On The Wards: On The Pods Medical Podcast for Doctors

Summary Writer:  Linda Wu

Editors: Titus Kwok, Bruce Way

Interviewee:  Titus Kwok

A career in surgery can be both exceptionally rewarding and challenging.

Dr David Coker talks to Dr Titus Kwok about his experience as a surgeon and some tips when considering a career in surgery.

Titus Kwok is the surgical superintendent at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He graduated from the University of New South Wales in 2007 and completed his internship and residency at Liverpool Hospital.  Titus joined the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Network in 2010 as a PreSET SRMO and then moved into SET training the following year, completing his training in 2015.  Titus loves interacting and teaching junior colleagues that are interested in surgery as a career and enjoys the strong culture of mentorship that exists in Surgery.

A career in surgery can be both exceptionally rewarding and challenging.

Dr David Coker talks to Dr Titus Kwok about his experience as a surgeon and some tips when considering a career in surgery.

Summary Writer:  Linda Wu

Editors:  Titus Kwok, Bruce Way

Interviewee:  Titus Kwok

About Dr Titus Kwok

Titus Kwok is the surgical superintendent at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital*. He graduated from the University of New South Wales in 2007 and completed his internship and residency at Liverpool Hospital. Titus joined the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Network in 2010 as a PreSET SRMO and then moved into SET training the following year, completing his training in 2015.  Titus loves interacting and teaching junior colleagues that are interested in surgery as a career and enjoys the strong culture of mentorship that exists in Surgery.

*This podcast was originally recorded in August 2017. Dr Titus Kwok is now a Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Fellow at Prince of Wales Hospital, New South Wales.

Summary Writer: Cynthia Yang

Script Writer:  Alan Giles

Editor:  Alan Giles

Interviewee:  Alan Giles

James interviews Dr Alan Giles about cross-cultural communication, both with patients and colleagues, and the importance of effective communication in the healthcare setting.

Alan Giles is an Emergency Physician and medical educator based in Sydney. After completing his Fellowship in 1994, he has worked in both large and small Emergency Departments in the public and private sector. His educational interests include simulation, bedside ultrasound and FOAM education.

Alan is the host of the podcast EMcast and is the Hospital Skills Director for Sydney Local Health District and South Western Sydney Local Health District. Clinically he works at the Sydney Adventist Hospital in Wahroonga, Sydney, where he also teaches bedside ultrasound. He has volunteered regularly in South East Asia over the last 10 years and is looking for an excuse to do it again. Not as fit as he deludes himself he once was, Alan is married with two adult children and two annoying cats.

James interviews Dr Alan Giles about cross-cultural communication, both with patients and colleagues, and the importance of effective communication in the healthcare setting.

Summary Writer: Cynthia Yang

Script Writer:  Alan Giles

Editor:  Alan Giles

Interviewee:  Alan Giles

About Dr Alan Giles

Alan Giles is an Emergency Physician and medical educator based in Sydney. After completing his Fellowship in 1994, he has worked in both large and small Emergency Departments in the public and private sector. His educational interests include simulation, bedside ultrasound and FOAM education.

Alan is the host of the podcast EMcast and is the Hospital Skills Director for Sydney Local Health District and South Western Sydney Local Health District. Clinically he works at the Sydney Adventist Hospital in Wahroonga, Sydney, where he also teaches bedside ultrasound. He has volunteered regularly in South East Asia over the last 10 years and is looking for an excuse to do it again. Not as fit as he deludes himself he once was, Alan is married with two adult children and two annoying cats.

Summary Writer:  Jeffrey Duncan

Script Writer:  John Farey

Editor: Amy Freeman-Sanderson

Interviewee: Amy Freeman-Sanderson

James talks to Dr Amy Freeman-Sanderson about the assessment of safety to eat in a person who is dysphagic or dysphasic.

Dr Amy Freeman-Sanderson is the Acting Head of the Speech Pathology Department at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. She holds an honorary position at the University of Sydney. She has worked within the critical care setting both nationally and internationally, for over 15 years.

Amy has a particular interest in patients with a tracheostomy and completed her PhD studies in this area at the University of Sydney in 2016. The focus of her thesis was early communication intervention for restoration of voice and associated quality of life.

James talks to Dr Amy Freeman-Sanderson about the assessment of safety to eat in a person who is dysphagic or dysphasic.

