106 episodes

Pomegranate Health is an award-winning podcast about the culture of medicine, from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. We ask how doctors make difficult clinical and ethical decisions, how doctor-patient communication can be improved, and how healthcare delivery can be made more equitable. This is also the home of [IMJ On-Air], a podcast to accompany the RACP's Internal Medicine Journal.  Interviews with authors are conducted by specialist section editors. Find out more at the website www.racp.edu.au/podcast and get in touch via the address podcast@racp.edu.au

Pomegranate Health the Royal Australasian College of Physicians

    • Health & Fitness
    • 4.8 • 60 Ratings

Pomegranate Health is an award-winning podcast about the culture of medicine, from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. We ask how doctors make difficult clinical and ethical decisions, how doctor-patient communication can be improved, and how healthcare delivery can be made more equitable. This is also the home of [IMJ On-Air], a podcast to accompany the RACP's Internal Medicine Journal.  Interviews with authors are conducted by specialist section editors. Find out more at the website www.racp.edu.au/podcast and get in touch via the address podcast@racp.edu.au

    Ep106: The whiskey fix and the apple of Granada

    Ep106: The whiskey fix and the apple of Granada

    Today’s guests are the hosts of This Medical Life, a wonderful podcast that delves into the archives of medical history. Dr Travis Brown describes the period after World War I when the Spanish Flu was killing tens of millions around the world. In the USA, whiskey was thought to be a powerful prophylactic but distribution was not an easy thing. Later in the episode (22min) is the equally unlikely tale of how the pomegranate made its way from ancient myth onto this podcast by way of Henry VIII and some mystical symbolism.
    Guests
    Dr Travis Brown MBBS, FRCPA (ClinPath Pathology)
    Steve Davis MBA FAMI CPM (Talked About Marketing)
     
    Production
    Produced by Mic Cavazzini DPhil. Music courtesy of FreeMusic Archive includes ‘Mendo Mulcher’ by Polyrhytmiques, ‘Bach’s March fur die Arche’ by The United States Army old Fife and Drum Corps and ‘Notre Dame’ by Jahzzar. Music licenced from Epidemic Sound includes ‘Salat Alsabah’ by Feras Charestan and ‘Savannah Nights 1’ by Martin Gauffin. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Recording of Allegri’s Miserere from Trinity College under Creative Commons licence from archive.org.
    Editorial feedback kindly provided by RACP physicians Chris Leung, Aidan Tan, David Arroyo, Ronaldo Piovezan, Rahul Barmanray and Ian Woolley. 
    Please visit the Pomegranate Health web page for a transcript and supporting references. Login to MyCPD to record listening and reading as a prefilled learning activity. Subscribe to new episode email alerts or search for ‘Pomegranate Health’ in Apple Podcasts, Spotify,Castbox or any podcasting app.

    • 30 min
    Ep105: When parents and paediatrics clash

    Ep105: When parents and paediatrics clash

    Last November an NHS Hospital Trust in Nottingham sought permission from the UK High Court to withdraw life support from a seven-month old girl called Indi Gregory. The devastated parents did not want to give up on her although they were advised there was no hope of treatment for her profound developmental disability. The family and the medical teams returned to court two more times, right up to the day that Indi was to be extubated. 
    Conflicts over care have always existed but their frequency has increased as medicinal advances present more options for intervention even in the sickest patients. Added to that, the online media environment allows advocacy campaigns to grow until they spill onto the streets outside hospitals and courtrooms. 
    This heightened tension causes moral injury both to parents and healthcare staff looking after child patients. The Medical Mediation Foundation has developed a conflict management framework to help avoid or de-escalate such disputes and keep attention focused on the best interests of the patient. In this podcast we hear from the director of the foundation, as well as three staff from the Starship Hospital, Auckland who have undertaken this training.

    Guests
    Sarah Barclay (Director, the Medical Mediation Foundation)
    Dr Louise Webster MBChB RANZCP FRACP (Paediatric Consult Liaison Team, Starship Hospital)
    Dr Fiona Miles FRACP FFICANZCA (Paediatric Intensivist, Starship Hospital)
    Fiona McIver (nurse specialist, Starship Hospital)
    Production
    Produced by Mic Cavazzini DPhil. Recording assistance in Auckland from Dinesh Kumar. Music courtesy of FreeMusic Archive includes ‘December’ by Kai Engel. Music licenced from Epidemic Sound includes ‘Ikigai’ by Twelwe and ‘Pulse Voyage by Chill Cole. Image by Photodisc licenced from Getty Images.

    Editorial feedback kindly provided by RACP physicians Michael Herd, Rosalynn Pszczola, Rachel Murdoch, Sasha Taylor, Zac Fuller, Rahul Barmanray, David Arroyo, Rachel Bowden, Chris Leung, Fionnuala Fagan, Thazin Thazin and Aidan Tan. 
    Please visit the Pomegranate Health web page for a transcript and supporting references. Login to MyCPD to record listening and reading as a prefilled learning activity. Subscribe to new episode email alerts or search for ‘Pomegranate Health’ in Apple Podcasts, Spotify,Castbox or any podcasting app.

