Fixing the system, not the doctor: South Australia’s approach to workplace wellbeing
A healthy, safe and engaged healthcare workforce is fundamental to a high performing and sustainable health system that delivers high quality patient care.
Opinions
Sexual harassment in medicine: healing global medical cultures
Over the last decade, I have worked with a team of editors and authors on an international book on sexual harassment in medicine, which has been published by Cambridge University Press. It has been a long, sometimes surprising and deeply disturbing analysis of a complex problem with world-wide ramifications.
Referring to psychologists: why “fit” matters
A psychologist colleague recently described a session with a new patient. When she asked why the person had been referred to her, the patient replied: “My GP said you were such a lovely person.” I’m sure she is. But it raises a clinical question: is “lovely” really a sufficient basis for referral, given the range and complexity of presentations seen in general practice?
Time to upgrade the tetanus shot to include pertussis control
If you work in an emergency department, giving “tetanus shots” is routine. Dirty laceration, dog bite, gardening injury — we clean the wound, assess tetanus risk, check the record (or try to), and administer a booster when it is due.
What is Flumist, the new flu vaccine for kids that’s sprayed in their noses?
Many kids are scared of getting needles, and this can stop them getting vaccinations that protect that against the flu. Less than one in four Australian children were vaccinated against influenza in 2025.
Ninety years of funding Australian health research — and why the next decade matters more than ever
As Australia marks 90 years of nationally coordinated, high quality health and medical research funding, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is celebrating nine significant decades of discovery through to impact. Here, NHMRC reflects on how research has changed over time, and why research needs to continue to evolve in order to face current and emerging challenges impacting all Australians.
Does medicinal cannabis work for depression, anxiety or PTSD? Our study says there’s no evidence
The number of Australians using medicinal cannabis has surged over the past five years. Around 700,000 Australians have used cannabis for their health in the past year.
The National Health Reform Agreement is a step forward, but still not enough
Australia’s public hospitals are the backbone of our health system — the places Australians turn to in moments of crisis, vulnerability, and profound need. Yet the findings of the Australian Medical Association’s 2026 Public Hospital Report Card make one thing abundantly clear: our public hospitals remain under severe and sustained strain. Despite the extraordinary efforts of doctors, nurses, and other health workers, the system is struggling to keep pace with rising demand, and patients are feeling the consequences.
A new perspective on post-stroke cognitive impairment
Researchers are uncovering important patterns in post-stroke cognitive impairment which suggest that factors outside stroke location contribute to the specific combination of deficits expressed in individuals.
