ong now resides in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and two young children.

In this episode, we discuss the severe car accident outside the hospital that left her paralysed from the waist down, her intensive recovery from this, vicarious trauma and her journey with burnout, symptoms of burnout and recovery, and her work in pain/rehabilitation medicine combined with life coaching. 

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

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
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Dr. Pecky de Silva is a vascular and endovascular surgeon based in New South Wales, Australia. She trained in the University of New South Wales before undertaking her junior surgical training in Sydney and completing further training overseas. She is the Chair of Younger Fellows at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), and is on the RACS Women in Surgery Committee as well as the New South Wales RACS Regional Board.

In this episode, we discuss her pathway into medicine, failures she overcame in medical school, managing expectations of ethnic minority parents, the bullying and toxic work cultures she experienced in training, advice on how to navigate them, and lifestyle and superannuation advice. Pecky also discusses imposter syndrome and how she has learned to navigate surgical complications and poor surgical outcomes, as well as her work-life balance in vascular surgery.

You can find Dr. Pecky de Silva's professional website here: https://drdesilva.com.au/

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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Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9
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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
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Dr. Song Chan is a consultant psychiatrist, currently working in consult liaison in Middlemore Hospital. He was born in Hong Kong, raised in Tāmaki Makaurau, where he completed medical school and psychiatry training. He is also the co-director of psychiatry training in the Northern Region of Aotearoa since 2020. Some of his passions include educating and improving the mental wellbeing of Chinese individuals. Outside of work, he is obsessed with traveling and enjoying the spoils of new countries. 

In this episode, we discuss his work in consult liaison - where mental and physical health intertwine - gender stereotyping and implicit biases in psychiatry, COVID-19 and the challenges imposed on mental health, stigma in Chinese communities on mental health, and structural biases against non-English speaking patients. We touch on the topic of aged care facilities, but most of all, discuss his love for psychiatry and what potential applicants for psychiatry training need to demonstrate.

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

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