Episode 08 - We’re all People

Ever noticed our health system rocking up with glazed eyes, looking stressed and short-tempered, staring right through the patient who is actually its purpose? Hmm. We have questions. The Impatient Podcast breaks with our own format yet again this week to maximise our quality time with patient turned doctor Ben Bravery - a guy with a lot of good answers! We unpack:

• Ben's cancer diagnosis, featuring a couple of (less sexy) poo moments; a (loud) mum chat; (helpful) nosey neighbours; (legitimate) second opinions; a good dose of incredulous accusation, ego and offence from senior doctors; and finally, a treatment plan.
• Ben's incremental realisation that perhaps he could be a doctor and take on medicine - to get there, to become one of them, and ultimately, to disrupt the model.
• Just how much attention is paid to the patient during medical school (spoiler alert.... ).
• What it is really like to be part of a brand new student medical team shuffling around the hospital ward.
• Why right now is the perfect time to write about his experience in his brand new book, The Patient Doctor.

This is patient-first medicine. Ben brings his life experience, his patient status, his career-long learnings, and his medical education to define and deliver the value proposition in medicine: the human side of healthcare! His plain speaking talk and countless examples point to just how achievable and necessary change is. What a guest!Of course, we hear as always from Sean and Nicole who share their Impatient Weeks - for Sean, the complex and often counter productive path to resolving and recovering from a workplace injury when dealing with a system that is not fit for purpose. And Nicole shares the launch of the Bowel Cancer Outcomes Registry (BCOR) as an independent charity that now has great opportunity to build data and insights on bowel cancer care in Australia and New Zealand. What a way to wrap Bowel Cancer Awareness Month! (edited)

www.theimpatientpodcast.com.au | i: @theimpatinentpodcast Hosts: Nicole Cooper (@nicolecoopy) & Sean Crank (@seancrank) Guests: Dr Ben Bravery (@drbenbravery) Music: Dean Pratt (i: @dean.pratt)

Please note that the impatient podcast contains interviews with patients who share their experiences of the Australian health system, which include personal accounts of acute and chronic health conditions