On The Wards: On The Pods Medical Podcast for Doctors

Interpersonal violence or partner violence

James chats to Rosemary Isaacs about recognising and responding to situations of domestic violence in the Emergency Department, specifically interpersonal or partner violence.

Summary Writer: Jane McDonnell

Script Writer: Rosemary Isaacs

Editor: Rosemary Isaacs

Interviewee: Rosemary Isaacs

About Dr Rosemary Isaacs

Dr Rosemary Isaacs works at Royal Prince Alfred and Liverpool hospitals in the medical and forensic response to Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence and child abuse. Rosemary is a Fellow of the Faculty of Clinical Forensic Medicine in the RCPA and also a Fellow in General Practice of the RACGP.

Rosemary is convinced that this is an area where doctors with specific training can make a big difference to vulnerable people in our community. In addition, the anxiety and distress for health staff are much reduced when they have a framework for responding to these issues.

James chats to Nariman Ahmadi on indwelling urinary catheter tips and tricks for junior doctors.

Summary Writer:  Jane McDonnell

Script Writer:  Minh Tran

Editor:  Nariman Ahmadi

Interviewee:  Nariman Ahmadi

About Dr Nari Ahmadi

Dr Nari Ahmadi is a Urologist and Robotic Surgeon. He completed his training in New South Wales with his Fellowship at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Following completion of his training, Nari completed an additional 2-year fellowship in Advanced Laparoscopic and Robotic Urological Oncology at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, USA. He holds a VMO position at Chris O’Brien’s Lifehouse, Strathfield and St George private hospitals in Sydney. Nari has a particular interest in minimally invasive treatments for benign and malignant urological conditions as well as general urological conditions.

Sarah Dalton chats to Angelina Tjokrowidjaja about malignant spinal cord compression, a common complication of cancer that occurs in up to 10% of patients. As a junior doctor, you might encounter a spinal cord compression in the Emergency Department, during an after-hours shift on haematology or oncology wards, or when on rotation in these areas. Malignant spinal cord compression can cause pain and potentially irreversible neurological deficits, early recognition is key for a good outcome.

Summary Writer:  Jane McDonnell

Script Writer:  Angelina Tjokrowidjaja

Editor:  Angelina Tjokrowidjaja

Interviewer:  Sarah Dalton

Interviewee:  Angelina Tjokrowidjaja

About Dr Angelina Tjokrowidjaja

Dr Angelina Tjokrowidjaja is currently a Medical Oncology Clinical Trials Fellow at St George Hospital and a PhD candidate at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, New South Wales, Australia. Angelina completed her Master of Medicine (Clinical Epidemiology) while working as a junior doctor at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, New South Wales. She is currently researching how to better individualise targeted and biological therapies in patients with advanced cancers using biomarkers. Angelina is also invested in teaching and is a tutor of medical students and junior doctors in the university and clinical setting.

Crisis medications in palliative care

Dr Jessica Borbasi chats to James Edwards about palliative medicine. You will learn more about the role of palliative care and crisis medications for end of life care. We will discuss the Clinical Excellence Commission’s guidelines on the prescribing of anticipatory medicines for symptoms experienced in the last days of life. Are you aware of any contraindications? Is there a role for subcutaneous fluids? We will also go through an example case to put this all into perspective.

Summary Writer:  Jane McDonnell

Script Writer:  Jessica Borbasi

Editor:  Jessica Borbasi

Interviewee:  Jessica Borbasi

About Dr Jessica Borbasi

Dr Jessica Borbasi is an Advance Trainee in Palliative Medicine. After completing her basic physicians training she took a year off to work at a think tank, the Centre for Independent Studies. She is the author of "Life Before Death: improving palliative care for older Australians" and is passionate about educating doctors and the public about the true nature of palliative medicine, particularly its ability to improve living not just dying.

Ovarian cancer and research

In this podcast, Dr Caroline Ford chats to James about ovarian cancer from a researcher's perspective. Majority of women (about 75%) receive the ovarian cancer diagnosis when they are at stage III or IV. The symptoms and signs are often non-specific and present late. As a result, this leads to late diagnosis and limited options for therapy. Learn more about what research can do to help with ovarian cancer early intervention in this podcast.

Summary writer:  Jane McDonnell

Script Writer:  Chris Elliot

Editor:  Caroline Ford

Interviewee:  Caroline Ford

About Dr Caroline Ford

Dr Caroline Ford leads the Gynaecological Cancer Research Group at the University of New South Wales. Her research aims to understand why gynaecological cancers develop, how and why they spread throughout the body, and how best to treat them.  Caroline is also an experienced university lecturer, convening courses on medical research, cancer pathology and personalised medicine. And, she is passionate about science communication and enhancing the health literacy of the wider community. Caroline is a strong advocate for women in science and was recently named an inaugural Superstar of STEM, a national program aimed at giving young women and girls a new generation of role models.

