The Under Pressure Podcast

We're back! Kicking things back off with an interview with all round gun Oli Walsh. Oli is an intensive care and retrieval specialist in Canberra.

In this chat we delve into a couple of cases that have stayed with Oli and from there go into his processes under pressure and how he bounces back from high stress situations.

We split things up into 3 phases to explore his approaches in more detail:

- Pre performance

- During performance

- Post performance

This ep has a lot of great practical information and there were some amazing takeaways about how to process high pressure situations and get back to your best.

Disclaimer: names, dates and other details have been changed about patient stories to maintain confidentiality.

If you enjoyed this ep please share it along!

We're back! Dr Dean Miller PhD is a sleep and exercise scientist who specialises in working with high performers to optimise their performance and recovery for when it matters most.

Dean works with organisations such as the Royal Australian Airforce and the Australian Institute of Sport.

In this chat Dean and I explore

- Sleep fundamentals and what most people overlook about the easy ways to optimise their sleep

- The conceptual models of sleep cycles and how to adjust our own sleep cycles when we need to

- Practical approaches to managing sleep for shift work!

This chat is aimed at healthcare professionals and shift workers in general, but there are definitely plenty of great insights here for anyone interested in how to get the most out of their Zs.

Researchers mentioned:

Charlotte Gupta - Sleep and nutrition

Carissa Gardiner - Caffeine's effects on sleep

Dr Aruna Shivam is an emergency and careflight consultant, medical educator, administrator, violin player, and much more, based in the NT.

After completing the majority of her medical training in Sydney she came up to the NT and has never looked back. Aruna works across the NT as well as overseas, and having had the pleasure of working with and being supervised by her this year, I couldn't wait to get her insights on her approaches to managing pressure!

In this chat we delve into:

- Aruna's journey to the NT and finding her "niche" in medicine

- Her approaches to dealing with pressure in resuscitation situations + preparing for exams

- Her insights on dealing with unwanted stereotypes that still pervade medicine about what a leader is thought to look like

- Her approaches to managing yourself and reflecting on difficult situations

There are so many great takeaways from this chat that I found incredibly valuable and hope you do too!

If you enjoy the episode please leave us a review, and follow along for reels of key moments from the interview + snippets from upcoming episodes on instagram at:

@under_pressure_podcast

Following on from his previous interview, this bonus episode is made up of edited cuts from the full chat with Dr Luke Streitberg.

Our original chat went for close to 4 hours and solely in the interest of time there was a lot that was cut to put out the last episode!

The feedback on Luke's previous episode was amazing with so many people messaging in to say how much they resonated with Luke's story.

In this bonus ep, we cover:

- Luke's time in emergency medicine and why he left

Luke's advice to juniors on:

- Navigating career paths in medicine

- Making inevitable mistakes

- The key "soft" skills to focus on as a junior doc

- Supporting each other and looking after yourself in the hospital system

Please note there's some overlap with our previous interview but there are a lot of great pearls of wisdom here that weren't covered previously!

If you havent listened to our first interview please check that out here too:

https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/MevwQmNX4Kb

And please follow along at our instagram page where we'll be putting out more content in the coming weeks:

@under_pressure_podcast

Dr Luke Streitberg is a forensic medicine specialist and GP who currently heads up The Canberra Hospital's DPET (Department of Prevocational Education and Training).

In short terms, he looks out for all the junior docs in the hospital.

Luke previously spent many years working in the prison system, where a tragic case ended with him leaving prison medicine. Luke opens up in this chat about his path back to where he is now and how his darkest moments led him to realise what it takes to offer meaningful support to others going through the same.

We discuss:

- Luke's journey as a Junior doctor

- His time in the prison system providing care to some of the most vulnerable in the community

- His worst moments and the overwhelming pressures of medicine when things go wrong

- How Luke found his way back to now be an incredible source of support for so many

This episode was recorded at the end of last year towards the end of my time as an intern (1st year out Doc), and I can't thank Luke enough for being so open and honest in this conversation which I got a lot out of and hope you do too!

In part 2 of the discussion with Dr Scott Brennan, he discusses his transition away from Olympic rowing towards medicine and his first few years as a junior doctor and critical care registrar training in both emergency and anaesthetics.

We cover

- Scott's first years as a junior doctor and lessons learned

- His time as an emergency registrar and why he decided to pursue anaesthetics training

- Scott's failures in medicine which he very kindly discusses candidly, in addition to his decision making process as a father

- Scott's philosophy for approaching goals using his ideas of radical curiosity and courage + living for one's "guidestone"

- Our shared experiences in Nepal and how these times shaped our lives and careers

Thanks for listening! We’d love to hear what you think - share your thoughts and let us know what resonated with you the most. We're looking at making this podcast solely focused towards junior docs and med students but any ideas for guests outside of medicine are always welcome!

Some nuggets of goodness from episode 1 with Olympic gold medallist and emergency and anaesthetics Doc Dr Scott Brennan for those in a hurry.

Scott explores his approach for analysing failures in sport and medicine followed by his internal drive that has pushed him to the highest levels of success.

For the full chat check out episode 1!

Dr Scott Brennan is an Australian Olympic gold medal-winning rower who went on to train in Emergency Medicine and Anaesthetics.

In the inaugural episode of the "Under Pressure" podcast, he sits down to dive into his amazing journey.

- Scott dives into the profound lessons learned from his journey through pain barriers and high-stakes competition, from training for international regattas to the Beijing Olympics.

- Hear a deeply personal account of Scott's commitment to a vow made in honor of a mentor, and how it propelled him to Olympic victory despite physical and emotional trials.

- Learn from Scott’s candid reflection on managing pressure through performance psychology, with insights on the importance of staying present and the role of internal motivators.

- Scott opens up about the lasting impact of failing in both sports and academics, shedding light on how radical curiosity and honest introspection can shape one’s approach to life's pursuits.

- Gain inspiration from Scott’s unique perspective on transitioning from an Olympic athlete to navigating life's challenges.

Scott's narrative is not just about rowing; it's a profound account of facing doubt and finding ways of performing under the highest levels of pressure within high-stress environments.

This is part 1 of our chat - part 2 focused more on Scott's journey within medicine, coming soon!