It’s April! For some of us it already feels like we’ve come through 2020 and out the other side, but we’re all taking this one step at a time together.

I want to extend my deep, deep gratitude to the Human Books who joined during March - everybody is exhausted from scrambling to save society at the moment, and it would have been understandable if we had had no new additions to the library this month.

Health issues may be communal issues requiring communal solutions, but in it can be difficult for people who are not health professionals to understand how to support and engage with efforts to address a health crisis. It is impracticable and ineffective for healthcare professionals to carry sole responsibility for addressing the crisis and maintain their pre-existing responsibilities. However, outside of the healthcare world, I have seen people swamped by confusion and misinformation, preventing them from understanding how to support efforts to address the crisis.

This is why I am continuing this project, even now. It is crucial to maintain information bridging services between the healthcare world and broader society, so that better policy, public awareness and behaviours, and supports are available to healthcare professionals. This is why I am so grateful to the Human Books who were able to spare time to confirm their bios with me - it’s a small thing, but it’s meaningful.

• A/Prof. Peter Schattner - a distinguished “semi-retiree”, A/Prof Schattner is a cornerstone of research into evidence-based practice and the use of ICT in primary care. An educator with over 30 years’ experience, he has been influential in primary care education and research.

• Prof. Merilyn Liddell - Prof. Liddell has an extensive background in education, business, and academic leadership, having led the academic development of the Malaysia campus of Monash university, and expanded the capability of RMIT International University Vietnam in her role as former President and Chief Executive/Executive Director.

• A/Prof. Craig Hassed - a prolific writer and educator, A/Prof. Hassed has been at the forefront of efforts to integrate mindfulness and mind/body medicine meaningfully into primary care research and education. Although he has published in fields such as epigenetics and psychoneuroimmunology, some of his most influential work is in meditation and mindfulness education and research.

• Dr. Liz Sturgiss - a prestigious researcher in areas of complex health issues and stigma, Dr. Sturgiss is deeply invested in implementation research in primary care, leading the Therapeutic Alliance in General Practice research project, as well as development of The Change Program. Many of our Human Books will have recently hearing regular updates from Dr. Sturgiss in her role as Conference and Professional Development Chair of AAAPC 2020, slated to go online in August.

• Prof. Grant Russell - Prof. Grant Russell is an influential voice in primary care reform and refugee health, currently leading OPTIMISE and CPI of IMPACT. Like Dr. Sturgiss, our Human Books will likely see more of him in August through his role on the Executive Committee of AAAPC 2020, as the Primary Care Research, Policy, and Advocacy Chair.

And to all who read this, whether you’re on our shelves or not: thank you for supporting the Living Library, even as we all adjust to strange and uncertain times. Over the next few months we will be aiming not only to maintain this site as a point of contact for media to seek health expertise, but also to create a directory of references and supports for healthcare workers themselves. We want to make this service work for you, so please don’t hesitate to let us know if there’s any way our project can be refined and adjusted.

Welcome welcome welcome, this month has seen a massive expansion of the database, with some true stars of general practice joining the shelves. We are honoured to be able to engage with every single Accessible Expert - from seasoned policy-makers to young registrars alike, we believe that every Human Book has lived experiences to share, and we’re thrilled to provide an equalising platform for this community of educators and advocates.

Welcome to the shelf!

• Dr Elizabeth (Libby) Hindmarsh, though now retired from clinical practice, maintains her position as one of the most recognisable GPs working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, women’s health, and domestic violence. A truly prolific educator and advocate, her bio needs to be read in full for an accurate understanding of her influence

• Dr. Olga Ward is a pillar of rural clinical education. When not in her clinics with the Rural Health Outreach Foundation, she is incredibly active in her education and mentoring, maintaining a particular soft spot for rural generalists.

• A/Prof Grant Blashki is a formidable Mental Health and Global Health Advocate. His projects are too many and varied to list in this brief overview, but suffice to say his passion for advocacy and education mean that many of you will likely recognise his projects.

• Dr. Wei-May Su is a truly balanced clinical and academic GP, with a passion for complex care and mental health that led her to her role as Academic Lead at HETI. She works both in education for health professionals and education for the community in understanding complex issues and avenues for psychotherapeutic supports and care.

• Dr. Mary Beth MacIsaac is a passionate grassroots advocate who has a thorough background in quality improvement in general practice. Her work has spanned urban and rural areas, Canadian and Australian towns, and she brings this perspective to her education and advocacy roles.

• Prof. Jane Gunn has a list of projects and involvements in general practice policy that is too long to appropriately summarise in this short space. Many of you will know her face, or recognise her name, but her sphere of influence spans an astonishingly broad field of research and policy reform of which I was heretofore unaware.

• Prof. Steve Trumble is a distinguished GP educator whose work in GP culture and curriculum reform have formed the basis of his international advocacy. His projects span a range of clinical, publishing, educational, and advisory roles, many of which will be familiar to most of you in one way or another.

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Do you know a GP whose hard work deserves to be known?

Get in touch with us at gplivinglibrary@gmail.com to nominate a GP you know, or fill in our form here if you’d like us to consolidate your own online profile into a single, searchable bio!

