RVTS4GP's podcast

 "Rational pathology emanates from a rational doctor".  Pathology is useful in assisting with coming to a diagnosis, monitoring patients and for screening.  Unnecessary tests can cause harm to patients and add significantly to health costs, so considering carefully what pathology we order is vitally important in General Practice. In this month's post, we listen in on the discussion with Dr Mike Ea...

We're always looking for ways to be better GPs, and to improve our success in fellowship exams. We've previously discussed some tools… and here are 2 more: Random Case Analysis and Role Play. Role play and random case analysis can be used in training and as part of supervisor discussions, and can actually be quite fun, while mastering important skills. Choosing a random case and discussing it, con...

Being brilliant at the basics will come in handy when there are no clinical pathways or algorithms that apply to the patient in front of you. This was the take home message from the second case at the 3rd annual RVTS Grand Round Webinar. 

RVTS recently hosted the 3rd annual RVTS Grand Round Webinar.  We were delighted to be joined by Art Nahill and Nic Szecket from IMReasoning, amongst others,  who discussed a case in the form of a "cognitive autopsy" - with all the benefits of hindsight.  The discussion highlights that diagnostic errors occur surprisingly commonly!

Adolescents contribute significantly to society.  Their energy and passion add to the fabric of communities. As GPs, we have a unique role to play in adolescent health and health outcomes. This month, Dr Johanna Lynch shares some insights into considerations in adolescent mental health.

The use of personal protective equipment is accepted for the high-risk environment of theatre, intensive care unit and on some hospital wards. But the role of the face mask is controversial in the community setting. Should general practitioners wear face masks? Should patients at high risk of serious outcomes from infection with COVID 19 wear a face mask? Is it necessary for the general population...

We've reached May in a year that will certainly go down in history! It's been a tough year to be a GP in Australia with many challenges indeed! How are you coping? How are you looking after yourself? This month, 2 of our RVTS registrars, Leigh-Anne Bingham and Jeni Davila Mendez, discuss self care. Leigh-Ann and Jeni give some specific advice on how to do this during a pandemic.

I don't have to tell you that much has happened in the last month since our last post! COVID-19 is front and centre stage. Today we're focussing on video or teleconferencing skills. Many resources are already available to support GPs in this new consultation style. We will be focussing on the actual consultation process.

Do research papers and different research models confuse you? Do you struggle to understand research in general practice? Have you wondered why and when different research methods are used? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you're in the right place! Dr Louise Stone shares her wisdom about research during this webinar excerpt to GP registrars in a very understandable way, using practi...

Hi - I'm Ronda Gurney. Welcome to RVTS4GPs.  This is the second part in the 2 part series on sports injuries. Part 1 dealt with common injuries in adults, and this month, we'll take a look at children and adolescents.  We're sharing excerpts from the webinar with Dr Cunningham - there are a few radiology images that are discussed during the webinar, so if you're listening to this as a podcast, you...

2019 has come to an end, and we're in that reflective mood, as is common at this time of the year :) The last 12 months have been jam-packed: and while we're enjoying a brief lull in proceedings, we've been reflecting…

As GP's we all manage musculoskeletal injuries in athletes. Most of us will only see recreational athletes, while our presenter for this month's post, Dr Corey Cunningham, sees professional and elite athletes. The principals are the same, and as GPs we can give advice, and investigate and manage most injuries. Sometimes, though, specialist opinion is required.

Genetics is gaining prominence as time goes by, and as GPs, we need to keep up with the developments so that we can use the latest knowledge to our patient's advantage, and also answer questions that may come our way (either from our patients or in exams!) In this month's webinar excerpt, we listen in on Dr Linda Mann's webinar for a great overview of some of the issues and new tests that are arou...

Every registrar I speak to wants to know: What's the trick in passing Fellowship exams.   That's a good question - with a complex answer. It's similar to "How do you eat an elephant?" The answer is "One bite at a time".   How do you pass the exams? One step at a time. Unfortunately, it's not the answer people want. Registrars want me to just tell them what to read and which exam prep course to do....

Toxicology: getting the basics right is essential for good outcomes.  As GPs, we see toxicology as poisoning or overdose … or extreme pharmacology. Call it what you like, but if you're in front-line medicine, you're going to see it frequently.

This month's webinar excerpt is essential listening - an honest, realistic and practical look at GP self care. We listen in on the discussion led by Dr Louise Stone , a GP who practices in Yarralumla (ACT). Dr Stone is a clinical Associate Professor at the Academic Unit of General Practice at ANU Medical Schoo l, and she  gives valuable insight into how to survive and thrive as a GP,  sharing many...

We're excited to share this special edition of RVTS4GPs with you, featuring the recording of the recent 2019 RVTS Grand Round "Stump the Chump" with Dr Casey Parker.  The case presented is a 16 year old girl who comes in with her Aunty. Casey is asked to unravel the puzzle. Dr Casey Parker is based in Broome in WA and is well known for his blog and podcast broomedocs.com . He discusses various asp...

Imagine that you're a GP registrar, and your supervisor has sat in on one of your consults, and now wants to give you feedback. Have you ever considered how open you are to feedback?

Dizziness is a common presentation to general practice (between 1 - 15% of consultations) 1 . When patients present complaining of dizziness, it's important to gain an understanding of exactly what they mean, as various terms are used to describe different clinical presentations. In this month's webinar excerpt, we share a short snippet from the webinar on Dizziness presented by Dr Rob Park, a GP...

Workers Compensation and Return to Work is a topic that is challenging for registrars, but an area where we as a GPs can have a positive impact on the outcome, just by the way we approach the patient. A common presentation, like acute back pain following an injury at work, can become chronic and complicated if not managed appropriately, if incorrect information is provided, or if yellow flags are...

In this month's webinar excerpt, we're talking about Menopause with Dr Elizabeth Farrell , a gynaecologist and the Medical Director of Jean Hailes for Women's Health. Dr Farrell outlines important definitions, explains how the diagnosis of menopause is made, and highlights some of management options available so clearly and simply that you'll wonder what all the fuss around menopause is about!

Welcome to 2019! We're kicking off with one of those tricky subjects in general practice: the overlap of pain and addiction. As GPs, we aim to relieve pain and minimise harm, but occasionally patients get addicted to medications we prescribe. How can we become part of the solution? One of the RVTS supervisors, Ian Kamerman, speaks about this in a very practical and real way in the webinar recordin...

About 70 children die of sepsis per year in Australia and New Zealand. It is therefore important to have systems in place for early detection of severe infection. Developing an approach to avoid diagnostic error is an important task for each GP. In this episode, we hear from an RVTS Medical Educator, Taras Mikulin, who looks at a General Practice risk management system for use in Childhood Sepsis....

Uncertainty in general practice is unavoidable. We deal with uncertainty in more than half of our consults. Coping with the uncertainty is an essential skill for GPs. This month we again listen in on a webinar about Dealing with Diagnostic Uncertainty with Marlene Pearce, a GP based on the Sunshine Coast, QLD. This is the final part of a 3 part series, based on the webinar delivered to RVTS regist...

We were fortunate enough to have Art Nahill and Nik Szecket from IMReasoning join us for our inaugural RVTS Grand Round Webinar for a STC case discussion. One of our medical educators, Dr Lorri Hopkins, provided the case, and Art and Nic demonstrated their clinical reasoning every step of the way.