The 2010s are coming to an end.
Over the decade we’ve seen the birth of the first iPad, the growth of the internet of things with data and information distributed at a pace never seen before. Social media gave people a voice and facilitated movements such as #MeToo. We saw attitudes towards LGBTQ rights make substantial progress, and mental health became a focus across all sections of the community.
In 2019 onthewards covered topics including gender bias, workplace culture, teamwork, retrieval medicine, rural and remote medicine, social media, doctors health and wellbeing, careers in medicine, humanitarian medicine as well as clinical topics across all specialties for junior doctors.
As you think back over the decade, what have been your highlights?
If you could name one personal achievement from this year what would it be?
We asked some of the onthewards team and contributors to reflect and share insights and highlights from the last year of the 2010s and the decade.
Here’s what they said…
One mistake made and one lesson learnt: Reacting rather than responding to situations when behaviours of colleagues, peers, seniors, friends are less than optimal. Learning not to react or mirror that behaviour or acting in haste, as doing so can cause a relationship to break. Once broken it’s very hard to repair.
One personal achievement: Improving my drawing skills and learning about anatomy, seeing my hobby intersect with work. Being a part of, helping to create and leading the onthewards team.
One of your highlights from this decade, which is about to end: Becoming a grandmother to my first grandchild, Christopher James.
One news item that has stuck with you: Hong Kong protests.
One moment that has stuck with you: A parent being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This single event was instrumental in changing my trajectory, prompting me to move from working in the world of banking and finance to health.
Evangelie Polyzos, President and Founder of onthewards.org
One mistake made: Thinking I can do it all without having to sacrifice something or someone. Time is finite. Doing a few things well may be better than a lot of things averagely.
One lesson learnt: You don’t have to have all the answers as a leader. Sometimes turning up is enough in a crisis. It is less about moments of inspiration but rather achieving small things each day.
One personal achievement: I made regular exercise a part of my life and returned to playing competitive tennis this year.
One of your highlights from this decade, which is about to end: Seeing my daughters move from babies to beautiful, caring and intelligent girls. From a work perspective, having moved from clinician to educator to leader to a combination of all on my best days.
One news item that has stuck with you: Izzy Folau story. A sports person I admired whose beliefs were so contrary to my own. It summarised a change felt in society and in medicine where being talented or the best was no longer an excuse to say or behave in abhorrent ways.
One clinical moment that has stuck with you: The mistakes always stay with you. They aren’t easily forgotten. The faces and conversations seem like yesterday. A clinical case that I reflect on positively is of a 19-year-old girl handed over to me with severe chest pain and planned for a CTPA. I reviewed and my gut feeling was that something was wrong but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Her main complaints was severe muscle pain. She looked unwell but was afebrile. White cell count was normal but I was concerned about sepsis and gave her IV ceftriaxone. ID didn’t believe it was sepsis and she stayed with me in ED. I did a lumbar puncture and an ultrasound scan which were normal. Eight hours after my shift started she came out in a petechial rash and meningococcus septicaemia was confirmed. She had a short stay in ICU, her parents give me chocolates every year.
James Edwards with some members of the ED team at RPAH
One of your highlights from this decade, which is about to end: The obvious highlight for me this decade was becoming a Mum! It has taught me more about myself than I ever could have anticipated – especially how to enjoy each moment as it comes (and take time to smell the roses!), and to not sweat the small stuff.
One favourite podcast or blog and why: My favourite podcast this year has been the Squiz – it helps me to stay up to date with the news when I’m busy running around.
One positive clinical moment that has stuck with you: The best clinical moment for me this year was during my final week as the Oncology Registrar in Dubbo. I got to tell a patient and her family that a lesion in her hip seen on imaging earlier during the admission was not metastatic disease, just plain old osteoarthritis. Her eyes brimmed with tears (as did mine) as she leapt out of bed with joy and her sister embraced me in a tight, warm hug.
Antonia Clarke and Frankie taking time to smell the roses/the grass
One mistake made and one lesson learnt: One mistake has been not waiting until the other person has stopped talking. I did that a lot this year. Lesson – It’s really hard to judge motivation correctly every time. I’m trying to ask more questions!
One personal achievement: Keeping my passion project (childfeeding.org) alive, despite all the other pressures on the day.
