AMA VICDOC Winter 2025 - Magazine - Page 56
The conversation a retired doctor can have
with you is one that they can’t often have with
anyone else. Your medical knowledge and
experience as a doctor are the language
of a shared love.
Q1 /
WHAT’S YOUR PERSPECTIVE
ON VOLUNTEERING?
—
I come from a relatively deprived
background. Quiet assistance and support
are a given among the less fortunate.
I always wanted to do medicine, so that
sense of social responsibility was ingrained.
I quickly realised the privilege that comes
with being a doctor. Our profession has
a commitment to teaching and giving
back. Medicine has enabled me to travel
the world, to see and do amazing things
and be part of life-changing experiences.
My role as an anaesthetist and paediatric
intensivist at the Royal Children's
Hospital has also given me extraordinary
opportunities and experiences – so
volunteering is one of the best ways to
give back to my profession. I have also
recently completed my tenure as an
examiner with the College of Intensive
Care Medicine, and I now mentor students
who struggle with the CICM exams.
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Q2 /
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GET INVOLVED
WITH THE PEER VISITOR PROGRAM?
—
I imagine many doctors get bored in
retirement. I think being able to spend
time with them and remind them of
who they are and the value of what
they've done, and to celebrate that, is
another unique peer capacity. The person
I’m visiting has had an incredible life.
All doctors give generously, and he has
spent a lifetime of service as an academic,
a professional and in training medical
students all around the world. His health
condition means he has limited expressive
communication, so the visit is often about
listening to his family as they celebrate
his story. In some ways the visits are as
much for them as for him, and that’s
okay with me.
