A Healthy Exchange

This Rural Health Month, Rural Health Pro brings you a special episode of A Healthy Exchange featuring a dynamic panel of rural and remote nurses—Clare Callaghan, Hayley Hodgson, and Karen Orchard— who share practical tips on staying motivated, building rewarding careers, and prioritising wellbeing in rural and remote healthcare. Whether you’re already working in the bush or considering the move, this episode is packed with practical advice and inspiration from those who know rural health best. This episode is a recording of a live webinar, presented by Rural Health Pro, in partnership with Nurse & Midwife Support. Want to watch the full webinar? Head to Rural Health Pro. Need support? Contact Nurse & Midwife Support 24/7 on 1800 667 877 or visit their website. CRANAplus via their Bush Support Line on 1800 805 391 or visit their website.

In this episode of A Healthy Exchange, we speak to Dr Jo Braid, a rehabilitation physician and professional coach who transformed her life and career through mindset coaching. Juggling her public and private hospital clinics, and being a mum to three sons, Jo became burnt out, overwhelmed and disconnected from herself and her family. That’s when she discovered coaching and before long, she was living more intentionally and prioritising herself without the guilt. For the last three years, she has been working as a professional coach, transforming burnout recovery journeys in healthcare professionals. Jo created the Burnout Recovery Doctor business, regularly presents keynotes on burnout prevention and recovery, and hosts a podcast. Jo joins us for today’s episode to discuss her work and offer advice for health professionals struggling with overwhelm. Listen to her top 10 best and most effective podcast episodes here: https://www.drjobraid.com/podmap

Dr Belinda Garth is a senior research fellow and translation lead at the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation. Together with Professor Helena Teede, she leads the National Advancing Women in Healthcare Leadership Initiative, driving evidence-based, sustainable change for gender equity in healthcare leadership. In this episode of A Healthy Exchange, Belinda uses a racetrack analogy to describe the inequity and barriers that women face on their pathway to leadership and discusses the small changes that we can make on an individual level to help bring about meaningful change. Check out the Women in Rural Health Leadership group on Rural Health Pro.

Having moved eight times in seven years, including one international relocation, Jeanette Del Zio is no stranger to uprooting her life. Jeanette is the spouse of a surgeon and heads up the Australian Doctor's Spouse Network, a community of medical spouses who, like herself, support their partners on their medical journey and throughout their careers. ADSN is a judgement-free collective where members exchange advice to navigate challenges such as the logistical hurdles of moving and looking after your own wellbeing. In this episode of A Healthy Exchange, Jeanette discusses how she juggles her own successful career as an interior designer and business owner with the constant changes that go hand-in-hand with being a medical spouse. Jeanette’s message about the importance of building a community to lean on in times of change and uncertainty will resonate with anyone in the health profession.

In this episode of A Healthy Exchange podcast, Anna-Louise Bouvier introduces us to Physiocise, a specialised neck and back program and one of Australia's first medically supervised exercise classes. We take a look at the psychological and social factors that can take their toll on the body and how periods of prolonged stress or changes in lifestyle can contribute to pain. Anna-Louise shares some significant findings related to shift workers and offers some simple lifestyle changes we can all make to maintain our physical well-being and mental health as we grow older. The impact of exhaustion, sleep, stress, digital devices and movement on mental and physical health are all explored in this insightful chat with Anna-Louise who shares her own ‘wake up call’ and what it took for her to start prioritising her health again and how you can too.

Rural Health Pro is thrilled to announce that nominations for the National Rural & Remote Health Awards 2024 are now open! Help us celebrate the dedication and hard work of those making a difference in rural and remote health by nominating before 8 July. https://www.ruralhealthpro.org/s/awards

This week we are broadcasting from Rural Health Month, Rural Health Pro’s month of events for rural health professionals. Whether you're a conference attendee looking to revisit key moments or someone eager to stay informed on the latest in rural health, Conference Catch-up keeps you in the loop. Join me, Jeremy Mitchell and my guests as we dive into the rich tapestry of insights presented at Rural Health Month 2023. To find it search Conference Catch-up in your podcast app or visit ruralhealthpro.org that’s ruralhealthpro.org.

Former Tasmanian Rural Doctor of the Year, Dr Natalie Burch, is a highly qualified, respected and awarded doctor who opens up to host, Lisa Connors, about how transformative multi-day hikes have been to overcoming burnout and improving wellbeing. Introduced to bushwalking by her best friend, Dr Burch now draws on her own experiences to benefit others and aims to create environments and education programs to support and celebrate doctors by combining nature, relaxation and evidence-based strategies for better wellbeing and burnout prevention. No matter what career you’re in, this is a thought-provoking, advice-filled, honest chat set to benefit anyone who’s ever felt overwhelmed juggling personal and professional relationships. You may even want to pop your headphones in and go for a walk while you listen! SHOW NOTES: Dr Burch is inviting doctors to join her for a three-day retreat designed exclusively for doctors to escape, recharge and focus on their wellbeing. Learn more here: https://www.taswalkingco.com.au/bruny-island-doctors-long-weekend/ For all enquiries and bookings please contact Tasmanian Walking Company on (03) 6392 2211 or email bookings@taswalkingco.com.au

A trained Zoologist working as a scientist in Beijing, Dr Ben Bravery was only 28 years old when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer and made the decision to become a doctor. Patient first, and now a fully qualified doctor, Ben decided he needed to “get inside the system” to enact change and empower patients to be seen as humans and not just a “bed number”. As a patient, “I’d been reduced to a problem and they’d forgotten there was a person there,” Ben explains. “It’s about taking an interest in the patient as a person and then connecting as people.” Inspired by an appetite for change and filled with optimism about the future of medicine, Dr Bravery aims to bring the doctor patient relationship a little closer and shares his personal journey as a patient, medical student and now doctor, including his own experiences with self-doubt and anxiety and what he believes needs to change to ensure the ‘system’ doesn’t forget about the people at the heart of it. Link to Ben’s book https://www.benbravery.com/