We loved having the endlessly impressive Dr Lily Vrtik on the podcast: A Plastic Surgeon, a Legal advisor, an educator and a member of the Orchestra! Lily is a specialist plastic surgeon who runs a busy private practice based in Brisbane’s northside but also holds a public position at Princess Alexandra Hospital. Clinically, Lily subspecialises in breast surgery and cancer reconstructive surgery. Lily has special interest in the medicolegal area which saw her complete her Law Masters i...

In this episode, we meet the incredible Professor John Fraser and talk to him about his's life's work in Healthcare, Research and Innovation. John is often labelled the Willy Wonka of the Ward because of his energy and enthusiasm for ALLLL the things, and describes Medicine is a privilege and Research as a true honour. John is the Founder and Director of the Critical Care Research Group, the Director of the Intensive Care Unit at St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital and the Founder and C...

Christian Nduwimana was born in Burundi Africa, which is the poorest country in the world. Growing up in a nation ravaged by civil wars, Christian learned firsthand the concept of UBUNTU, which means "I am because you are." After witnessing and speaking out against horrific scenes of extrajudicial killings, Christian became a target of the Burundian regime and was forced to flee. He spent several years in a refugee camp in Uganda. In 2018, Christian was granted a humanitarian visa to co...

Dr Stephen Kodovaru is an Orthopaedic Surgeon currently completing an Orthopaedic fellowship at Queensland Childrens Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Stephen is from the Solomon Islands and was the first graduate of the Pacific Islands Orthopaedic Association training program, which he finished in 2018. Stephen was introduced to us as "An orthopaedic surgeon from the Solomon Islands and outstanding human" and after meeting Stephen, we'd also add: calm, gentle and humble, among other th...

Dr Tiba Alhilal is an International Medical Graduate from Iraq currently living in Australia and searching for a role as a Doctor. Tiba bravely shred her journey so far: since fleeing Iraq when ISIS attacked her city in 2014, finishing her Internship in Baghdad, living and working in Amman and Jordan for 6 years and then moving to Australia. Tiba shared her passion for Medicine, and frustrations faced as an International Medical Graduate trying to secure a job in Australia...

Professor Trent Twomey is the National President of The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and shared with us his experiences navigating what have been some of the most challenging years in the history of community pharmacy. We loved hearing about Trent's love of far north Queensland, and how his professional and personal supports aid his unwavering resilience. Trent passionately shared his mission to advocate for co-designed reform and his pride for the culture within the Pharmacy Guild of Austral...

What a pleasure to interview Xander Van Der Poll. Xander is a South African born, 24 year old medical student studying at Bristol University in the UK. In May 2018, Xander suffered a life-changing injury, leaving him paralysed from his waist down and reliant on a wheelchair for mobility. Despite his new challenges, he has continued with his career in medicine, having recently completed a placement in the Emergency Department at Gold Coast University Hospital. Xander is also a keen...

It was a pleasure to have Dr Bec Jenkinson on the podcast who is a maternity consumer advocate and researcher. After more than 10 years of volunteer work as a maternity consumer rep, Bec completed a PhD exploring refusal of recommended maternity care. She went on to co-lead the development of Queensland Health’s Guideline for partnering with the woman who declines recommended maternity care. Bec shared with us her personal journey as a consumer of obstetric and midwifery care: an experi...

Dr Gerben Keijzers is adjunct Professor of Emergency Medicine. His research revolves around topics relevant to clinical practice in critical care, with special interest in sepsis, appropriateness of antibiotic use and respiratory medicine. We loved chatting with Gerben about what makes him so curious and how this has led to a research career testing how less can be more. Gerben explains what is behind his perceived direct feedback style. Importantly, we also heard what makes Gerben ti...

Professor Ian Coombes and Doctor Judith Coombes are a Pharmacist Dream team from Brisbane, Queensland. With professional career’s full of leadership, education and research and Personal lives filled to the brim with family, friends and adventure, it is Ian and Judith's long ties with Sri Lanka that we loved hearing about during this conversation. Judith and Ian have worked tirelessly (and joyfully) over the last 15 years to build capacity within the Sri Lankan health care system: through edu...

