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AMSA Ampoule

AMSA Ampoule

By Australian Medical Students' Association (AMSA)

The podcast where we discuss the things you don’t cover in med school!

Ampoule is hosted by the Australian Medical Students' Association (AMSA); the peak representative body for Australia's 17,000+ up and coming doctors. Our podcasts will give you access to unparalleled, driven guests, upskill you in areas med school doesn't cover and will make you a more confident advocate about the areas you care about.
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Living authentically with chronic illnesses

AMSA AmpouleNov 01, 2021

00:00
01:44:49
Healthcare on the Frontlines - Ukraine

Healthcare on the Frontlines - Ukraine

In today's episode, we mark the 6 month anniversary of Russia's war in Ukraine by speaking to Elise West, the Executive Officer of the Medical Association for Prevention of War. We discuss the impact of this war on the healthcare system in Ukraine, as well as Elise's career in medical activism. 

mapw.org.au

@mapw_australia



Sep 05, 202247:25
Welcome to the 2022 Season of Ampoule!

Welcome to the 2022 Season of Ampoule!

Hi there from Niveditha and Divay! We will be your hosts for the 2022 season of the AMSA Ampoule. Get ready for another year of in-depth conversations with new and exciting guests. Look forward to monthly episodes starting soon! 

Jul 05, 202201:16
Living authentically with chronic illnesses

Living authentically with chronic illnesses

In this episode, Jess Gregory talks about her experiences with medicine, discusses how young doctors are leading the culture of collaborative care and highlights the importance of supporting medical students and junior doctors with chronic illnesses.

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Jess is a 27 year old Australian living with Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder, Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, Fibromyalgia, PMDD, Migraine with Aura, and Sinus Tachycardia. She has memories of chronic pain, fatigue, and joint dislocations from the age of 12, but after her and her parents’ concerns were dismissed by multiple doctors, she felt she had no choice but to compartmentalise what was happening to her body and focus solely on her goal of pursuing a career in music.

Jess’ health declined significantly at the end of 2019 after a particularly nasty sinus infection. Despite this, she optimistically proceeded with her plans to move to Belgium, believing that she could “push through” and undertake her Master’s Degree there. In a turn of events that will surprise absolutely no one, wilfully ignoring her symptoms lead Jess to become severely unwell and bed bound for over a year.

During this time, Jess pushed for the more rigorous clinical evaluation that lead to her eventual diagnoses. She was then admitted to a specialised hospital rehabilitation program and she realised that she had an opportunity to change her life for the better. She could either keep living a lie and pretending that she was able bodied, or she could create a new life in which she worked with her body rather than against it.

She now runs Delicate Little Petal, a website where she writes about physical and mental health issues and hopes to help others avoid the same cycle of shame and isolation by opening up about her own messy journey to diagnosis.

She is particularly passionate about advocating for the normalisation of mobility aids and tackling the harmful systemic issues that delay the diagnosis of “invisible disabilities” like her own. She is also an ambassador of Healp.Co, a social networking site that also provides crowd sourced health information to those with chronic conditions.

Jess continues to live in Belgium with her fiancé Haydn, and their child cat, Adora. In her spare time she enjoys vintage fashion and makeup, pilates, swimming, and unapologetically consuming terrible reality TV!

You can find Jess on Instagram and Facebook at @delicatelittlepetal or on www.delicatelittlepetal.com.

Nov 01, 202101:44:49
Surgery, Music and Performance Enhancers

Surgery, Music and Performance Enhancers

Joining us today, we have Mr Phillip Antippa who is the director of the Lung Tumour Stream and director of Melbourne-based doctor's orchestra, Corpus Medicorum. In this episode we explore questions on the relationships between music and surgery, the use of performance enhancer in music and explore the potential of performance enhancers in surgery and medical training.

Remember to seek a doctor’s advice before trying any new medication. To find out more, please subscribe to the podcast on your preferred streaming platform, and follow us on the “AMSA Ampoule” Facebook page.

