Medical Mums chat

Dr Emily Amos is a GP and Board Certified Lactation Consultant who has walked a meandering path through medicine. Always intrigued by the role of mind/body complex in health she had already begun to pursue qualifications in yoga and meditation when she herself burnt out in clinical medicine in 2019. Using the outlet of blogging during her recovery she reflected on the path that lead her to burning out and how she could see many of her colleagues in similar states of distress. Now a qualified yoga and meditation teacher, she runs courses specifically for doctors to help them to understand how mastering skills such as mindfulness and self compassion can in fact make us not only happier, calmer people but also help us to better deal with the demands of this often challenging profession. You can find out more about Emily’s courses or read her blogs via her website www.dremilyamos.com We encourage anyone who recognises their own burnout while listening to seek some support and here is a list of places you might start.  http://www.dhaswa.com.au/ https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/the-essential-network/ https://theburnoutproject.com.au/ https://drolivialeeong.com/ https://wholeheartedmedicine.com.au/ Lifeline 131114 Please send through any resources you recommend and I will update this list in an ongoing manner. mmamtbpods@gmail.com

In this episode Dr Bek Ledingham chats to Dr Talat Uppal about Heavy menstrual bleeding in a peri-menopausal woman. We recorded it on World Menopause day we aim to share up to date information about managing this common problem that often does not get the attention it deserves.  Key take home messages-  1) Initiate treatment of symptomatic women at the first visit  2) Order pelvic ultrasound day 5-10 of cycle 3) Mirena is the most effective management option 4) Uterus sparing surgical procedures are preferred to hysterectomy.  References mentioned during the show  https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/publications-and-resources/resource-library/heavy-menstrual-bleeding-clinical-care-standard-2017 https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-a-z/menopause?gclid=Cj0KCQjwtrSLBhCLARIsACh6RmgRy9D2b18efnY6i4-2CiA4us-55aTwNLLQXUBegh9VJuwDn6gPGfwaAkbvEALw_wcB https://ranzcog.edu.au/womens-health/patient-information-resources/heavy-menstrual-bleeding https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/patients/patient-information-leaflets/recovering-well/endometrial-ablation-for-print.pdf http://oxfordstmedical.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Mirena-Information-Booklet.pdf https://ranzcog.edu.au/RANZCOG_SITE/media/RANZCOG-MEDIA/Women%27s%20Health/Patient%20information/Hysterectomy-pamphlet.pdf?ext=.pdf http://www.cincyobgyn.com/webdocuments/novasure-brochure.pdf ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dr Talat Uppal is an Obstetrician & Gynaecologist who currently works both at the Northern Beaches and Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospitals as a Visiting Medical Officer. She is the Director of Women’s Health Road, and has set up an innovative integrated multidisciplinary ‘Journey’ model with a strong family centred approach to maternity care. www.womenshealthroad.com.au She is also a Clinical Senior lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Northern Medical School, University of Sydney. Her previous, decade long role was based at Manly and Mona Vale Hospitals, as a Senior Obstetrics Staff Specialist and Clinical Director of Women’s, Children & Family health. She is the past Chair of both the NSW State Reference Committee and NSW RANZCOG Education Subcommittee She is a Fellow of the Australian Association for Quality in Health Care as well as a Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Management She is the ex  joint co-ordinator of Diploma (DRANZCOG) OSCE examination as her special interest is supporting the role of General Practitioners in the Women’s health context. She is an RANZCOG media spokesperson. She is fluent in 3 languages and has much overseas exposure with volunteer teaching work.

In our final episode in the Burnout series we meet Dr Kim Kilov, joining us all the way from Copenhagen, Denmark. She chats with Bek Ledingham about her decision to leave medicine as an advanced trainee in paediatrics and what life is like now. Kim says.. After 6 years in clinical medicine I became increasingly burnout. After pushing through for over a year, I hit a wall and realised I needed to make change for my health and wellbeing. It took over a year to recover but during this time I moved to Stockholm in 2019 to complete a Masters in Global Health.  This opened a  whole new world of opportunities within the health care field.  I landed up in Copenhagen, Denmark where I am now based.  I currently work as a Clinical Project Manager for a health tech company  which focus on clinical trials and patient-centred care.  It has been a challenging journey over the past few years, with a lot of emotional highs and lows, but I can now say I am completely content with my decision to take a different path.  I have found a new career that is both fulfilling and balanced and I haven’t looked back! We encourage anyone who recognises their own burnout while listening to seek some support and here is a list of places you might start.  http://www.dhaswa.com.au/ https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/the-essential-network/ https://theburnoutproject.com.au/ https://drolivialeeong.com/ https://wholeheartedmedicine.com.au/ Lifeline 131114 Please send through any resources you recommend and I will update this list in an ongoing manner. mmamtbpods@gmail.com

