the limbic

In this episode Dr David Liew and Dr Tina Racunica discuss what you need to know about considering biologics in special populations particularly in patients with cancer, the new JAK inhibitors and where they fit in to treatment regimens, when to switch agents and how to balance clinical trial data among agents to make treatment decisions

David Liew is a rheumatologist and clinical pharmacologist at Austin Health in Melbourne, and has an active interest in the quality use of medicines in rheumatology.

Dr Tina Racunica is a rheumatologist and pharmacist. She is the director of her group private rheumatology practice in Melbourne.

In this episode the limbic talks to Associate Professor Peter Wong, convenor of this years' scientific meeting, about the highlights from the hybrid event.

Professor Paul Zimmet believes that serendipity and chance have played a central role in his career. From reading an article on diabetes in a discarded Lancet during a cold London Christmas to finding himself sitting on a beach next to a director of the World Health Organisation, he’s embraced opportunities that arose from being in the right place at the right time.

Lucky breaks aside, Professor Zimmet’s hard work and determination have undoubtedly led to his string of achievements in the world of diabetes and obesity. He founded the International Diabetes Institute and his epidemiological studies have predicted and charted the global type 2 diabetes epidemic. He was integral to the establishment of the National Diabetes Strategy and continues to advise governments on ways to manage diabetes and obesity.

In this episode, we talk to Professor Zimmet about his career highlights, how he works to inspire policy makers to get behind a cause, and his two current passions: establishing a registry for more insight into the link between COVID and diabetes, and researching technology that has the potential to revolutionise the way we handle insulin. LISTEN NOW

Tackling some of the biggest global challenges from respiratory health in the face of climate change to fighting big tobacco and COVID-19 as well as highlighting important developments in respiratory genetics and technology - this year's TSANZSRS conference covered a lot of ground. In this podcast the limbic talks to Professor Gary Anderson, Associate Professor Lucy Burr and Danny Brazzale about their highlights from the 2021 meeting.

The largest survey of Australia’s healthcare workers has highlighted the sharp rise in mental health symptoms experienced by doctors and health care workers around the country throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Australian Frontline Healthcare Workers Study was distributed nationally in September last year at the height of Victoria’s COVID-19 second wave amid nearly four months of strict lockdown, receiving record responses.

Over eight weeks close to 10,0000 healthcare workers participated in the survey speaking of burnout, feeling unsafe at work, and frustration with misplaced funding and inadequate quick fixes. Detailed stories from senior clinicians, junior doctors, allied health workers and hospital administrators have revealed the magnitude of mental health symptoms experienced throughout the crisis:

More than half of survey respondents had depression, while 70% of participants experienced emotional exhaustion and 41% experienced post traumatic stress disorder as measured on validated psychological scales.

In this podcast lead investigators respiratory physician Associate Professor Natasha Smallwood and health sociologist Professor Karen Willis talk to the limbic about the key findings from their analysis and what Australia's healthcare workers say about how inevitable future crises should be handled to protect the mental health of frontline workers.

Professor Dan Chambers was alarmed when he began seeing new cases of silicosis in dozens of young men in Queensland in 2018.

The cases triggered a nationwide audit of the manufacturing stone industry, revealing that hundreds of workers have contracted the potentially fatal disease as a result of workplace safety breaches. The occupational lung condition is now said to be at epidemic levels in Australia.

Knowing that many more young men would need help, Professor Chambers, Thoracic Transplant Physician at Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, and his colleagues began investigating an established technique – lung lavage – as a potential treatment.

In this episode we talk to Professor Chambers about the procedure that has already been used to effectively treat six men with early stage silicosis and the plans to roll the program out across other states.

In this podcast Dr Hash Abdeen, Chair of the AMAs Council of Doctors in Training talks to the limbic about how the medical profession's hierarchal structure continues to breed a culture of systemic bullying, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the profession to look at new approaches to training and assessing junior doctors that could finally address the bottleneck leaving many trainees unable to move out of pre-vocational and unaccredited training.

Oncologist, acclaimed author and journalist Dr Ranjana Srivastava talks to the limbic about the responsibility of practicing the art of empathy in medicine, negotiating difficult conversations and what she's learned from her patients over two decades about dying well.

Ranjana Srivastava is an oncologist, award-winning author and columnist for The Guardian. She was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her work on doctor-patient communication.

Her book, Dying for a Chat: the communication breakdown between doctors and patients, won the 2013 human rights literature award.

In this podcast we talk to rheumatologist Dr Gabor Major, rheumatology clinical nurse consultant Fiona Nidddrie and research fellow Dr David Tunnicliffe from the Adolescent and Young Adult with Rheumatic Disease (AYARD) clinic at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle about the role clinicians play in helping young rheumatology patients transition to adult healthcare.

They share fascinating insights from their study that investigates how young rheumatology patients and their parents experience transition care. With up to half of adolescent patients who move to adult care lost to follow-up within 2 years, their findings shed a light on what can change to improve adolescent outcomes into adulthood.

In this podcast we speak to CSANZ President Professor Clara Chow about her thoughts on where SGLT2 inhibitors will fit into clinical practice, how the ongoing affects of COVID-19 will impact the delivery of cardiac services as well as her thoughts on what 2021 will bring to the field of cardiology in Australia.