Dr. Ralston D’Souza graduated from the University of Auckland and is currently dual training in rural hospital medicine and general practice. He's passionate about being a voice to the voiceless having grown up with his autistic brother and currently advocates for his colleagues through his roles with the NZRDA and RNZCGP Registrars' Chapter. While most of his whanau are still based in Auckland, he currently lives in Taupō with his wife. In this episode, we discuss his journey into dual...

Dr. Hinemoa Elder (Ngāti Kurī, Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri and Ngāpuhi) is a Māori child and adolescent psychiatrist and fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. She works at Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland and deputy psychiatry member of the NZ Mental Health Review Tribunal. She became a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and to Psychiatry in 2019.  Dr. Elder has written two best selling books – Aroha and Wawata and joins us...

Dr. Elizabeth Roberts is a Nelson-based anatomical pathologist who has worked both for Te Whatu Ora and MedLab South. She graduated from Otago University and pursued pathology training with Auckland, Oregon Health Science University, and Harvard University. She works part-time, and is the past treasurer of the RCPA NZ committee. She has many other passions, including mountain biking, kitesurfing, tramping, climbing, hunting and trapping pests. Since the recording of the episode, Dr. Roberts...

Dr. Carolyn Clark is a nephrologist, lecturer, researcher, public health student and life coach. She qualified as a doctor in 2000 and has spent the last 22 years in public hospitals across Australia and New Zealand. She believes that sometimes our brains get in the way of being our best selves and loves helping people get rid of unhelpful thoughts and step forward into their future with her coaching and supervision business. She is also a solo mother by sperm donation to a busy 7 year old...

Dr. Patrick Emanuel is a dermatopathologist based in Lima, Peru. He also consults for IGENZ molecular laboratory, Pathlab Bay of Plenty, and the Skin Institute (all based in New Zealand). He is an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Auckland and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Icahn Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Patrick’s academic interests include cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, margin control surgery, and the application of molecular techniques to cutaneous...

Dr. Juliet Rumball-Smith is a public health physician and epidemiologist. Due to a combination of earthquakes, training and jobs, she has lived & worked in a load of different places, including Montreal, Toronto, the winterless north of New Zealand, and a think tank in Los Angeles while a Harkness Fellow in the US. Most recently Juliet has been at the Ministry of Health as Clinical Chief Advisor, in a range of roles including supporting Abortion Law reform, being the Clinical Lead for the...

Dr. Kasey Tawhara (Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Te Arawa, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Porou) is an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Rotorua Hospital, who is passionate about cultural safety and Māori health equity. She is a member of Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa (otherwise known as Te ORA) and a founding member of He Hono Wāhine. In this episode, we discuss her journey into obstetric and gynaecology and the training involved, the MAPAS scheme,  what Māori health equity in O&G looks like, covering...

Dr. Kyle Eggleton is a rural general practitioner with extensive experience in emergency medicine and an interest in youth health, occupational medicine and forensic medicine. Born and raised in Waimā, he has moved around many rural areas of New Zealand, including Thames and Ruakākā. With two masters and a PhD under his belt and experience as a clinical director with Ki A Ora Ngātiwai, he has now returned to Hokianga to work part-time as a GP while being Associate Dean (Rural Director) at the...

Associate Professor Louise Barbier is a hepatopancreatobiliary and liver transplant surgeon based in Auckland. She studied medicine in Paris, France and trained in surgery in both Marseille and Paris. She has a PhD in Immunology, and on top of working as a consultant, she is also an assistant professor at The University of Auckland, working on a translational project in ischaemia-reperfusion injury and transplant immunology.   In this episode, we discuss her journey into medicine and finding...

TW: fertility/infertility Dr. Amy Walpole graduated from the University of Wales College of Medicine, and completed her GP vocational training in 2007. She emigrated from Wales to Northland in 2018, working for a Māori health provider. She volunteers with Whangārei Riding for the Disabled and lives on a lifestyle block. Her lifestyle block includes three ponies, five alpacas, chickens, turkeys, a cat and a dog! Dr. Walpole joins us today to discuss a topic that can be painful for some of us...

Dr. Monique Mackenzie (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) studied medicine at The University of Otago in New Zealand and graduated in 2006.  She has trained extensively throughout New Zealand and joined a Tauranga private practice after recently completing her specialist dermatology training at University Hospitals Birmingham, United Kingdom and Brisbane Skin, Australia. She is the first and only Māori dermatologist in Aotearoa. She is a scholarship recipient of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians...

Dr. Saana Taylor completed dental school before moving up to Auckland to work as a maxillofacial house surgeon for 2 years. She applied to medical school with the intention of studying to be a maxillofacial surgeon and found herself drawn to anaesthetics as a medical student. She is now an anaesthetic fellow in her final year of training, a wife, and a mother to two boys.  In this episode, we discuss her move from dentistry to medicine, journey into anaesthetics, navigating training and...