Oct 08, 202132:37
Parenthood and Medicine featuring Dr Sarah Syed and Rami Dawood

Parenthood and Medicine featuring Dr Sarah Syed and Rami Dawood

Have you ever thought about starting a family while in medicine? 😃

AMSA AMPOULE is here to share with you an exciting interview with Dr Sarah Syed (Geriatrics physician trainee) and Rami Dawood (final year student doctor). They are a beautiful couple, both in medicine, who have recently had a baby girl, Safiya!! In this episode, Rami & Sarah will share their experience with parenthood and provide amazing advice to those considering starting a family 😍

Aug 05, 202145:21
Opioids and Big Pharma ft. David Juurlink

Opioids and Big Pharma ft. David Juurlink

Dr David Juurlink is a Canadian pharmacologist, toxicologist and internal medicine doctor. He is known for researching adverse effects caused by drug interactions, as well as an entertaining but informative presence on twitter. Notably, David has been publicly critical of regular prescribing of dangerous opioids like Tramadol and fentanyl.

 

In this episode, Dr Juurlink walks me through the basics of opioids and the origin of the opioid epidemic. In doing so, we speak about how doctors can fall into the trap of overprescribing and what we can do to prevent that. 

Nov 16, 202050:40
Donating Life ft. Liam Virtue

Donating Life ft. Liam Virtue

In this episode, Liam is kind enough to share his story with bone marrow donation and leukaemia. Liam is currently running a fundraiser for the leukaemia foundation and he speaks to me about some the great stuff they did for him and his family. Their publications taught lil' Liam what leukaemia was (and how to spell it), put a roof over Liam's family's heads for 6 months in the Brisbane CBD, and gave them Christmas presents to top it all off. Liam has some entertaining but informative stories centered around the good that comes about from bone marrow donation and donation in general. We have a pretty lengthy chat about the state of Liam’s head, having grown out his hair for the fundraiser, and finish up by debunking some of the myths associated with marrow donation.

 

If you would like to donate to Liam's fundraiser, please click on the following link or find it on Liam's facebook page (Liam Virtue): https://secure.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?RegistrationID=793367&fbclid=IwAR2WkUnBJ0TpEye7-WFimetTj-Z2HVPT5ZoiBBhGfsllEFAulwv1pKmOW4M

Nov 01, 202039:29
Travis Lines ft. Policy

Travis Lines ft. Policy

Travis lines is a soon to be graduated MD/MPH student and our very own National Policy Officer for 2020. Travis is easily spotted in public, wearing at least one akubra and donning a pair of RMs at all times. Some say he even wears them swimming.

 

This episode serves as a great introduction to all things AMSA for the uninitiated and offers insight into what thoughts are generated under that red hair and great mane. We begin with discussion about xiao long bao and then transition into the process of policy making from its inception to its implementation. We cap off the episode with a heated debate regarding the proper use of the term 'footy' as well as some armchair epidemiology.

Oct 25, 202058:53
Living Life as a Quadriplegic Doctor ft. Dinesh Palipana

Living Life as a Quadriplegic Doctor ft. Dinesh Palipana

Dinesh Palipana OAM is an Australian doctor, legal professional and disability advocate. During medical school Dinesh was involved in a car accident and suffered a spinal cord injury and quadriplegia. That didn’t stop him though - Dinesh went on to finish medical school and became the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland. Since then, Dinesh became the team doctor for the Gold Coast Titans Physical Disability Rugby League team and became a founding member of Doctors with Disabilities Australia.

 

In this episode I chat to Dinesh about his journey through medicine and the massive hurdles he managed to overcome. We go on to speak about some of his advocacy work for Doctors with Disabilities Australia and finish on a conversation about how to approach life's challenges

Oct 18, 202046:40
Leaving Medicine for Writing ft. Nick Earls

Leaving Medicine for Writing ft. Nick Earls

Nick Earls writes long, short and medium-sized fiction, so far tallying 27 books for adults, teenagers and children. In addition to being a prolific Brisbane author, he is a University of Queensland Medical School Alumni and worked as a GP for 10 years. After leaving medicine for writing, Nick went full circle and is now teaching a creative writing course to second year medical students at UQ. Nick is full of anecdotes and never fails to entertain.

