Interviews from the Frontline

Even as a young graduate nurse, Jed Duff was always trying to influence change and implement evidence-based practice when he saw opportunities for improvement. But when he couldn't find evidence to fix the problems he came across, Jed decided it was time to start creating his own. This was the beginning of his successful research career. Professor Jed Duff is now the Chair of Nursing for Queensland's largest hospital, the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, and continues his career-long mission to solve 'real world' problems to improve patient outcomes using evidence-based innovations.

Leia Barnes is one of only a handful of consultant vestibular physiotherapists in Australia and is passionate about the world of  ‘dizziness and balance’. So when a call for ideas to reduce pressures on the Emergency Department came across her desk, Leia came up with ‘Dial a Dizzy’, a telehealth hotline to help clinicians across Queensland diagnose and treat vertigo. Dial a Dizzy gives patients the right care, at the right time in the right place - allowing them to get back to their normal life with just one or two short treatments. Dial a Dizzy is now supporting 19 hospitals – and growing - across Queensland.

Jenny Timor has worked with some of the most vulnerable people in her community, from First Nations youth detained in the police watchhouse, to people living on the streets.  And now as Coordinator of the Indigenous Youth Team for the Mackay Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service, Jenny is working with young people experiencing severe turmoil who are 'running to stand still'. We spoke with Jenny about her work, how her mum has influenced her life, and what she wants people to know during this National Reconciliation Week.

Dr Lachlan McIver grew up in the small rural Queensland town of Millaa Millaa. A family tragedy led him to a career in medicine, and medicine has since taken him on a journey from working in Queensland hospitals to some of the most remote and underprivileged countries around the world. Lachlan is now in Geneva as the Tropical Diseases and Planetary Health Advisor for Doctors without Borders. We spoke with Lachlan about his journey from Millaa Millaa to Switzerland, and, on the back of the Senate’s climate change meeting, about his drive to make a difference to climate change and the impact it is having on human health.

Sepsis is a global health emergency. And diagnosing it is like 'trying to find a needle in a haystack', according to Intensive Care Physician and Digital Sepsis Clinical Lead for Clinical Excellence Queensland, Dr Paul Lane. Paul is hoping to change that with the help of artificial intelligence. Paul is leading a team that is developing an artificial intelligence model that could support doctors to predict sepsis and diagnose it earlier.

Dr Allison Hempenstall was first introduced to life on Thursday Island and the Torres Strait during a rotation as a junior doctor. This experience fuelled her interest in remote health and before long she was 'hooked'! Allison returned to the island as a rural generalist, spending a number of years working one-on-one with patients before turning her focus to the health of entire communities as the Public Health Medical Officer for the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service. Allison talks to the Senate about her work on the island, her new long-term focus on the health of remote communities, and her passion for research, particularly studying infectious diseases, and why she involves First Nations people in every step of the process.

As a long jumper, Bronwyn Thompson made it to the top her her game, representing Australia at the Commonwealth Games and the Sydney

Professor Ted Weaver has been an obstetrician and gynaecologist for more than three decades and still finds the process of pregnancy and birth ‘endlessly fascinating’. Throughout his career, he’s developed a number of maternity units on the Sunshine Coast, along with building his own private practice. He’s held the prestigious role of President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and is the Clinical Sub-Dean for Griffith University’s Sunshine Coast School of Medicine. We spoke with Ted about his career and why we need to focus on the first 2000 days of life.

As a young registered nurse, Josh Stafford took a six-week contract in the Far North Queensland town of Aurukun to make a bit of money. But by day 3 on the job, he'd fallen in love with it and knew this was the type of nursing he was meant to do. So while money took him there, it was the people, the diversity, the freedom and acuity that has kept him nursing in remote communities for close on 16 years. Today, Josh is the Director of Nursing for Lockhart River and Coen, a small, predominantly Indigenous community in northern Queensland with a population close to 700. We talk to Josh about his job as a nursing leader in a rural town, his early career nursing in big cities and how he spends his days off.

Dr Tony Brown has had a long and distinguished career as a rural generalist. From general practice principal in rural Victoria, to Executive Director of Medical Services in Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (HHS) and now Chief Executive for South West HHS. We spoke with Tony, a former member of the Senate Executive, about his career in rural medicine and what drives his life’s mission to address the inequity of health outcomes for rural and remote Australians.