Summary Writer:  Jeffrey Duncan

Script Writer:  John Farey

Editor:  Amy Freeman-Sanderson

Interviewee:  Amy Freeman-Sanderson

About Dr Amy Freeman-Sanderson

Dr Amy Freeman-Sanderson is the Acting Head of the Speech Pathology Department at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. She holds an honorary position at the University of Sydney. She has worked within the critical care setting both nationally and internationally, for over 15 years.

Amy has a particular interest in patients with a tracheostomy and completed her PhD studies in this area at the University of Sydney in 2016. The focus of her thesis was early communication intervention for restoration of voice and associated quality of life.

Associate Professor David Caldicott shares his approach and insights from his experience helping people who present with issues related to drugs and alcohol. Interview by Eamon Merrick.

Script Writer:  Eamon Merrick

Interviewee:  David Caldicott

About David Caldicott

Associate Professor David Caldicott (aka ‘Dr. Platypus’) is an Emergency Consultant at the Emergency Department of the Calvary Hospital in Canberra and a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at the Australian National University.

He is a spokesperson for the Australian Science Media Centre on issues of illicit drug use and the medical response to terrorism and disasters.

David has been a lifelong advocate for a harm minimization approach to drug use, and has extensive experience with in situ “pill-testing/drug checking” in the Australian context, having liaised closely with Enlighten at the Enchanted series of raves in South Australia in the early ‘00s.

He designed and piloted the Welsh Emergency Department Investigation of Novel Substances (WEDINOS) project in the UK, a unique program using regional emergency departments as sentinel monitoring hubs for the emergence and spread of novel illicit products. He is currently replicating this work in Australia with the ACT Investigation of Novel Substances (ACTINOS) Group, and is the clinical lead of the Australian Drug Observatory, based at the Australian National University.

He has published widely in the peer-reviewed literature, and presents nationally and internationally on the subject of the use of the emergency department as an observatory for the surveillance of novel psychotropic substances as they evolve, as well as their effects in acute overdose.

Summary Writer:  Sam Orton

Editor:  Nhi Nguyen

Interviewee: Oliver Flower

James talks to Dr Oliver Flower about how to identify and examine the critically ill patient.

Oliver Flower is a staff specialist in Intensive Care Medicine at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney.

He is a believer in the power of the big crit care community and a believer in Cadogan’s FOAMed ethos. Oli runs the educational and networking crit care website Intensive Care Network.

James talks to Dr Oliver Flower about identifying a sick patient and how to examine the critically ill patient.

Summary Writer:  Sam Orton

Editor:  Nhi Nguyen

Interviewee: Oliver Flower

About Dr Oliver Flower

Oliver Flower is a staff specialist in Intensive Care Medicine at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney.

He is a believer in the power of the big crit care community and a believer in Cadogan’s FOAMed ethos. Oli runs the educational and networking crit care website Intensive Care Network.

Summary Writer:  Cynthia Yang

Editor:  Bruce Way

Interviewee: Chris Dalton

James talks to Dr Chris Dalton about communication and patient-centred care.  Patient-centered care refers to managing patients according to their needs, wants and capabilities, rather than according to the interest of the doctor or hospital.

Chris Dalton graduated from the University of Sydney in 1980 with honours and worked in surgical training as a resident and registrar in Sydney. He then trained in obstetrics, paediatrics and anaesthesia obtaining the Diploma in Obstetrics from the Royal Australasian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. After working in rural general practice for a few years, Chris returned to surgical training and obtained the Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons in ENT surgery in 1993.

After completing post-surgical fellowships in laryngology with Bruce Benjamin in Sydney and head and neck surgery with David Howard and Valerie Lund in London, he worked at Westmead Adult’s and Westmead Children’s Hospitals as an ENT surgeon, with a particular interest in head and neck oncology and paediatric otolaryngology. Chris also practised in the private sector as an ENT surgeon during this period.

He joined Serco in 2012 as a Medical Director, working in business development, clinical governance and the development of new models of health care delivery, especially involving coordinated care. Chris has also completed a Master of Public Health at the University of Sydney and is currently enrolled in the Master of Biostatistics program there.

Chris joined BUPA as a Medical Director in 2014, where he has roles in claims management, development and implementation of policies for health insurance, clinical governance for BUPA’s health provision services and designing and supporting the clinical aspects of BUPA’s new business development. Currently he is involved in a data analytics project to gain deeper clinical insights into Bupa’s datasets.

Chris also serves on committees for the Prostheses List and the MBS review for the Australian Federal Government.