 

In this episode, we chat about Nick's transition from medicine into writing and how fiction can inform empathy in practice along with several hilarious insights into the life of an author.

Oct 08, 202055:47
Mellissa Naidoo: Self care for doctors and learning how to say no to opportunities

Mellissa Naidoo: Self care for doctors and learning how to say no to opportunities

In the final episode of the Mel2.0 podcast series we have double the Mel! Our team member Mel sits down with Dr. Mellissa Naidoo who in this episode discusses how her career in medicine evolved from being a budding paediatrician, to then discovering a passion for medical leadership and advocacy, for not just women in medicine but also diversity in medicine. She emphasises the importance of knowing when to say yes to opportunities, but also the importance of saying no. With the unique perspective of medicine as both a doctor and patient she reflects on how important it is to keep things in perspective and take care of yourself in order to take care of your patients. 

Aug 05, 202001:06:44
Armando Hasudungan: Visualising Medicine
Aug 04, 202059:43
Kieran Kennedy and Janet Lowndes: Biting Back - Eating Disorders

Kieran Kennedy and Janet Lowndes: Biting Back - Eating Disorders

Eating disorders can be terribly debilitating conditions that isolate people with them in shame and secrecy. But they are also very much at the intersection of various aspects of society, from the medical field, to cultural trends. Join our guests Dr Kieran Kennedy and Ms Janet Lowndes with M2.0 team member Daryl, as we bite back, and talk about what all medical students should know about eating disorders, and how we can shape our culture and communities to have a healthier relationship with food and eating.

Aug 04, 202001:11:04
Renee Lim: Learning to be Graceful Under Pressure- Approaching Culture and Mental Health Improvement
Aug 03, 202001:17:26
Chris Edwards: The Art Within Medicine

Chris Edwards: The Art Within Medicine

In this episode, our team member Angela sat down with Christopher Edwards, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon and self-taught sculptor. Join us as we explore Christopher's belief that some exposure to art and the humanities is of great benefit to the practice of medicine and surgery, as they greatly improve a doctor’s powers of observation!

Jul 30, 202059:34
Mimi Zilliacus, Angela Stratton, Ian Wilson, Dan Wilson, Louise Manning & Sarah Lim: Victorian Rural Generalist Program

Mimi Zilliacus, Angela Stratton, Ian Wilson, Dan Wilson, Louise Manning & Sarah Lim: Victorian Rural Generalist Program

In this episode, our team member Caitlin sat down with an expert panel, including Mimi Zilliacus from the Victorian Rural Generalist Program (VRGP), along with rural generalists and VRGP clinical leads Dr. Angela Stratton and Dr. Ian Wilson and three lovely rural generalists in training Dr. Sarah Lim, Dr. Louise Manning and Dr. Dan Wilson. Our speakers explore the highs and lows of being a rural generalist, and describe how students can become a rural generalist in the future! 

Jul 28, 202032:19
David Griffin: COVID-19 in Australia

David Griffin: COVID-19 in Australia

Dr. David Griffin currently works as an Infectious Diseases Fellow at the Alfred Hospital, where he is actively involved in the COVID-19 response. David is a medical graduate of the University of Queensland, where he was awarded the Karl Kessler Memorial Prize for Infectious Diseases. After working in Queensland, David returned to Melbourne to complete his physician training, and was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians in Infectious Diseases, in 2020. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Sydney in communicable diseases. While his interests in infectious diseases and healthcare are broad, his current research is centred around COVID-19, HIV and transplant infectious diseases. There is no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most pivotal events we have encountered in recent history, and in this episode David sits down with our team member Ray to discuss the pandemic from a doctor's perspective, as well as the progression and likely future of the virus in Australia.

Jul 27, 202001:05:12
Peter Brukner: Running ahead- Life as an exercise and sport physician

Peter Brukner: Running ahead- Life as an exercise and sport physician

In this episode our team member Melinda sat down with Dr. Peter Brukner, a world renowned specialist sports and exercise physician who played a key role in establishing sports medicine as a medical specialty in Australia. We spoke about his experiences working with various sporting teams including the Australian Cricket Club and Liverpool Football Club and sportspeople such as Cathy Freeman, Phil Hughes and Luis Suarez. Peter also shared advice for budding sports physicians-to-be on how to get involved and gain valuable experiences.

