I had a conversation with A/Prof Magdalena Simonis about her approach, as a General Practitioner, to preventative healthcare and it blew my mind. It's changed my attitude, and I hope, by sharing this conversation that you too are motivated to see your GP and engage in preventative health.

Dr Magdalena Simonis is a leading women’s health expert and advisor and a Senior Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne Department of General Practice, where she develops education resources for GPs. She is a long-standing member of the Expert Committee for Quality Care for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Breast Cancer Network Australia Strategy and Policy Expert Advisory Group. She sits on the Women’s Health Victoria Board and is a Board Director at The Melbourne Teaching Health Clinics (MTHC) at the University of Melbourne . She is on several National Expert Advisory Groups, a Board member, GP, medical educator and examiner.

As promised, here is the link to order a poo test: https://www.cancer.org.au/bowelscreening

Let me know what you thought about my discussion of Chris Voss' "Late night FM DJ voice":

podcast@asa.org.au

In this episode I chat with Dr Alison Jarman, a Melbourne based anaesthetist who has temporarily located to Dili, Timor-Leste on an ASA Pacific Fellowship.

We chat about life and anaesthesia in Timor-Leste and patiently navigating challenges and opportunities.

Dr Jarman has been able to undertake this Fellowship with thanks to Sabbatical Leave from Austin Health (with acknowledgement to the Australian Medical Association for these and other leave entitlements) and the Australian Society of Anaesthetists Overseas Development and Education Committee (ODEC).

To find out more about ODEC, please visit: https://asa.org.au/overseas-development-and-education-committee

Looking for similar episodes? Then I suggest:

Ep105 on another project, led by Dr Pip Lane, that was accomplished with Sabbatical Leave: https://podcasts.captivate.fm/media/2b616ec8-ac3c-4368-9c9b-77b2112500fd/EP105-Dr-Pip-Lane-AAP.mp3

Ep75 where I chat with Dr Moira Rush about her Pacific Fellowship in Fiji: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/e08f0b57-d9d5-486d-9087-760bee48e618.mp3

In Ep99 I chat with A/Prof Rob McDougall about how Lifebox ANZ is improving operating theatre safety in the region. https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/1a56c07f-98e1-4d8c-9f16-4f401b66f500.mp3

Everyone, and I mean everyone - Government, the ASA, AMA, ANZCA and other Colleges - is talking about anaesthesia workforce in Australia. We have a shortage. We have a maldistribution, with not enough anesthetists in regional Australia.

What is the solution? Nurse anaesthetists? Career medical officers? Importing anaesthetists from overseas - otherwise known as International Medical Graduates or IMGs?

In this episode I chat with current ANZCA President (and conflict of interest - my boss at the University of Melbourne) about the process that has recently commenced by the Medical Board of Australia to expedite the recognition of overseas anaesthetists here in Australia.

Find out more about the process here: https://www.anzca.edu.au/getContentAsset/0d0a59e7-0a91-4dfc-bb02-561fae80d398/80feb437-d24d-46b8-a858-4a2a28b9b970/Expedited-SIMG-pathway-ANZCA-information-update-Mar-2025-Final.pdf?language=en

Learn about the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) recommendations to meet the workforce challenge: https://asa.org.au/publications/anaesthetist-workforce-modelling

CPD Home is free to ASA members! Make it easy to stay compliant and fulfill your Continuing Professional Development requirements: https://www.cpdhome.org.au/

Come and listen to Dr Pip Lane, amazing leader, as she describes how she built this amazing service which enables timely intravenous access and reduces needle related trauma in women and children.

I'm not alone in finding this service impressive. It has won many awards in South Australia and nationally.

Two of the big contributors to Dr Lane's success was having Clinical Support/Non-Clinical Time (CST/NCT). Paid Non-Clinical time is a direct result of advocacy undertaken by the Australian Medical Association (AMA)/Australian Salaried Medical Officer's Federation (ASMOF). Show your gratitude for receiving this and other workplace protections by joining the AMA:

https://www.ama.com.au/join-the-ama

The Persuasion and Influence Masterclass is on offer at the 2025 ASA National Scientific Congress. Secure your place (and meet me there!) by registering here:

https://asansc.com.au/

Share and develop your leadership skills by joining WELI. Men and women are welcome. Find out more in Ep83

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/1c43eb90-20ac-4cac-b915-ee46a326f798/

and by visiting

https://ausnzweli.org/

Come Together for the Australian Society of Anaesthetists' National Scientific Congress (NSC) in Canberra.

To be held from Thursday 2nd October - Sunday 5th October. It is during the school holidays for some states, so get those leave requests in, if you haven't already.

Join NSC Convenor Dr Girish Palnitkar as we dive into what makes Canberra so special and what we can look forward to during the NSC.

See you at the Gala Dinner at Parliament House - I can't wait!

Register here: https://asansc.com.au/

Advanced Recovery Room Care (ARRC) is a concept that has changed the way I think about our model of care when it comes to or surgical patients.

Come and meet the man behind the concept, Professor Guy Ludbrook. We discuss his ideas on innovation and dive into ARRC.

Email podcast@asa.org.au for more information or an introduction

Have you ever wondered whether you have made the right career choice?

What if your passion was for a totally different career?

And after graduating from 2 Ivy League universities and achieving success in a highly competitive sub specialty field, could you give it up to follow your passion?

I explore all this and more with Dr Shari Hall who left anaesthesia to fulfill her dreams.

"Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?" Henry David Thoreau

That's the opening quote from this video made by the Cleveland Clinic. I encourage you to watch it.

https://youtu.be/cDDWvj_q-o8?si=OIns_-f4LtyVqWXD

Dr Sarah Lee, an anaesthetist in Melbourne and tour de force in bringing accessible, interesting and practical CPD meetings to you. And they qualify for those hard to get Practice Audit CPD points!

(To be eligible for those points, you'll need to do the pre-meeting survey and participate in the meeting).

The next ADVANCE meeting is on Monday 26th May 2025 and is on thoracic anaesthesia.

Contact us on podcast@asa.org.au for the registration link.

Missed out on the meeting and still want a refresher on thoracic anaesthesia? Refresh the basics and learn some tips in our Anaesthesia Recipe Book - its only for our members and can be found on the ASA website:

https://asa.org.au/asaeducation/anaesthesia-recipe-book

Mentioned in this episode:

Let me know if you're enjoying the podcast

The ASA member survey helps us know if we are delivering content that you find useful. How can we improve? Let us know! The survey closes on Friday 20th June, so don't delay. Look for an email sent by Survey Matters on Monday 26th May. Fill out your anonymous survey and go in the draw to win an NSC package worth up to $4000.