The start of something...

When Tim Senior and I started together, it was with a degree of excitement that has continued to mark our relationship in the practice. It was a Tuesday afternoon, my first in the practice, and Tim was letting me in on his plans for #supertwision. In the intervening weeks the plans have grown and become better informed as we both come up with ideas about how to engage with social media with general practice in the context of indigenous health.

 

Across the first weeks in the practice (as I slowly put together this post) I reflected on what my perspectives are about the delivery of healthcare. The basic determinants of health have been a sideline in the previous parts of my career looking after people in a tertiary teaching hospital. The ideas of wellbeing including personal freedoms, good social relations AND physical health are the cornerstone of indigenous health. Wellbeing considers a more holistic view of health which is in keeping with the concept that:

 

“There is no word in Aboriginal languages for health.”

Prof Judy Atkinson

 

It is becoming clearer, from the first few weeks and Tim’s pearls, that a ‘traditional’ view of the general practice consults won’t reach through to encompass true wellbeing. Trying to find a consult style that works will be a big part of what I blog about over the next 6 months.

 

This is my first exposure to general practice in an Aboriginal Medical Service and also my GPT1 term (my first term as a trainee on the Australian General Practice Training Program). So even understanding general practice in the healthcare system is a little alien to me. The practice room is now starting to feel like my own and a place for expression for the people who come in.

 

My postgraduate career has been a bit of a mixed bag; working for the military, having clinical interests in maternal & child health and mental health, working my way through a Masters in Public Health and taking a stint away from clinical practice to be an advocate for the health profession. But maybe it’s the kind of mixed bag that will make for a successful and enjoyable journey in indigenous health, you can watch my progress and tell us what you think.

 

Follow our journey here at the blog, with the #supertwision hashtag and with each of our accounts (@timsenior and @michaelbonning) where we both post on things in healthcare and beyond that interest us.