We understand that impostor syndrome can make it difficult to put yourself forward - so don’t be afraid to nominate a GP mentor or educator who shaped your own experiences. From academic to clinical expertise, we want to emphasise the ways that your lived experiences give you unique perspectives on primary care. We want a diverse cast and crew, and we particularly want to celebrate work done within communities as much as national projects.

A happy (if belated) 2020 to all!

We have had an incredible response over the holidays, even as GPs across the country have uprooted to contribute to bushfire relief and advocacy. Our hearts go out to those who had to leave their homes, and we admire the strength of those who stayed behind. The fires have caused a vigorous discourse within (and outside of) the health community, and it is

Now to welcome our newest human books!

• Dr. Suresh Khirwadkar

  • Suresh takes a generalist approach to clinical practice. He uses his passion for communication to deliver videos, tweets, and blogs as The Honest Doctor to address common questions and misconceptions patients have in the clinic.

• Dr. Vinh Tran

  • Vinh is passionate about psychology and the wellbeing of health workers. As a medical motivational speaker, he delivers content online and in workshops to teach skills to develop and support biopsychosocial health and wellbeing of healthcare workers.

• Dr. Saba Qutub

  • Saba is a GP who also practices as a cosmetic physician and Integrative Medicine specialist, focussing on a holistic approach to health. She is currently undertaking advanced training in Nutritional and Environmental Medicine.

• Dr. Farnoush Nia

  • Farnoush specialises in women’s health and children’s health, and is very active in the GP community. She often shares stories of what it means to be a clinician day-to-day through her hashtag #LifeasFarnoush in GPDU, and is currently writing a book of the same name to dispel some of the myths of general practice.

• Dr. Kelsey Hegarty

  • Kelsey is a prominent voice in Domestic Violence research and advocacy, holding positions as the joint Chair of Family Violence Prevention at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Women’s Hospital, co-chair of the Melbourne Research Alliance to End Violence Against Women, and co-director of the Safer Families Centre. She has led research and development on multiple abuse and violence clinical tools.

• Dr. Gwendoline (Wendy) Burton

  • Wendy specialises in maternal and prenatal, perinatal, and antenatal care, as well as teaching and mentoring of fellow GPs. Wendy has used her expertise and passion for advocacy to start Maternity Matters (a blog providing healthcare providers and consumers with information on maternity) and GPs Can (a social media campaign to promote the positive side of general practice).

• Dr. Jenny May, AM

  • Jenny is a fierce advocate for rural and remote general practice, who uses her mentoring and supervision of GP registrars to engage her research interest in rural medical workforce issues. The RDAA representative on the NHRA, and the Director of the University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health, her voice represents over 20 years of rural experience across Australia.

• Dr. Karen Price

  • Karen has used her positions as a business owner, past chair of the Women in General Practice (Vic Faculty), and current Deputy Chair of RACGP (Vic Faculty) to promote women’s leadership and peer connections in general practice. As a co-founder of GPs Down Under, she is able to engage her interests in informal learning networks and supervision models.

• Dr. Tim Senior

  • Tim is at the forefront of GP climate advocacy, with clinical interests in the sociological factors that contribute to health issues. A pioneer in crowdfunding approaches to health writing, he uses his social media expertise to advocate for policy and environmental reform.

• Dr. Teah Mogae

  • Teah focusses primarily on neonatal, paedriatic, and shared antenatal care, and runs Losika Writes - a project aiming to increase the availability of afro-linguistically diverse preschool literature

Welcome all!

We have even more books queued up to launch February, with a whole new slew of content to look forward to. I’m so excited to share them with you, so make sure you stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled, and remember - there’s always space for you on our shelves!

Happy December!

With the end of the year looming larger than ever, I’m very pleased to introduce you all to the following finalised human books:

• Dr. Cheryl Choong

• Dr. Graeme Kay

Both hailing from Queensland, Dr. Choong holds her clinical interest in skin cancer medicine, and Dr. Kay specialises in hyperbaric medicine. I’m so excited to have them on board as people with unique experiences of travel and emergency medicine, but even though they’re both GPs in Queensland with rural experience, their careers are going in completely different directions and they themselves are at different stages. It’s incredibly gratifying that in a project focussed on bringing the diversity of GPs’ lived experience, the differences between two GPs become evident just by brief perusal of their bios.

Welcome aboard!

I am incredibly excited to extend a warm welcome to our first few human books, who I have had the pleasure of adding to the catalogue this week as we come ever closer to our website launch. I am also pleased to announce that we have a number of books who are still in our sorting system, who should be ready to add to the catalogue by the time of our next Welcome to the Shelf segment.

• Dr. Nadeem Siddiqui

• Dr. Michael Tam

• Dr. Jane Crowe

Go on ahead and have a browse - we’re incredibly privileged to have such accomplished GPs to add to the shelf.

If you’d like to have your bio added to our shelf, go ahead and fill in the Google Form here. Our site only lists information which is already available to the public, and you will always have the final say on how you’re listed. If you have questions about the project, you can always contact us - we usually get to it pretty fast! If you have ever wanted to bring all your information together onto one page, now’s the time and here’s the place.

Happy reading! See you at the weekly wrap up!

We would like to extend a warm welcome to the shelf to our newest human book:

• Dr. Louise Stone!

As always, you can find their listings in our human catalogue, or by searching their names in the search bar on the top right of the page. Happy browsing!