VICDOC Autumn 2025 - Magazine - Page 27
should be to create a safe place that
people can step into as themselves and be
supported to make decisions about their
own healthcare and their own lives. I apply
that to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people, and to people of all ethnicities, to
sex workers and drug users, to people of
different ages, to people with disability.
AS A DOCTOR, YOU CAN'T KNOW EVERYTHING
ABOUT THE WAY THAT SOMEONE ELSE
INHABITS THE WORLD.
As doctors we’re in a position of
influence, where we’re giving advice and
recommending things that people should
do. In my teaching I encourage checking
preferences, understanding, acceptability of
advice or approaches; asking a patient things
like if a particular next step is alright or if
there is someone else who needs to be in the
room with them are very simple and good
things to do that build trust and safety and
engagement in healthcare.
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But being welcoming and respectful is a
good start. Our individually and culturally
based assumptions, of which we may or
may not be aware, inform a lot of our
behaviours and judgements. We can all work
on building self-awareness to relate more
effectively.
Everyone needs cultural safety. Culture is a part of identity;
who a person is. The way I translate it in my thinking and
teaching is that all people need to feel like themselves in their
experience of healthcare. They need to feel welcome, to feel
entitled in a good way, to feel involved in their own healthcare,
and to not feel threatened, disrespected or excluded.
VI CD O C AUTU M N 2025
27
