Not a day goes by that there isn’t a headline about the overstretched health service and the struggling professionals within it. It isn’t COVID that has created this situation. The pandemic was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

At the RACP Congress in May, ENT surgeon Eric Levi explained why burnout should be considered not as a mental health condition but as an occupational disorder. And apart from the stressors of the job itself and the work relationships, the medical profession has a way of consuming one’s personal life. 

Associate Professor Michelle Telfer talked about being hounded for two years by the conservative press over her work with young people struggling with their gender identity. And pain specialist Olivia Ong described how she’d been driven by an unhealthy professional identity until a traumatic spinal injury forced her to reconsider the meaning of self-care. Both physicians found the courage to take control of the situation and define their roles on their own terms.

Guests
Eric Levi FRACS (Royal Children's Hospital; St Vincent's Hospital; Ear, Nose and Throat Victoria)
Associate Professor Michelle Telfer FRACP (Director Adolescent Medicine, Director Gender Service at Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne; Murdoch Children’s Research Institute)
Dr Olivia Ong FAFRM FFPMANZCA (Monash Health, Advance Healthcare)

Production
Written and produced by Mic Cavazzini DPhil. Music licenced from Epidemic Sound includes ‘Into the Bone’ by Taylor Crane, ‘Below the Horizon’ and ‘Haunted Heart’ by Dawn Dawn Dawn and ‘Exploring the Lake’ by View Points. Photo image by Paul R. Giunta licenced through Getty Images.

 Wellbeing
Doctor’s Health Advisory Service Helpline 

Aotearoa-NZ:  800 471 2654
NSW/ACT: 02 9437 6552
VIC:      03 9280 8712
TAS:     03 9280 8712
SA:       08 8366 0250
NT:       08 8366 0250
QLD:    07 3833 4352
WA:     08 9321 3098

Lifeline
Australia: 13 11 14.
Aotearoa-NZ: 0800 54 33 54

Converge International
 Aotearoa-NZ: 0800 666 367
 Australia : 1300 687 327

For a transcript and further references please visit our website. Subscribe to email alerts or search for ‘Pomegranate Health’ in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, or any podcasting app. Fellows of the RACP can claim CPD credits for listening via MyCPD.