In season 6 Episode 6  I am delighted to welcome Graham Walker, MD to the podcast. Dr Walker is an emergency physician by clinical background who practices in San Francisco, completing his medical school training at Stanford University School of Medicine. He also majored in social policy as an undergraduate and has had a life long interest in software development and digital technology. Today he combines these interests and skills in his clinical and non-clinical roles.

Graham is the co-director of Advanced Development at The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG), which delivers care for Kaiser Permanente’s 4.6 million members in Northern California. At TPMG, Graham works on practical AI development, commercialization, partnerships, and technology transformation under the Chief Innovation Officer. As a clinical informaticist, he also leads emergency and urgent care strategy for KP’s electronic medical record. 

With an appetite and aptitude for tech innovation and entrepreneurship Dr Walker created and founded MDCalc as a resident, a free online clinical decision support tool many clinicians including myself have been using for years now, indeed MDCalc turned 20 this month.

More recently Graham co-founded the platform and community  Offcall with a mission to bring joy back to medicine and facilitate contract transparency and financial literacy for US medical practitioners. 

These two online resources are dedicated to helping physicians globally.  In his free time Graham writes about the intersection of AI, technology, and medicine, and created The Physicians’ Charter for Responsible AI, a practical guide to implementing safe, accurate, and fair AI in healthcare settings.

In this conversation I have an opportunity to explore Dr Walkers perspective at the intersection of AI, technology and medicine and revisit some emerging themes from season 6 in relation to leading change and innovation in complex, siloed healthcare systems.  We discuss the challenges of communicating change efforts in this context and Graham shares his practical pearls for elevating clinical voices and translating information across disparate stakeholder groups. 

With a unique leadership role in his own organisation in this space I was keen to explore his perspectives on creating opportunities for intrapreneurship. Dr Walker is a globally respective clinical voice on AI in healthcare and we discuss the perils and promise of AI , the Physician Charter for responsible use of AI in medicine and his Offcall survey and  pending report on physicians views on the technology application and implementation in medicine ( now published and linked below) 

Finally it is Graham's mission to bring joy and humanity back to medicine and to use technology responsibly to augment the clinician experience and skillset enabling safer and higher quality care that is the major draw for me.  Thank you Dr Walker for you work which has global relevance and reach.

Links / References:

https://drgrahamwalker.com

https://www.offcall.com

The Mind Full Medic Podcast is proudly sponsored by the MBA NSW-ACT Find out more about the charitable organisation supporting doctors and their families and/ or donate today at www.mbansw.org.au

Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.

I'm delighted to be back with S6 E9 and to welcome Associate Professor Vikram Palit to the podcast. Vikram is a Paediatric Respiratory Physician by clinical background and a Senior Lecturer in Health Systems science. He has held senior leadership roles across academia, clinical medicine and health services in Australia and the United Kingdom. He is also the founder and CEO of ConsultMed https://www.consultmed.co/about-us/ Consultmed brings together his passion for healthcare and embracing technology to deliver better outcomes for his patients. When he is not in a team huddle, a design workshop or doing a solution demo, you can find him quietly unplugging fax machines in hospitals and clinics near you.  Indeed in this episode he makes a compelling case to #axethefax.

In this conversation I have an opportunity to dive deeper into Vik's journey so far as clinician, health systems scientist and entrepreneur trying to solve real world clinical problems with modern technology solutions.

He discusses his previous academic studies and practical on the job exposure to health systems change, value-based care and digital health in the UK NHS and how this served as a catalyst for his founder story.

We learn more about the nuts and bolts of Consultmed including the core offering Advice and Guidance and how this can positively impact the healthcare referral landscape. We reference the recent Grattan Report on specialist referrals and the RACGP Heath of the Nation Report 2025.

Vik discusses the application and potential of embedding AI tools in the Consultmed platform and where he sees the future opportunities of the technology.  We revisit past podcast themes of the challenges of clinical entrepreneurship and "intra"preneurship and his insights as a CEO and founder in this space. His passion, energy and mission-driven dedication to his work and team permeates this entire conversation and I look forward to following the next chapter of the Consultmed story. Thank you Vik!