Caroline Ford chats to James about why Junior Medical Officers should consider getting involved in medical research.

Summary Writer:  Jane McDonnell

Script Writer:  Angelina Tjokrowidjaja

Editor:  Caroline Ford

Interviewee:  Caroline Ford

About Dr Caroline Ford

Dr Caroline Ford leads the Gynaecological Cancer Research Group at the University of New South Wales. Her research aims to understand why gynaecological cancers develop, how and why they spread throughout the body, and how best to treat them.  Caroline is also an experienced university lecturer, convening courses on medical research, cancer pathology and personalised medicine and is passionate about science communication and enhancing the health literacy of the wider community. Caroline is a strong advocate for women in science and was recently named an inaugural Superstar of STEM, a national program aimed at giving young women and girls a new generation of role models.

James chats to Nhi Nguyen about common medical issues in pregnant patients.

Pregnant patients can be daunting for junior doctors for a number of reasons, the risk of missing something serious is a high burden of responsibility when there are two patients to consider, and the presentation may be caused by a medical problem unrelated to pregnancy or may be a specific pathology related to pregnancy.

Summary Writer:  Jane McDonnell

Script Writer:  Becky Taylor

Editor:  Nhi Nguyen

Interviewee:  Nhi Nguyen

About Dr Nhi Nguyen

Dr Nhi Nguyen is a Senior Staff Specialist in the Department of Intensive Care at Nepean Hospital in Sydney, Australia. She is also Clinical Advisor at Intensive Care NSW and at the Agency for Clinical Innovation. Nhi provides advice on the antenatal and peripartum management of pregnant patients with medical problems and has an interest in the critically ill obstetric patient.

James chats to Dr Luke Collett about how to prepare for your first ICU rotation night shift as a junior doctor. In this podcast, we'll also talk about what to expect from a typical day when working in the ICU rotation.

Summary Writer:  Claudia Hurwitz

Script Writers: Luke Collett & Sam Orton

Editors:  Luke Collett & Sam Orton

Interviewee:  Luke Collett

About Dr Luke Collett

Dr Luke Collett is an ICU Clinical Fellow at Royal North Shore Hospital. After separate diversions into Emergency Medicine and Infectious Diseases, he completed his ICU clinical training in 2016. He has recently returned from a fellowship year in Severe Respiratory Failure and ECMO at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals in London.

Luke is a keen educator, trained simulation instructor, and faculty on a number of courses. He has previously run the MET calls workshop at the NSW Pre-Intern Conference.

In this podcast, Associate Professor Charlotte Hespe talks about improving communication between hospitals and general practice, the current issues, as well as strategies to improve it in the future.

Summary Writer:  Dennis Neuen

Script Writer:  Elizabeth Campbell

Editor:  Charlotte Hespe

Interviewee: Charlotte Hespe

About Charlotte Hespe

Charlotte Hespe is a GP Clinician and Practice Owner of a general practice in Inner City, Sydney, where she has worked for the last 20 years. Charlotte is a GP Supervisor and the practice is a fully accredited practice that functions as a teaching practice for both medical students and GP Registrars.

Charlotte also works as Associate Professor, Head of General Practice and GP Research for The University of Notre Dame, Australia, School of Medicine, Sydney. She is the current Faculty Chair for NSW/ACT and Vice President, RACGP. She is immediate past Chair for Central and Eastern Sydney PHN and is currently a director on the Board (EIS Health). Charlotte holds an FAICD qualification and has extensive experience in corporate Governance with 17 years’ experience as Chair in several Boards with a Primary health care focus.

She is currently completing a PhD looking at the implementation of best practice for CVD prevention in the Primary care setting using a Quality Improvement model for change.

James talks to Dr Jane Standen about the diagnosis and management of neuropathic pain.

Summary Writer:  Claudia Hurwitz

Script Writer: Dan Carayannis

Editor:  Jane Standen

Interviewee:  Jane Standen

About Dr Jane Standen

Jane is s Consultant Anaesthetist and interventional Pain Specialist. She studied medicine at the University of Sydney and trained in anaesthesia at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney. Subspecialty training in pain management was undertaken at the Michael J Cousins Pain Management and Research Centre at Royal North Shore Hospital.

Jane has expertise in the treatment of both early onset and persistent pain. She specialises in minimally invasive procedures, aiming to reduce pain and enhance quality of life. She practices with an empathetic manner and takes an evidence-based approach.

Jane is an honorary tutor with the University of Sydney Masters in Pain Management and is actively involved in pain management education at the Mater Hospital and Royal North Shore Hospital. She regularly conducts GP educational sessions.

She is appointed at Norwest Private Hospital, the Sydney Adventist Hospital, the Mater Hospital and Royal North Shore Hospital.