Jul 27, 202001:09:50
Bradley Frew: Life rafts and life saving- From sea to GP

Bradley Frew: Life rafts and life saving- From sea to GP

Dr. Bradley Frew is a General Practitioner in Hastings, Victoria and a medical educator for the Monash University Peninsula Clinical School. He served as a Medical Officer in the Royal Australian Navy for several years following the undergraduate sponsorship scheme. In this episode, Brad sat down with our team member Caitlin to discuss his time in the Navy. Like the highs and lows of the tide, Brad's experience in the Navy had its ups and downs. He shares his experience with PTSD and how his lived experience prepared him to work with returned service-people and those who have experienced complex trauma. There are many pearls hidden in the depths of this episode, though it has a medical focus, Brad shares advice that Caitlin believes everyone should hear.

Jul 24, 202057:52
Charlie Corke: The importance of a good death
Jul 21, 202047:54
Kris Rallah-Baker: On The Shoulders Of Giants
Jul 20, 202051:55
Munjed Al Muderis: The Power of Positive Thinking- From Detention to Innovation

Munjed Al Muderis: The Power of Positive Thinking- From Detention to Innovation

Prof. Munjed Al Muderis is an Australian trained Orthopaedic Surgeon and a Squadron Leader in the Australian Air Force Reserve. He is also an Ambassador for the Australian Red Cross, human rights activist and a refugee. Munjed was kind enough to sit down with Liss, one of our M2.0 Academic Officers, for a candid discussion around his experience as a refugee, an innovator and a humanitarian. He provides incredible insight into finding your passion and your people, as well as striving for the stars and reaching your dreams.

Jul 17, 202044:40
Amy Neilson: Disaster Zones and Medicine

Amy Neilson: Disaster Zones and Medicine

Amy Neilson is an Australian-trained Rural Generalist and Fellow of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine who works in Disaster and Humanitarian Medicine. In this episode, she sat down with our team member Angela to discuss what it is like to work in complex situations around the world and help unpack some of the big themes of providing foreign aid. Amy has worked in a wide variety of regional and remote Australian settings, in Sierra Leone with the International Federation of the Red Cross during the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak, with Médecins Sans Frontières in Lebanon, South Sudan, Syria, Iraq and Ukraine, and with the ICRC in South Sudan. These experiences have only enhanced her passion for her career which she continues to show through her interest in the optimal delivery of health care to complex populations - particularly focused on conflict regions, and on the underlying structural violence visited upon vulnerable populations.

Jul 16, 202001:08:41
Glen Hulley: Child exploitation

Glen Hulley: Child exploitation

Glen Hulley is the Founder and CEO of Project Karma a not-for-profit charity with the mission “to fight child sexual exploitation – whenever, by whoever and wherever it occurs”.  Glen previously spent 13 years in the Victorian police force in both uniformed and covert capacities before an experience whilst on holiday in Cambodia incited him to sell everything he owned to form Project Karma.

Globally the market for the sexual exploitation of children stands at around $36B US, involving over 2 million children, and is growing at an estimated 20% per year. Child exploitation is an issue that remains prevalent around the world in many forms, allowed to continue in the undercurrent of society whilst the general populace remains unaware, to the detriment and life-long impact of such vulnerable children.

Jul 14, 202046:30
Lydia Johns-Putra: How to Succeed at Sustainable Volunteering, Mentoring and Failure

Lydia Johns-Putra: How to Succeed at Sustainable Volunteering, Mentoring and Failure

Dr Lydia Johns Putra is a Ballarat-based Urologist who is passionate about gender equity, global health, social justice, education and mentoring. Lydia participates regularly in sustainable volunteering and has firsthand experience in responding to environmental health crises, being involved in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake response.

