In a time when lettuce costs are skyrocketing and healthcare access is slipping out of reach for many, how can GPs continue to deliver excellent care with dwindling resources? In this compelling conversation, Dr. Rob Park speaks with Dr. Edmund Poliness — medical director of Wathaurong Aboriginal Medical Service and GP at The Living Room in Melbourne — about how to do more with less.

Ed takes us inside the world of homeless healthcare, where the clinical gold standard often meets real-world constraints. From adapting chronic disease management to improvising physio with peer supports and printouts, this episode is packed with creative, practical ways to stretch your care further. You’ll also hear about the importance of team-based care, warm handovers, and building trust with patients who face complex social and health barriers — all while staying grounded, compassionate, and resourceful.

Whether you work in a city clinic or a regional practice, this episode is a must-listen for any GP navigating cost pressures and rising patient need. It’s an inspiring look at how thoughtful medicine, community partnerships, and a little bit of creativity can still go a long way — even on a tight budget!

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Job opportunity: Are you a GP, psychiatrist or nurse based in Sydney interested in mental health and whole of person health care? Exciting job opportunities have come up, please contact Dr Sam Manger for more contact@thegpshow.com

Interested in whole of person clinical practice and research that addresses the lifestyle and social determinants of illness and wellbeing? Check out the JCU postgraduate courses: Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, and Master in Lifestyle Medicine.

Dr Sam Manger on YouTube: Using lifestyle as medicine: A new era in chronic disease remission

Our 3 week online microcredential in Lifestyle Medicine and Mental Health: Life and Mind available here.

How do you explain a blood test, a referral, or even shared decision-making when the entire healthcare system is foreign to your patient? In this deeply thoughtful and practical episode, Dr. Linny Phuong, paediatric infectious diseases physician and founder of the award-winning Water Well Project, joins Dr. Rob Park to explore how we as clinicians can better connect with patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Drawing on personal stories, community experience, and years of frontline advocacy setting up and running The Water Well project, Linny shares how a simple, respectful conversation can build trust, shift health outcomes, and empower patients—especially those navigating an unfamiliar system.

From chaotic first health sessions in church foyers to calm insights about interpreters, symbols, and the power of pausing, this episode is packed with memorable lessons and practical tips for any GP. Whether it's making sense of preventative health, navigating language barriers, or just knowing when a nod doesn’t mean understanding, Linny offers real tools to make your consultations more inclusive, compassionate, and effective. If you've ever had a moment where something felt "lost in translation," this one’s for you.

https://www.thewaterwellproject.org/

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If you find this podcast valuable then subscribing, sharing, rating it 5 stars and leaving a review is appreciated.

If you would like to request a topic, please contact us via thegpshow.com or contact@thegpshow.com

Thank you for listening and your support.

...

Job opportunity: Are you a GP, psychiatrist or nurse based in Sydney interested in mental health and whole of person health care? Exciting job opportunities have come up, please contact Dr Sam Manger for more contact@thegpshow.com

Interested in whole of person clinical practice and research that addresses the lifestyle and social determinants of illness and wellbeing? Check out the JCU postgraduate courses: Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, and Master in Lifestyle Medicine.

Dr Sam Manger on YouTube: Using lifestyle as medicine: A new era in chronic disease remission

Our 3 week online microcredential in Lifestyle Medicine and Mental Health: Life and Mind available here.

Host Dr Sam Manger is joined by Dr Johanna Lynch, an Australian General Practitioner who has spent the last 15 years working as a psychotherapist with adult survivors of childhood trauma and neglect. She founded a transdisciplinary trauma-informed clinic in Brisbane named Integrate Place which operated from 2009-2013 offering psychology, social work, trauma-informed yoga, art therapy and mental health nurse support. In 2019 she completed a PhD, in whole person approaches to distress, championing the sophisticated craft of generalist approaches to distress – integrating social science and biomedicine. This PhD, entitled Sense of Safety: a whole person approach to distress in primary care sought to integrate trauma-informed care into primary care. Dr Johanna Lynch works as a Senior Lecturer at The University of Queensland, teaching medical students about trauma-informed whole person care. She is an advisor to BlueKnot foundation, trains rural GPs as a Fellow of the Australian Society for Psychological Medicine and The Royal College of General Practitioners.

Her website and Sense of Safety for Practitioners Course is available at https://www.drjohannalynch.com/ and you can use the code “PODCASTGIFT” to receive 5% off.

Other resources mentioned:

Australian Childhood Foundation

Number Story

BlueKnot

Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association

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Job opportunity: Are you a GP, psychiatrist or nurse based in Sydney interested in mental health and whole of person health care? Exciting job opportunities have come up, please contact Dr Sam Manger for more contact@thegpshow.com

Interested in whole of person clinical practice and research that addresses the lifestyle and social determinants of illness and wellbeing? Check out the JCU postgraduate courses: Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, and Master in Lifestyle Medicine.

Dr Sam Manger on YouTube: Using lifestyle as medicine: A new era in chronic disease remission

Our 3 week online microcredential in Lifestyle Medicine and Mental Health: Life and Mind available here.

If you find this podcast valuable then subscribing, sharing, rating it 5 stars and leaving a review is appreciated.

If you would like to join the team, send in feedback or request a topic, please contact me via thegpshow.com or contact@thegpshow.com

Thank you for listening and your support.