In this episode of Sharp Scratch, the panel gets together to discuss the gaps in the medical curriculum when it comes to teaching on sexual health.
The panellists, made up of Will, Elisabeth and George chat with sexual health doctor Naomi Sutton.
Together, they highlight how teaching at medical school often has a focus on sexually transmitted infections and contraception, and the importance of considering broader aspects of sexual health and wellbeing including sexual pleasure. The episode emphasises the importance of taking a holistic, non-judgemental approach in sexual history taking.The episode also addresses societal stigma in conversations around sex. Overall, the episode highlights the importance of advocating for a comprehensive and sex-positive approach to sexual healthcare.
Naomi Sutton is a consultant sexual health doctor, who you may recognise from E4 The Sex Clinic.
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44:46
The cult of medicine
In this episode of Sharp Scratch, the panel, made up of George and Inez get together to talk about why people sometimes describe medicine as a cult.
The episode discusses the perceived parallels between the medicine and cults, and explores the strong sense of identity and community that often develops from our time at medical school and into our working life as doctors.
The panel is joined by Sam Jahara a UKCP Registered Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor and Tavistock certified Executive Coach with a private practice in Sussex. Sam specialises in working with the psychological impact of high control groups and cults, offering psychotherapy, supervision, coaching and psychological consultancy to individuals, couples, groups and organisations. She was interviewed about her own experience of growing up in a cult on several podcasts such as ‘Indoctrination', 'Cult Vault', 'Talk Beliefs' and 'Cult Chat'. https://www.brightonandhovepsychotherapy.com
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41:17
What they won't teach you at medical school
In this episode of Sharp Scratch, the panel get together to chat with TikTok sensation and A&E doctor Maddy Lucy Dann.
The panel, made up of George and previous Editorial Scholar Nikki, ask Maddy questions about why she became a doctor, her career in A&E, as well as her best advice for starting your foundation years.
The panel also touch on other topics, including what drew them to a career in medicine, the ways in which medical students can get the best out of their placements, as well as professionalism and social media use as a medic.
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45:40
Are you really listening?
In this episode, the panel get together to discuss the importance of listening to our patients.
The panel are joined by expert guest Rageshri Dhairyawan to explore how medical students and doctors can improve their listening by increasing their awareness of biases that may lead to some patients being dismissed. They highlight the broader implications of not properly hearing patients, including the impact on health equity. The discussion also covers the challenges of dealing with uncertainty and acknowledging the social factors that can affect healthcare outcomes. The episode emphasises how becoming a better listener helps us to provide more compassionate care.
Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan is a Consultant in Sexual Health and HIV Medicine at Barts Health NHS Trust and Deputy Director of the SHARE Collaborative for Health Equity, Queen Mary University of London. She is author of Unheard: The Medical Practice of Silencing, published by Trapeze in 2024.
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45:08
What is professionalism?
We talk about professionalism from day one of medical school, but what actually is professionalism? In this episode, we take a slightly more philosophical approach to this important question.
George is joined by previous editorial scholar Laura, as well as expert guest Sabena Jameel. Together, they talk about what professionalism in medicine means, including the ambiguity and evolving nature of the definition, the burden of apparent perfection and the importance of character. We explore ways in which we can learn to nurture our professional identity in the right environments.
Sabena is an inner city GP in Birmingham, she is also an Associate Clinical Professor in Medical Professionalism at Birmingham University Medical School. She has a PhD that looked at Practical Wisdom in Medicine.
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