Links References:

https://www.consultmed.co/about-us/

https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Grattan-Institute-Special-Treatment.pdf

https://www.racgp.org.au/FSDEDEV/media/documents/Health-of-the-Nation-2025.pdf

 Vik's book/ article recommendations:

https://londonpublishingpartnership.co.uk/books/implementing-value-based-healthcare/

https://hbr.org/2013/10/the-strategy-that-will-fix-health-care

The Mind Full Medic Podcast is proudly sponsored by the MBA NSW-ACT Find out more about the charitable organisation supporting doctors and their families and/ or donate today at www.mbansw.org.au

Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.

In S6 E8 I am delighted to welcome Associate Professor Bhavesh Patel to the podcast. Dr Patel is a senior paediatric surgeon at The Queensland Children's hospital with over two decades of experience in paediatric and neonatal, colorectal and urological surgery. He is the Queensland State-wide Clinical Lead for Surgical Quality Improvement through his appointment at Clinical Excellence Queensland. As an Associate Professor he teaches students at several medical schools, and provides state-wide education to nursing staff and other medical professionals. He trains future surgeons, and his research spans across a number of fields.  Bhavesh also has interests in digital health, technology, health literacy and human factors in health care.

In this conversation I have the opportunity to learn more about his work and the different hats Bhavesh now wears in his clinical, executive and educator roles. We discuss the evolution of his work in quality and safety and the systems thinking lens he applies to complex problem solving in healthcare. Bhavesh share his personal and professional journey and development and the impact of coaching on his ability to harness his ideas and efforts, gaining confidence and focus in recent years.

I was particular keen to explore his creative approach to digital innovation in patient communication including infographics and his recent work in building an experimental AI avatar. 

We do well to cover a lot of ground here but I still left this conversation feeling I had peeled only a few layers of the onion, and the brilliant, curious mind of this creative clinician. There will have to be an encore! 

Finally Bhavesh gives a taster for his keynote presentation at the 2025 Creative Careers in Medicine conference and listeners who missed the conference will be able to access the recordings when released ( details below). 

Links / references:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbhaveshpatel/

https://www.instagram.com/handofasurgeon/?hl=en

CCIM conference - recording link with be listed when available:

https://ccim2025.my.canva.site/

Bhavesh's book recommendations:

If Disney Ran Your Hospital Fred Lee

https://www.samuelthomasdavies.com/book-summaries/business/the-almanack-of-naval-ravikant/

The Mind Full Medic Podcast is proudly sponsored by the MBA NSW-ACT Find out more about the charitable organisation supporting doctors and their families and/ or donate today at www.mbansw.org.au

Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.

In S6 E 7 I am delighted to welcome Dr Max Mollenkopf to the podcast. Max is a General Practitioner and practice owner based in NSW, Australia. He has worked in a variety of acute, subacute and governance roles in both public and private systems across Australia and New Zealand and has a deep understanding of the interfaces of healthcare, health administration and provision of health services. 

As a practising GP, Max enjoys providing quality and collaborative healthcare for his local community while also fostering long term relationships with the patients  he cares for. 

We cover a lot in this conversation with a focus on primary care, the evolving role of the GP and what patient and consumer centric care could mean now and in the future. Key themes of innovation and entrepreneurship, mission and meaning in medicine and building systems which offer value for patients and consumers and for their doctors allowing them to work at top of skill and scope and maintain longevity of practice.

Max, like many clinical change-makers who have guested on this podcast, is a deep and innovative thinker not afraid to challenge the status quo and ask the hard questions. His commitment to healthcare improvement and passion for providing quality care is clearly evident and permeates this entire conversation. Thank you Dr Max.

Links/references 

Dr Max Mollenkopf

https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-mollenkopf-858a94209/

https://www.drmaxm.com/about

Context references 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future/fit-for-the-future-10-year-health-plan-for-england-executive-summary

https://www.wesfarmershealth.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wesfarmers-Health-Telehealth-Code-of-Practice.pdf

The Mind Full Medic Podcast is proudly sponsored by the MBA NSW-ACT Find out more about the charitable organisation supporting doctors and their families and/ or donate today at www.mbansw.org.au

Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.

Interrupting the program as usual to bring you this short teaser episode about an upcoming conference I am very excited about, The Creative Careers in Medicine Conference 2025. This year's conference is taking place August 23rd and 24th  in Melbourne. 