In this episode Bek Ledingham talks to to Professor Gordon Parker about Burnout.  Professor Gordon Parker AO is Scientia Professor of Psychiatry, UNSW, was Founder of the Black Dog Institute and its initial Executive Director, Head of the School of Psychiatry at UNSW and Director of the Division of Psychiatry at Prince of Wales Hospital. His positions with the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists include being Editor of its Journal. Positions with legal organisations include the NSW Guardianship Board and the NSW Administrative Appeals Tribunal. In 2004 he received a Citation Laureate as the Australian Scientist most highly cited in Psychiatry/Psychology’. In 2018 he received the prestigious James Cook Medal from the Royal Society of New South Wales and was afinalist for the NSW Senior Australian of the Year. He . recipient of the 2020 Australian Mental Health Prize. His research has focussed on the mood disorders. He has published 23 books and over 1,000 scientific reports. His first of fiction was published in 1966 and his latest novel (“In Two Minds”) in 2017. In the 60’s, he wrote for The Mavis Bramston Show and OZ Magazine, was an ABC Science broadcaster, a book reviewer for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian, and in 2004 had a play (“Personality Games”) produced by La Mama in Melbourne. His autobiography “A Piece of My Mind: A Psychiatrist on the Couch” was published in 2012. His co-authored book on Burnout (Burnout: A Guide to Identifying Burnout and Patterns to Recovery) was published in July 2021.

In this episode Bek Ledingham chats to Amy Imms about Burnout.  A doctor with a special interest in burnout counselling, mother of 5 and the creator of The Burnout Project. www.theburnoutproject.com.au She shares with us her experience of burnout, what she did to get through it, life after burnout and her tips for getting through.  We encourage anyone who recognises their own burnout while listening to seek some support and here is a list of places you might start.  http://www.dhaswa.com.au/ https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/the-essential-network/ https://theburnoutproject.com.au/ https://drolivialeeong.com/ https://wholeheartedmedicine.com.au/ Lifeline 131114 Please send through any resources you recommend and I will update this list in an ongoing manner. mmamtbpods@gmail.com

In this episode we talk to Dr Olivia Ong who we've already met in Medical Mums chat. She shares her burnout experience and has just released a book on burnout. Find more information at https://drolivialeeong.com/ Here's what Olivia says about burnout.  I was told I would never walk again. In 2008, I was walking to work when I was hit by a car travelling 60 km an hour. The impact rendered me a paraplegic. I spent 2 years in a wheelchair and was told I’d never be able to walk again. But I was resilient and never gave up hope. I spent 2 years in Project Walk, San Diego and I did learn to walk again with grit, determination, and the support of my husband, family, and close friends. I’d learnt what it was like to be a patient on the other side of the healthcare system and when I returned to Melbourne, I threw myself into my new private practice in rehabilitation and pain medicine. I became a mum and continued my studies. But the combination of living with a spinal cord injury, motherhood, full-time work, and studying for fellowship exams exhausted me. I ignored the warning signs, feeling that burnout was a sign of vulnerability and weakness. I just keep pushing through. Until eventually, I was burned out. I have visions of the doctor and mother I want to be. Deep down I knew there's got to be a way which I can build my career while growing my family, and become the leader and mother I envision myself to be without the burnout. I was determined to find the way, and I did. We encourage anyone who recognises their own burnout while listening to seek some support and here is a list of places you might start.  http://www.dhaswa.com.au/ https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/the-essential-network/ https://theburnoutproject.com.au/ https://drolivialeeong.com/ https://wholeheartedmedicine.com.au/ Lifeline 131114 Please send through any resources you recommend and I will update this list in an ongoing manner. mmamtbpods@gmail.com

Dr Clare Skinner is a specialist emergency physician with interests in leadership, advocacy, workplace culture, quality and safety, clinical redesign and health system reform. Her current areas of focus include transformation of the emergency department workforce, improving care of people with mental health symptoms, building positive culture in hospitals, and fostering diversity and inclusion in health services. Clare works as a clinician, manager and educator. She is a frequent contributor to academic journals, mainstream media and medical blogs on topics related to hospital practice and culture. Clare is a regular speaker at emergency medicine and leadership conferences. She was selected in the Top 50 Public Sector Women NSW in 2018. In this chat with Bek Ledingham, she shares her experiences with burnout and tips for anyone who may be feeling burnout. They also realise that without the tyranny of distance and pandemic border restrictions, they should really catch up in real life ASAP.  Thanks so much Clare.  You can find more about Clare and all her various interests and achievements at www.clareskinner.com We encourage anyone who recognises their own burnout while listening to seek some support and here is a list of places you might start.  http://www.dhaswa.com.au/ https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/the-essential-network/ https://theburnoutproject.com.au/ https://drolivialeeong.com/ https://wholeheartedmedicine.com.au/ Lifeline 131114 Please send through any resources you recommend and I will update this list in an ongoing manner. mmamtbpods@gmail.com