Professor Stephen Robertson is the Curekids Professor of Paediatric Genetics. He was educated at the University of Otago graduating in Medicine in 1990. He specialized in Paediatrics and Clinical Genetics after training in Auckland and Melbourne. He was the Nuffield Medical Fellow at Oxford University and now heads the Clinical Genetics Group. Some of his work was highlighted in a documentary in 2005 ‘Lifting of the Mākutu’. In this episode, we discuss his journey into paediatrics and...

Dr. Kate Bartlett is a perinatal pathologist currently based in Auckland. Having studied in Otago Medical School, she began her house surgeon years in New Plymouth before then working in Auckland. She completed her perinatal and paediatric pathology fellowship at Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth, before returning to New Zealand where she has been a consultant for more than a decade.  In this episode, we discuss her choosing pathology, the training requirements and examinations for...

Dr. Anna Luo is is a PGY8 training dermatology registrar, beginning her locum journey after her exams in 2020. Her work has spanned across the entirety of Australia - Victoria, Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Tasmania.  Dr. Briana Wu is a senior house officer from Wellington, New Zealand who has worked and travelled around Australia for a year. She is well versed in guiding other junior doctors through the pros + cons and ins + outs of crossing the ditch....

Dr. Ben O’Keeffe (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua) is a professional rugby union referee and ophthalmology registrar. Originally from Blenheim, he attended Malborough Boys’ before headed to the University of Otago to complete his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. He is also the co-founder of the social enterprise oDocs Eye Care, which aims at creating medical technology to prevent blindness. The other co-founder is Dr. Hong Sheng Chiong, whose interview you can catch as episode 16, released...

Professor Marie Bismark is a medical practitioner, health law academic, company director, and mother- of-three. She heads the Law and Public Health Unit at the University of Melbourne where her research explores the intersection between health practitioner wellbeing and patient safety. Her research has been published in leading peer review journals and has influenced regulatory policy in Australia and internationally.  In addition to her academic role, Prof Bismark works as a psychiatry...

Associate Professor Sonya Burgess is an interventional cardiologist based in Sydney, Australia, having graduated from Otago Medical School with distinction, before finishing her fellowship with RACP. She completed her interventional fellowship in Liverpool hospital, Sydney, and her PhD in the University of New South Wales. She has 90 peer reviewed publications, but she is passionate about medical education and teaching, and on addressing workforce gender equity issues, particularly in...

Dr. Dermot Coffey is originally from Kerry, graduating from medical school in Ireland before migrating to Aotearoa 20 years ago. He is a GP/general practitioner working in student health at the University of Canterbury. Dermot has had an interest in climate change for many years, and joined OraTaiao seven years ago, and since 2020, has been co-convenor. He joins us today to talk about the work of OraTaiao and what we can do as health professionals to advocate for an equitable climate...

Professor David McBride was a registrar in ENT and a trainee GP before becoming a trainee occupational physician with British Coal in Stoke-on-Trent. His training course then led to a job offer as Clinical Lecturer at the University of Birmingham (Edgbaston) and eventually to Otago University, where he has been since 1995. His part time job has been with the Army Reserves, with four operational tours of duty, and he is passionate about improving the health of Veterans. His hobby is anything...

Dr. Sarah Nielson is a medical manager for a pharmaceutical company. A former junior doctor, she ventured to “the dark side” almost two years ago. She is passionate about mental health for doctors and a step-mother of one, and mother to two feline overlords. In this episode, we discuss her journey into and out of clinical medicine - the things that drew her to it, and those that drew her out. We discuss imposter syndrome and mental health, and talk about what to look for when finding a new...

Dr. Ruth Mitchell is a Sydney-based neurosurgeon, currently working in Sydney Children’s Hospitals network. She has a keen interest in paediatric neurosurgery, brain tumour biology, and injury research. She received the 2019 John Corboy Medal from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons for her advocacy for diversity and inclusion in surgery.  Furthermore, as a passionate advocate for social justice since her childhood, Dr Mitchell has also been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for the...

Dr. Ashley Bloomfield is a public health physician and leader, having been the chief advisor of public health in Ministry of Health New Zealand, before moving to become the Director of Services of Population Health across the Wellington District Health Boards, then Chief Executive at Hutt Valley DHB. He is best known as our immediate former Director-General of Health, famed for his COVID response and compassion in his communication. In this episode, we discuss his journey into public health...

Dr. Imran Lasker is a consultant radiologist with a specialist interest in musculoskeletal radiology based in the UK. He co-hosts the Two Medics Podcast. He’s a big believer of choosing real life over work life and dabbles in social media from time to time.   In this episode, we discuss his journey starting the Two Medics Podcast with his co-host, and navigating social media and potential career retribution as a consequence. We talk about radiology, his background and why he chose this...