Dr Kendall Sharpe is a Dermatologist on the Gold Coast, having just completed her training. Kendall is an accomplished Doctor, Researcher, Educator and Clinician. She is passionate about environmental sustainability, holistic medicine, ethical and evidence based skin care and procedures. We loved hearing Kendall's views on what drew her to Dermatology, just how long the journey is to where she is today and what the sacrifices looked like along the way. We also gained some insight into Kendal...

James Fletcher is an exercise physiologist, physiotherapist and breathing specialist and is the founder of businesses called Fletcher Techniques and Safe and Healthy. We loved the roller coaster ride that was our conversation with James as we unpacked his journey thus far. James has worked with some of the planet's leading athletes across a multitude of sports in helping them bring science to their breath and boost performance through respiratory muscle training. James spent years working wi...

Dimity Dornan AO is a Speech Pathologist, Author, Businesswoman and the 2003 Australian of the Year for Queensland. We loved hearing from Dimity about her experience as the first speech pathology graduate at the University of Queensland and the first speech pathologist to work at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. What an incredible journey Dimity has had through 30 years of service as the founder of the Hear and Say Centre for Deaf Children. Her legacy: enabling thousands of deaf children to hear ...

Dr Brooke Bullock, our podcast co-host and everyday superwoman has been nominated for a business award so it felt like the perfect time for me to interview her about what exactly makes her tick so damn productively. Brooke is an advanced pharmacist, a dual business owner, has completed a PhD, is a wonderful mum to two little girls and even manages to exude some contradictory hippie vibes on her weekends with her family, traveling in their caravan. We talk about all these thi...

In this episode, we chat with Dr Rachel Martin who is a Senior Registrar working in the Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. We loved hearing about Rachel’s impressive career and her love of working in Intensive Care. Rachel also shared with us her harrowing experience in 2012 when her now-husband Curtis McGrath lost both his legs whilst serving as an engineer with the Australian Army in Afghanistan in 2012. In the moments after the accident, incredibly both...

Lisa Hill is a Senior Pharmacist working at Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service. We loved chatting with Lisa as she shared her unique story about her experience navigating her older brother Tim's metastatic bowel cancer diagnosis and passing in 2015. Throughout this experience, both Lisa and her brother Tim had a profound reconnection with their Christian faith which is now an extremely important part of who Lisa is. We talk about Lisa's passion for her work, winning overseas trips, assu...

Season 2 is here and we are setting off with a bang with the formidable Dr Ben Bravery. At the age of 28, Ben woke from a colonoscopy to be told he had stage 3 colorectal cancer. At that time Ben was living and working as a zoologist in China having met his now wife only 5 months prior. Ben's experience as a Cancer patient was confronting and he bravely shared with us some extremely vulnerable moments during his eighteen months of treatment, including aggressive chemotherapy. Impo...

What a privilege it was to speak with 2020 Australian of the Year, Dr James Muecke. James is an Australian ophthalmologist working in Adelaide, South Australia whose life’s work has been to treat and prevent Blindness with a strong focus on improving outcomes in underprivileged communities in Australia, but also Africa and Asia. James shared his experiences of working in Kenya and Jerusalem in his early years as a Doctor and how many sliding door moments shaped his career. We loved hearing ab...

It was such a huge pleasure to sit down and talk with Dr Nemat Alsaba. Nemat is an emergency physician at Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service and Assistant Professor in Medical Education at Bond University. She is passionate about Geriatric Medicine, Interprofessional education and bringing people together. Nemat shared with us her journey of being born in Saudi Arabia, moving to the USA and how she eventually ended up living and working on the Gold Coast, Australia. Nemat is a proud Musli...

What a huge pleasure it was to chat with Dr. Christine Park. Christine is a Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and Clinical Medicine, the Director of Immersive Education Strategies and the Director of the Simulation and Integrative Learning at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Christine reflected on her Career as a literature Major to now working in Anaesthesiology (or Anaesthetics if you're an Aussie) and Simulation. She shared her initial regret in studying medicine u...