Lydia was kind enough to have an honest discussion with Liss, M2.0's Academic Officer, on the importance of mentoring, empathetic patient-centred approaches, the vulnerability it can cause and how to manage that, as well as how to face failure. Lydia also shared the lessons she’s learned from her experience in sustainable volunteering and teamwork during crisis management. Lydia provided incredible insight into the importance of investing in yourself and your support network as well as ongoing, evolving self-reflection.

For more, you can follow Lydia on twitter @LydiaJohnsPutra

Jul 13, 202050:26
Marcia Langton: Mind the Gap

Marcia Langton: Mind the Gap

Distinguished Redmond Barry Professor Marcia Langton AO is an anthropologist, educator, author, prominent advocate and revered community leader. A singular woman in the world of modern Indigenous Australian advocacy, and author of the 1990 royal commission into Indigenous deaths in custody which has had a resurgence in recent media prioritisation, Professor Langton was a generous enough with her limited time to participate in a recorded discussion with our Academic Officer and fellow Aboriginal woman Meg Kent about racial injustice, treatment of Indigenous Australians in post colonised Australia, the Health Gap and some ways for everyone to help fight racism.

Jul 03, 202001:01:18
Alyce Wilson: Being a Medical Foodie- Diet, Doctors and Disease

Alyce Wilson: Being a Medical Foodie- Diet, Doctors and Disease

Food is a central component of culture, family, health – humanity. So surely we can use it better to tackle the diseases which burden our world so greatly. As our understanding of nutrition, chronic diseases, the microbiome, metabolism and the obesogenic environment grows, we are implored to ask: How is the doctor going to use nutrition and diet as a tool to treat patients and improve patient quality of life? Listen in to find out about how doctors use nutrition and diet in public health and also as their clinical arsenal! 

Jul 02, 202056:20
Adam Dunn, Hilda Bastian & Kieran Kennedy: Misinformation in Health

Adam Dunn, Hilda Bastian & Kieran Kennedy: Misinformation in Health

“Fake news” is a term that we have all heard about in recent years. The health field is not exempt from misinformation either. But how do myths like “vaccines cause autism” arise and spread, and what can be done about them? Join Adam, Hilda & Kieran as we explore all these and more, and consider our future roles as health professionals in a digitally connected, information-overloaded world! 

Jun 30, 202001:10:10
Jason Clymo: Visibility of Disability
Jun 26, 202001:17:03
Michelle Lim & Elisabeth Lambert: The Toxicity of Loneliness

Michelle Lim & Elisabeth Lambert: The Toxicity of Loneliness

Botulinum toxin, depression, central adiposity, arsenic, loneliness. What on Earth could these 5 things have in common? They are all potential toxins for human beings. Young Australians are lonely, married Australians are lonely, 50% of Australians feel lonely at least one day a week and depression is projected to become the disease with the 2nd highest DALYs burden! Consequently, we as future health advocates ought to ask what we can learn about loneliness. Join us with Dr. Michelle Lim and Associate Professor Elisabeth Lambert, as we explore loneliness in Australia and consider a model for depression as a cardiotoxic state.

Jun 25, 202059:04
Tony Fernando: The Power of Compassion

Tony Fernando: The Power of Compassion

Dr. Tony Fernando is an Auckland-based psychiatrist and sleep specialist finishing his PhD in compassion within medicine. In this episode, he joins Jasmin for a conversation about the transformative power of compassion, to others and to oneself. They discuss potential barriers to compassionate practice and how they can be overcome. Throughout the episode, Tony sends an important reminder: we are only human! 

Jun 23, 202001:05:53
Lydia Osmers: Jumping Hurdles- From Medicine to MS and Beyond

Lydia Osmers: Jumping Hurdles- From Medicine to MS and Beyond

Dr. Lydia Osmers is a retired medical practitioner who is an Ambassador for Multiple Sclerosis Limited (MS). As a third-year medical student at Monash University, she began to experience reduced vision and impaired mobility, and was subsequently diagnosed with MS. Lydia was kind enough to sit down with Vithoo and discuss how, in spite of all these challenges, she has remained resilient and continues to look at the bright side of life, whilst providing valuable insights into how to care for people with chronic disease.