One favourite podcast or blog: “How I Built This” by Guy Roz.
One of your highlights from this decade, which is about to end: Graduating with my letters, getting my first boss job, and all my children.
One news item that has stuck with you: Greta Thunberg and School Strike for Climate.
One positive clinical moment that has stuck with you: Teamwork around the bed of a critically ill teenager.
Chris Elliot, onthewards committee member and core team member for childfeeding.org/ and SuCCEED Study Group Coordinator
One mistake made and one lesson learnt: I made the mistake of underestimating someone working on a project with me just because they do things differently to me. I am constantly learning about people, how they think, and the value of all forms of diversity when it comes to leading a team that makes complex decisions.
One personal achievement: I was chosen as the token Aussie to attend the ACEM Mental Health Summit in New Zealand in June. I met amazing people and learned so much that day – including how to introduce my session in Maori. My song repertoire has also expanded. It was such a privilege to be involved.
One favourite podcast or blog and why: It’s a home goal, but I really do love onthewards. I wish it had been around when I was in my early postgraduate years. I like the mix of clinical and philosophical content. I also love that there is something for everyone, whether you are a reader or listener. I’m an ED director but I still find lots to learn and explore.
One of your highlights from this decade, which is about to end: Easy. I have two beautiful children now who were not around at the start of the decade.
One news item that has stuck with you: Climate change all around us. I hope and dream that we will find a collective path to action very soon.
One positive clinical moment that has stuck with you: I got called to help out urgently in resus in September and successfully performed one of the most difficult intubations of my career. The team talked about it for weeks. I don’t do as much clinical medicine as I used to so this was really good for my confidence.
Clare Skinner on stage at the recent ACEM conference doing what she loves
One of your highlights from this decade, which is about to end: It may seem trite, but my personal highlights of the last decade are getting married to my wonderful and supportive partner, Angela, and the birth of our son Leo. They are a constant reminder of the importance of life outside of medicine and academia and instil in me a sense of optimism about the future – a vital ingredient for anyone who wants to make a positive difference in the world.
One favourite podcast or blog and why: Blog-wise this year, I really enjoyed Jin Russel’s blog from February ‘Gentle trainees, join Twitter‘ which was one of the best pieces articulated to me about social media as a potentially empowering tool for medical trainees to have a voice and change culture. Twitter is a concrete example, but I think the more general message is that thinking outside and beyond narrow communities of our workplace (whether that be a hospital or otherwise) is often necessary to realise the true value of our voices and become agents of change. My favourite podcast was actually the recording “Addressing uncertainty” which was an excerpt from this year’s onthewards conference. Chris did a fantastic job chairing the sessions and I think it is a valuable podcast for anyone at any stage on their medical careers.
One news item or innovation that has stuck with you: I’d like to big up the science which will have generational consequences – so the discovery of the Higgs Boson confirming a true understanding of what gives things mass (and potentially a means of manipulating mass) was quite exciting. We also have one of the most significant discoveries in biology – the CRISPR-Cas9 system – become recently recognised as a tool capable of allowing precision gene-editing. Finally, the rise of machine learning and race towards artificial intelligence over the last decade epitomized through DeepMind’s AlphaGo victory is the start of a possible technological revolution. Whether these advances will improve our lives or destroy humanity as we know it in the long term is a matter for us to decide.
Elie Matar with his son Leo, after the onthewards conference this year
One personal achievement: Finished my MBBS. I was so proud of this!
One favourite podcast or blog and why: Duncan Campbell’s two-part blog on burnout in medicine – it was interesting, practical, and really nicely explored this complex issue.
One of your highlights from this decade, which is about to end: Travelling to Hawaii with friends and snorkelling with turtles.
One news item that has stuck with you: Hard to pick just one – there have been so many newsworthy events globally and locally. I often think about flight MH370 though.
One positive clinical moment that has stuck with you: Getting to know my patients (as individuals and families) in General Practice.
Elizabeth Campbell with a quokka on Rottnest Island in Western Australia
As you think back over the decade, what have been your highlights?
If you could name one personal achievement from this year what would it be?
Thank you to all the team, our contributors, loyal listeners, audience and fans for your support in 2019.
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