In this conversation I chat with CCIM founder Dr Amandeep Hansra about the event. Regular listeners will recall Dr Hansra first guested on the podcast back in 2021 and Season 2. At that time the CCIM community had 16 K members, today that number has ballooned to 25 K and growing. 

The theme of this years conference  is "Let's Create". Hear about what you can expect and why you should attend. As Amandeep discusses opportunity to  explore meaning and purpose in your career in medicine and  connect with a truly diverse group of colleagues are some of the  key benefits of the CCIM conference.  

Listen to my S2 episode with Dr Hansra and hear more about the background story:

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-mind-full-medic-podcast/id1513559414?i=1000523922495

 Find out more about this conference program and speaker line up:

https://ccim2025.my.canva.site

 Register for the conference:

https://events.humanitix.com/ccim-conference-2025-let-s-create

I hope to meet and connect with many of you in August!

The Mind Full Medic Podcast is proudly sponsored by the MBA NSW-ACT Find out more about the charitable organisation supporting doctors and their families and/ or donate today at www.mbansw.org.au

Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.

In S6 E5 I am delighted to welcome Dr Colin West MD PhD to the podcast. Dr West is a practising physician, educator, biostatistician and he is globally renowned for his research in professional and organisational wellbeing in healthcare. He has been deeply embedded in research work in this area with colleagues at Mayo Clinic for over two decades to advance and inform healthcare organisational and clinician wellbeing leadership, strategy and evidence-informed system and work unit interventions to promote physician wellbeing and reduce distress. Dr West is the inaugural program director for physician wellbeing at Mayo Clinic. He is the recipient of multiple awards for his research and education work and collaborates extensively with scientists and groups within and outside Mayo Clinic. External collaborations include members of leadership in the American Medical Association. His work with colleagues including Dr Tait Shanafelt has  been published in multiple top-tier journals, including the Lancet, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Annals of Internal Medicine, and JAMA Internal Medicine.   In this conversation we discuss the evolution of his work over the past two decades. We learn how the combination of unique skills, intellectual curiosity and a deep investment and sense of purpose led to a critical coalition of colleagues who have helped to advance and build evidence-informed road maps and organisational blueprints  to promote physician wellbeing and professional satisfaction and reduce burnout and distress. I was particularly keen to explore some of the key intervention studies including the COMPASS trail ( Colleagues Meeting to Promote and Sustain Satisfaction) and the research about leadership capability and coaching/development. This episode is full of both the science and practical wisdom Dr West brings as a clinical expert in this field and yet still scratches the surface of his work.  A lot of his efforts today centre on attention to the MVPs ( meaning values and purpose )of professional wellbeing for his colleagues and the work they do in turn for their patients. He finishes with a powerful call to action at this juncture and critical inflection point for healthcare and clinicians globally. This is fundamentally important work and I am grateful to Colin and colleagues for continuing to advance our knowledge and applied practice. 

Links/References/Resources

Dr West's Wellbeing Wednesday Thread https://www.linkedin.com/posts/colin-west-57821b82_colin-west-colinwestmdphd-on-x-activity-7252370843236749312-1WMg/

https://www.mayo.edu/research/faculty/west-colin-p-m-d-ph-d/bio-00027800https://edhub.ama-assn.org/steps-forward/pages/professional-well-being

The COMPASS Trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34366134/

Register for the Australasian Doctors' Health conference to continue to the conversation in 2025:https://adhc.org.au/

The Mind Full Medic Podcast is proudly sponsored by the MBA NSW-ACT Find out more about the charitable organisation supporting doctors and their families and/ or donate today at www.mbansw.org.au

Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.

In a special cross over episode the Mind Full Medic podcast is delighted to bring you this episode of the Heartline: Changemaking in Healthcare podcast with Dr Andrea Austin. I have the opportunity to flip the mic on Dr Austin, Emergency Physician and FACEP based in San Diego California, educator, simulationist, podcast host and well known to regular listeners as favourite "Frentor" of the Mind Full Medic. 

In this conversation we explore the fascinating world of changemaking in healthcare. As we delve into the findings of Andrea's recent research, we uncover the essential ingredients that enable healthcare professionals to become effective agents of positive transformation. Andrea sheds light on the delicate balance between individual agency and organisational support, highlighting how these elements intertwine to create an environment where meaningful change can flourish. We discuss the challenges faced by changemakers in healthcare and the strategies they employ to overcome them.

