About the Wisdom-Seeking Series
Welcome to the fourth set of episodes of our Wisdom-Seeking Series, a fortnightly set of 90min workshops for experienced GPs to explore the complicated questions in general practice and mental health care. These fortnightly workshops will run on Monday evenings, beginning at 7:30pm (Sydney time).
Each “episode” will start with 30 minutes of a podcast-style conversation between A/Prof Louise Stone and a guest expert. The remaining 30-60 minutes will involve a group exploration of the topics raised, co-facilitated by the episode hosts. Here, the meat of the discussion will come from you: the participants.
These workshops are not Balint groups, nor case discussions, nor clinical supervision. They are something different altogether. The topics are broad, giving participants a chance to share cases without being focussed on a single case. The format of these episodes is designed to promote mutual curiosity and reflexivity, and to help each other develop more nuanced understandings of our role in managing the mental health of our patients.
About Episode 4: Being a “Lady Doctor” (with Dr Nicole Higgins)
This week’s episode will discuss being a “Lady Doctor”. Our community has gendered expectations of doctors . Many assume that “Lady Doctors” are more compassionate, thoughtful, and skilled in mental healthcare; this may contribute to female GPs, on average, having longer and less well-remunerated consultations than male GPs. Considering the comparatively high rates of burnout among young female doctors, how do we best support young doctors struggling with gendered expectations in their community? What could such support look like for doctors in rural and remote areas? How might we ensure that other doctors struggling with gendered expectations, particularly trans and gender diverse doctors, are also supported?
Episode 4 will be co-facilitated by Dr Nicole Higgins. An experienced medical educator and GP supervisor, Nicole supplements her clinical work in Mackay with her roles as the Chair of GP Supervisors Australia, faculty member of RACGP Queensland, Director and Chair of Clinical Governance at North Queensland Private Health Network, and past medical educator for the Remote Vocational Training Scheme. A self-described “ol’ fashioned GP who practices traditional ‘cradle to the grave’ medicine; a family doctor”, she is interested in developing culture and innovation in her workplaces, and believes in the value of community general practices that are responsive to the needs of the community and the GP workforce, over and above the “usual models”. We look forward to hearing her on-the-ground and over-head perspectives on the challenges of managing gender relations and relationships in the context of community general practice.
Accessing the episode
To participate in this episode, or in our upcoming episodes, register your interest here and you will be provided a link to the sessions.
Sustaining the series
In keeping with our philosophy of valuing our own contributions and expertise, we have decided to compensate the facilitators of this series for their time. To learn more about our rates, or to support this endeavour, visit our donations page here.