In this episode Bek Ledingham introduces a series of chats about a topic that she is more acquainted with than she would like to be, and thinks we should talk about more, particularly after the 18 months we have just endured in health.  You see- Bek has realised she is burnt out. It's been a long road to get here, but it's time to make some changes. So she set on a journey to meet other people who've experienced burn out to find out what it looks like, what helps people recover, what life after burnout is like and get some tips for anyone else who may be going through it.  Thanks so much to Penny and Danelle for sharing their stories in this first episode.  Dr Penny Alexander is a Dermatologist who reflects on a time she suffered burnout and how she made it through.  Dr Danelle Ward, a specialist Obstetrician/Gynaecologist is still working her way through burnout and was very generous with her time and raw emotion to share the important lessons she is learning along the way.  In the other episodes we will chat to other medical mums who've experienced burnout, some of whom who have changed direction in their work to help others going through it.  We also meet Prof Gordon Parker, a psychiatrist from UNSW who co-authored book on Burnout (Burnout: A Guide to Identifying Burnout and Patterns to Recovery) was published in July 2021. Finally we will meet Kim Kilov who after completing her paediatric fellowship exams recognising her burnout made the decision to leave medicine. She talks to us about making that decision and the exciting path she finds herself on now.   We encourage anyone who recognises their own burnout while listening to seek some support and here is a list of places you might start.  http://www.dhaswa.com.au/  https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/the-essential-network/  https://theburnoutproject.com.au/  https://drolivialeeong.com/  https://wholeheartedmedicine.com.au/  Lifeline 131114  Please send through any resources you recommend and I will update this list in an ongoing manner. mmamtbpods@gmail.com

This episode we chat to Dr Kim Loo, eco warrior, medical mum and doctor. Here we chat to Kim about how air pollution is affecting our health in Australia, and the role we can play to combat climate change. Here is Kim's story- I a mum of 2 children. Alex age 21 and Sydney age 16. We are a family of climate warriors. I am currently the NSW chair of Doctors for the Environment. And on the council of NSW AMA. I grew up in Western Sydney and have been working for 32 years. 28 years in primary care.

Olivia Ong is a medical mum, speaker, upcoming author, heart centred medical leadership coach and spinal cord injury survivor. Olivia works 1:1 with her clients who are high achieving doctors burnout from overwork, exhausted with low energy and guilty of not spending time with family to become heart centred leaders so that they feel balanced, and energised at the end of a long day with more personal time off and be at peace with their parenting. She loves seeing the transformation in her clients, from overwhelmed to fulfilled and leading the heart centred lives they truly deserve with no apology. Olivia is a keynote speaker and has spoken on the virtual stages on her signature talks “How self-compassion has helped me rediscover my self-worth.” And “Burnout in doctors through the eyes of self-compassion.” When Olivia is not at work, she enjoys dining and catching up with her friends and loves good food! Free resources: https://drolivialeeong.com/imposter-syndrome-pdf/ For more support, please contact Olivia through her website.

Bec Young and Bek Ledingham are back to chat about what we're watching. A touch of Australiana in this episode as Bek discusses ‘Wakefield’ (iView), and ‘The Merger’ (Netflix), and 'Old Person's home for 4 year olds' (iView) and Bec reminds everyone about ‘Bump’ (Stan). Bec again tries to sign Bek up to Binge so she can watch ‘Mare of Easttown’ (Binge). Both Becks swoon as they recall the joy and the heartbreak of ‘It’s a Sin’ (Stan).

Coming from “one of the worst schools in NSW” Kim managed to get out of her small town and into the weirdest collection of careers known to man before finally stumbling onto medical wife 😂. Come listen in on Kim's story about raising a neurodiverse child, while also navigating a twin IVF pregnancy, being an LGBTQI advocate, and how these experiences have inspired her to start a programme providing support workers to families in similar situations.

Medical mums chat all things finance in this episode. Nada Hamad interviews Dev Raga, a Melbourne GP and podcaster who has a passion for personal finance and discusses common financial topics on his podcast 'Dev Rage Personal Finance' https://open.spotify.com/show/6CDoa2XvRKH4djwG3noPfw. Topics ranges from saving, investing, debt reduction, personal insurance and many more topics.

This episode we chat to Anita Vandyke - rocket scientist, medical mum and published author. Anita has published 2 books on living sustainably. Her first book, a Zero Waste Life has won gold at the International Nautilus Book Awards. For more on Anita, hop on to her website www.anitavandyke.com or her instagram @rocket_science.