Key insights from our discussion include:

• The importance of insatiable learning and personal growth in driving change
• How changemakers navigate the complex emotional landscape of leading transformation
• The critical role of communication and listening in building coalitions for change
• Organizational strategies that foster and support changemaking efforts

Discover how to:

• Sustain inspiration and motivation throughout the change process
• Develop the courage and resilience needed to face setbacks and opposition
• Leverage organizational support to amplify your impact as a changemaker
• Build and nurture the relationships crucial for successful change initiatives

This episode offers invaluable insights for healthcare professionals at all levels who aspire to make a difference in their organizations and beyond. Whether you’re a seasoned leader or just starting your journey in healthcare, you’ll find practical strategies and inspiration to fuel your changemaking efforts.

“Changemaking is a really big part of that pathway to keeping passionate professionals engaged in healthcare.” – Dr. Andrea Austin

Join us for this thought-provoking conversation that challenges conventional thinking about change in healthcare and inspires a new generation of changemakers. Learn how small acts of courage and strategic thinking can lead to significant positive transformations in our healthcare systems.

Link to the paper discussed in this episode https://www.cureus.com/articles/351909-developing-the-next-generation-of-physician-changemakers-you-have-to-love-the-people-and-love-the-process#!/

Connect with Dr. Andrea Austin:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-austin-simgal/Twitter
• https://www.instagram.com/andreaaustinmd/?hl=en 

https://podcasts.appl

The Mind Full Medic Podcast is proudly sponsored by the MBA NSW-ACT Find out more about the charitable organisation supporting doctors and their families and/ or donate today at www.mbansw.org.au

Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.

Season 6 Episode 3 returns with a Special Sponsor episode to align with The Medical Benevolent Association of NSW-ACT's May appeal. I'm delighted to have the opportunity to sit down with  GP, writer and author Dr Sonia Henry.Dr Henry is also a councillor for the MBA NSW-ACT. She has been published in The Australian, RM Williams Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, Kevin MD, Australian Medical Students Association Magazine, The ANZ Journal of Surgery and on a variety of other platforms. Her most widely read article was an anonymous piece, 'There is something rotten inside the medical profession', which detailed the stress of medical training and was shared more than 22,000 times and re-published widely around the world. This article led to the start of a conversation that her novel Going Under seeks to continue. Her debut novel Going Under, a fictionalised account of her internship, was an Australian best seller. She is passionate about First Nations health and improving health equity to people who live in regional and remote parts of the country. She spends part of the year living and working as a GP in remote Australia and this inspired her second book and memoir, Put Your Feet in the Dirt, Girl. 

      In this conversation we discuss Sonia's passion for writing which pre-dated her physiotherapy and  medical careers and learn more about her motivations to write, writing process and hopes for her words. Sonia tells me more how she became involved with the Medical Benevolent association as a councillor and her work to support doctors' health and wellbeing and wider advocacy for needed healthcare system and cultural reform. 

You can find our more about the Medical Benevolent Association NSW-ACT and/or donate the current appeal here:   https://www.mbansw.org.au/donations

Thank you Sonia, I can't wait for book 3!

Links/References:

https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Sonia-Henry-Put-Your-Feet-in-the-Dirt,-Girl-9781761068072/

https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Sonia-Henry-Going-Under-9781760878641

 https://kevinmd.com/2017/01/something-rotten-inside-medical-profession.html

This conversation again covers topics including doctor suicide and barriers to accessing mental health support. The excellent AMA/AMSA Traffic Light Guide includes contact numbers for doctors' health and other mental health helplines in Australia.  Episode S5 E8 and S4 E12 show notes include relevant contact numbers and supports internationally in UK/Ireland/Canada/US/NZ.

 https://www.ama.com.au/sites/default/files/2022-06/FINAL%20AMACDT%20x%20AMSA%20Mental%20Health%20Support%20Flyer%20June%202022.pdf

The Mind Full Medic Podcast is proudly sponsored by the MBA NSW-ACT Find out more about the charitable organisation supporting doctors and their families and/ or donate today at www.mbansw.org.au

Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.

In S6 E2 I am delighted to welcome Dr Joshua D Hartzell MD MS-HPEd FACP FIDSA to the podcast. Dr Hartzell is an Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine Physician and a retired Army Colonel who has spent 25 years in military medicine. He is also the author of a fantastic new book : A Prescription for Caring in Healthcare Leadership: Building a Culture of Compassion and Excellence.         