Lydia has undertaken many public speaking engagements, and as an MS ambassador for Multiple Sclerosis Limited, has spoken at numerous fundraising events and participates in a lecture series called “Living with a Disability” through the Melbourne Medical School.

This episode is proudly brought to you by Bared Footwear. For a chance to win your own pair of Bared Footwear shoes, make sure to check out their official AMSA Competition at https://bared.com.au/amsa-competition-june-2020!

Jun 18, 202031:08
Pascale Guitera: Secrets of a skin cancer researcher
Jun 16, 202041:36
Amanda McLoughlin: What to do with an English Degree

Amanda McLoughlin: What to do with an English Degree

When Amanda McLoughlin graduated university with an English Literature degree, she wasn't 100% sure what her long term goals were. Like we all do, she took a variety of jobs that weren't entirely related to her passion, but hey, they paid the bills (and her student loans). In her spare time, she and a couple of friends made a couple of podcasts, and with more podcasting friends created a collective. Most importantly, Amanda took everything she learnt from those "unrelated" fresh out of college jobs to turn a creative passion into a business that performs consulting work for audio based shows- which is how our Academic Officer Meg got in contact with her in the first place! Please join them both as they chat about how every left turn is an opportunity, and how to find your pocket in the modern world. 

Jun 11, 202001:07:45
Harry Eeman: Doctors with disabilities

Harry Eeman: Doctors with disabilities

Dr. Harry Eeman, a rehabilitation medicine physician and chronic pain specialist, sat down with our Academic team member Angi to discuss his unique experience as a patient with GBS. Harry was a young medical student when he was struck down by a severe form of Gillian-Barré Syndrome whilst backpacking in Europe. After years of rehabilitation he recommenced his studies and completed medicine as a quadriplegic which required overcoming a number of physical and attitudinal barriers. Eventually he graduated with honours and subsequently completed two postgraduate specialist qualifications.

Harry hopes to be able to inspire people who face similar obstacles in their lives by working as a Rehabilitation Medicine Physician, aiming to empower people suffering from chronic pain. Additionally, he is now the acting Clinical Director of a large chronic pain management unit within a major metropolitan hospital in Melbourne. All of this he juggles with living independently and trying to be the best father he can be to his three year old son! 

Jun 09, 202048:37
Susan Liew: The Road to the Top of the Hill

Susan Liew: The Road to the Top of the Hill

Susan Liew, the Director of Orthopaedic Surgery at The Alfred and VMO spine surgeon at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, as well as Chair of Professional Conduct and Standards for the Australian Orthopaedic Association sat down with one of our Academic Officers Meg Kent, to talk through her journey to becoming a department head, how to make the most of a BMedSci year and how to pick a good mentor, among many other pearls of wisdom.

Susan is also a Clinical Advisor to AHPRA and WorkSafe, as well as a Committee member of Victorian Agency for Health Information (Department of Health, Victoria). She grew up in St. Arnaud, and was a boarder at Ballarat and Clarendon College (later to be attended by our Academic Officer Meg!) and attended Medical School at Monash University. She is happily married with 4 children, 16-21 years old, and was very generous with her time!

Jun 04, 202001:07:06
Dr. Art Nahill and Dr. Nic Szecket: Grey's vs Gray's

Dr. Art Nahill and Dr. Nic Szecket: Grey's vs Gray's

Art Nahill and Nic Szecket, Auckland-based internal medicine physicians and co-hosts of the clinical reasoning podcast IMreasoning, join us for a conversation about expectations versus reality in medicine, debunking myths and discussing a new perspective to clinical practice.

Jun 04, 202052:22
Welcome to Ampoule!

Welcome to Ampoule!

A warm welcome to the Australian Medical Students' Association (AMSA) Ampoule podcast; the podcast built by med students for med students. We have such an exciting journey planned for you with extraordinary leaders, pioneers and students. Episodes will be filled with helpful upskilling advice and contentious areas of discussion, all with the aim of enhancing your medical experience. To be the first to find out about upcoming episodes, be sure to subscribe to Ampoule on iTunes and Spotify, and like the AMSA Facebook Page. Talk soon!

May 21, 202002:01