TW surgical procedures and complications and mental health. On this episode we chat with Alison, a GP registrar, mum of 3 gorgeous babes, lover of nature, and curious about life. Alison has bravely decided to talk to us about her experience with surgical complications after a mammoplasty, and how she dealt with them.

Bek Ledingham chats to author, anaesthetist, mum and self publisher Emerald in this episode about her massive effort self publishing the gorgeous children's book I will always come home to you. This book has a treasured place on the bookshelves of 3000 medical mums and dads around the country.  Emerald is an advanced trainee in Anaesthetics, currently on a retrieval rotation with LifeFlight and RFDS while studying for fellowship exams. She lives in Brisbane's suburbia with her husband, 8yo daughter, dog, cat and 4 chickens. Emerald's self published book, "I will always come home to you", was conceived when she was studying for primary exams and had to move away from her family. It took 18 months to write, illustrate and publish and has now sold almost 3000 copies across 5 countries. Emerald is also a multi award winning cake decorator with plans to tackle the cake competition circuit in 2021.

In this episode Cheryl Choong chats to Dr Sarah Arachchi who relocated in the midst of the COVID pandemic to the USA for her husband's fellowship.  Sarah is a Paediatrician from Melbourne who is also a mum to two boys currently overseas for her husband’s medical fellowship. She loves baking, catching up with friends and of course anything to do with medical mums!

Our first ever in depth interview, Bek Ledingham, Rural generalist and medical educator from Broome WA chats to two of her favourite women who both have some impressive runs on the board in Medical leadership.  Lucie Walters- Lucie Walters is the Director of Adelaide Rural Clinical School. Her experience in rural medical educational leadership spans across the continuum from vocational, and prevocational arenas to medical school longitudinal integrated clinical placements. She was instrumental in developing Australia's reputation for longitudinal integrated clerkships, contributing particularly to Flinders University, Otago University and University of Northern Ontario programs. Lucie has worked as a rural generalist in Mount Gambier since 1993 with clinical scope during this time covering: general practice, emergency medicine and inpatient care. She currently works in Aboriginal health at Pangula Mannamurna. With a PhD in medical education, Lucie recognises the importance in educational scholarship and context relevant rural clinical research.  Lucie is passionate about improving the health outcomes of rural people through the education, training and professional support of rural doctors. She is past President of the Australian College or Rural and Remote Medicine.  Sarah Chalmers- Dr Sarah Chalmers is the current ACRRM president. She worked in East Arnhem Land for 15 years, before moving to North Queensland in 2019. She has worked in private general practice, hospitals and remote Aboriginal communities and homelands in the Northern Territory and is now working as an Rural Generalist in Winton in Western Queensland. She has always been interested in medical education, teaching medical students at Flinders University in the Northern Territory, and is now at James Cook University.  She also enjoys teaching and supervising registrars.  Her clinical interests include remote practice, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, occupations and DNA sports medicine. We chat about leadership, mentors, signing up for things that scare you and Life as one big dress up party.  There is plenty of wisdom and lashings of fun in this podcast and I hope you enjoy.

Recorded just before Christmas 2020 Bec Young & Bek Ledingham chat about what we'd been watching.  Legit good- Queens Gambit  So bad it's good (for Bek anyway) Prom  Left field recommendations- Bec recommends The Flight Attendant- Binge                                             Bek recommends Special - Netflix. For future episodes we'd love to have Medical Mums chat about what we're watching, reading and listening to.  If you'd like to co-host an episode with Bec, let us know. 

We had a slight technical issue with our intro episode which means you can only listen on Spotify.  Here it is again so everyone can be introduced - wherever they're listening.  So, we've decided to give a podcast a red hot go. Meet some of our foundation team on this episode and hear about why we wanted to move into the world of podcasting. We would love you to get involved, please get in touch. This episode you will hear a little bit about... Cheryl Choong - rural generalist, skin cancer and skin care aficionado, mum, Korean drama enthusiast, proud WOC. Clair Stafford- Medical Student and mum to a beautiful little girl, plus pregnant with boy/girl twins! Also loves cats. Nada Hamad- Haematologist, intersectional feminist, president of ANZTCT and mother of amazing girls. Bec Young - orthopaedic surgical assistant, and mum of 3 primary school aged children. A worker bee who loves to chat, and loves to listen as she goes about her busy life! & Bek Ledingham- Rural Generalist, Eternal Optimist, Unexpected online choir director and super proud Mum and sibling band manager...amongst other things. Watch this space for future Medical mums chat instalments. Thanks to talented medical mum Kristen Dang for the gorgeous cover art.