         Throughout his career Dr Hartzell has held numerous leadership positions including being Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency and Assistant Chief of Graduate Medical Education at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Assistant Dean for Faculty Development at the Uniformed Services University. He deployed as a Battalion Surgeon with the 82 nd  Airborne Division to Afghanistan. He is also faculty at the MGH Institute of Health Professions where he teaches leadership development. As a practising clinician he has devoted the last decade to developing leaders training and teaching thousands of students, residents, and faculty within healthcare. Josh has
has delivered over 100 talks on leadership development and has written
numerous papers on the topic. He combines his years of boots on the ground leading in medicine with his research to teach other leaders practical strategies about how to sharpen their leadership skills in his book.

        In this conversation I have the joy of exploring Josh's own story of self and motivation to write this book. He discusses the practicalities and process of writing and publishing in addition to his personal and professional purpose in sharing the strategy, art and practical application of leadership in healthcare.  In this book he weaves science and story together in a very accessible format making this book both an enjoyable read but an enduring manual to re-visit again and again. We discuss feedback, sponsorship, organisational communication and "aggressive listening" as a leader in addition to leading and caring for self and others. There are many, many leadership books in the world but Josh provides a unique lens and needed prescription for healthcare today and going forward.

Links/References/Further Reading:

Dr Joshua Hartzell 

https://joshuahartzellmd.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshhartzellmd/

Josh's reading recommendations

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0BNKXF3VQ?ref_=mr_direct_us_au_au&showmri

https://danielcoyle.com/the-culture-code/

https://www.hayhouse.com.au/lead-from-the-heart-ebook

The Mind Full Medic Podcast is proudly sponsored by the MBA NSW-ACT Find out more about the charitable organisation supporting doctors and their families and/ or donate today at www.mbansw.org.au

Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.

Welcome to Season 6 Episode 1 of the podcast. This season we will explore the overarching theme of hope as something we intentionally co-create through great strategy and action. I am incredibly honoured to be joined but not one but two "giants" in healthcare clinical leadership, Dr Don Berwick President Emeritus and Senior Fellow at at the Institute for Health Improvement and also special guest co-host Professor Catherine Crock Chair and Founder of the Hush Foundation. ( More complete bios in episode) 

      In this powerful conversation we again use Marshall Ganz's perfect story arc of self, us and now to explore Dr Berwick's own story and journey of healthcare improvement, we discuss how important it is not do this work alone and organise and bring others will us. We learn that there is method in mobilisation as beautifully demonstrated by the success of the 100, 000 lives campaign. Leadership remains the pervasive theme throughout and the call to action extends to all of us in healthcare but particularly to the highest levels of leadership to courage and kindness, to dare greatly, get rid of stupid stuff, deeply listen and engage clinicians and patients and be prepared to change mind and direction with new and involving information. Whilst a short podcast conversation cannot do full justice to the wealth of combined knowledge and wisdom of these two senior clinical leaders, I know you, like I, will gain so much from this one and I encourage you to explore more of the resources we discuss linked below. 

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulder of giants"

Sir Isaac Newton 

Links, References and Recommended Reads :

https://www.ihi.org

https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/ihiturnonthelights

Link to IHI Dr Don Berwick and Dr Jessica Berwick 

]https://youtu.be/kxZl8Kc0-S0?si=iWOdRAmt_rFuCGWN

 The Moral determinants of health

 Berwick DM. The Moral Determinants of Health. JAMA. 2020;324(3):225–226. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.11129

 Dr Don Berwick and Prof Amy Edmondson IHI Patient Safety Conference 2024

https://youtu.be/akLEl9XOA28?si=kMYRwtFo77B7HkU0

The Hush Foundation 

https://www.hush.org.au

 People, Power Change Marshall Ganz

 https://www.hks.harvard.edu/publications/people-power-change-organizing-democratic-renewal

 Sir Michael Marmot The Health Gap 

https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/health-gap-9781408857977/

The Mind Full Medic Podcast is proudly sponsored by the MBA NSW-ACT Find out more about the charitable organisation supporting doctors and their families and/ or donate today at www.mbansw.org.au

Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.