    • 49 min
    [IMJ On-Air] Is the jury still out on omega-3 supplementation?

    [IMJ On-Air] Is the jury still out on omega-3 supplementation?

    The theory that certain fatty acids are essential to the diet and associated with reduced cardiovascular risk has been controversial since it was floated in the 1950s.
     
    In 1971 Danish researchers published the results from a cross-sectional study of Inuit people living on the west coast of Greenland. They ate a fish-based diet rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids known as omega-3s, which were found in their tissues along with much lower levels of pre-β-lipoprotein and plasma-triglycerides when compared to controls. 
     
    That association between a fishy diet and lowered cardiovascular risk has been replicated in multiple population studies since then and there are several ways omega-3 fatty acids could mediate the effect. They have anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic properties, lower circulating triglyceride concentrations and keep vessels impermeable to plaque forming lipoproteins.
    For many years now clinical guidelines like those of the American Heart Association and the National Heart Foundation of Australia have explicitly encouraged dietary intake of omega-3s fatty acids for those at high cardiovascular risk. But such recommendations come despite considerable inconsistency in the outcomes from intervention studies on omega-3 supplementation over the past 25 years.
    From several large RCTs there have been just as many negative or neutral associations as there have been positive ones. Professor Christian Hamilton-Craig has published a viewpoint review in the December edition of the Internal Medicine Journal attempting to explain these inconsistencies.

    Guests
    Dr Paul Bridgman MB ChB MD FRACP FCSANZ FASE (Christchurch Hospital; St George Hospital; University of Otago)

    Prof Christian Hamilton-Craig MBBS PhD FRACP FCSANZ FSCCT FSCMR FACC (Director, Noosa Hearts Cardiology; Noosa Hospital; Griffith University; University of Queensland)

    ​Declarations of interest: nil

    Key Reference 
    ·         Christian Hamilton-Craig, Karam Kostner, David Colquhoun, Stephen J Nicholls. Omega-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular prevention: is the jury still out? IMJ. 2023 Dec;53(12):2330-2335
    Production
    Produced by Mic Cavazzini DPhil. Music licenced from Epidemic Sound includes ‘Niagara’ by Chris Shards and ‘Hollow Head’ by Kenzo Almond. 
    Please visit the Pomegranate Health web page for a transcript and supporting references.Login to MyCPD to record listening and reading as a prefilled learning activity. Subscribe to new episode email alerts or search for ‘Pomegranate Health’ in Apple Podcasts, Spotify,Castbox or any podcasting app.

    • 25 min
    [IMJ On-Air] HepatoCare: a model for palliative and supportive care in advanced cirrhosis

    [IMJ On-Air] HepatoCare: a model for palliative and supportive care in advanced cirrhosis

    Median survival for patients diagnosed with advanced cirrhosis is around 2 years and quality of life is poor. Fewer than a quarter of such patients receive referrals to palliative care and advanced care plans are also rare. Existing research from abroad suggests that hepatology staff aren’t familiar with referral criteria and assume that palliative services become involved only at the very end of life.
     
     To try and reduce barriers to referral, clinicians at Royal Brisbane Hospital developed a model called Hepatocare. They adapted a palliative care referral algorithm to include cirrhosis specific markers and continuity of care between the teams was provided by a clinical nurse consultant. The model was piloted model in 30 consecutive patients to the liver clinic, and its impact was assessed on rate of referrals, incidence of unplanned admissions, length of patient stay and rates of polypharmacy.

    Guests
    Professor James O’Beirne FRCP FRACP (Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service; University of the Sunshine Coast)
    Dr Richard Skoien MBBS FRACP (Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital; University of Queensland)
    Dr Alison Kearney FRACP MRCP (Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital; University of Queensland)
    Olivia Cullen (Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital)
    Key Reference 
    Alison Kearney, Neha Tiwari, Olivia Cullen, Amy Legg, Ismail Arbi, Carol Douglas, Barbara Leggett, Mary Fenech, Joanne Mina, Paris Hoey, Richard Skoien. Improving palliative and supportive care in advanced cirrhosis: the HepatoCare model of integrated collaborative care. Intern Medicine Journal. 2023 Nov;53(11):1963-1971Production
    Produced by Mic Cavazzini DPhil. Music licenced from Epidemic Sound includes ‘After the Freak Show’ by Luella Gren and ‘The Cold Shoulder’ by Kylie Dailey. 
    Editorial feedback kindly provided by RACP physicians Aidan Tan and David Arroyo.
    Please visit the Pomegranate Health web page for a transcript and supporting references. Login to MyCPD to record listening and reading as a prefilled learning activity. Subscribe to new episode email alerts or search for ‘Pomegranate Health’ in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox or any podcasting app.

    • 39 min
    Ep102: Staying on script with semaglutide

    Ep102: Staying on script with semaglutide

    Semaglutide, branded as Ozempic or Wegovy, is an analogue of glucagon-like peptide 1 which has glucose-dependent effects on insulin secretion. In this episode we discuss how semaglutide performs as an antihyperglycaemic agent compared to previous GLP-1 analogues and the soon-to-be launched tirzepatide. This dual agonist also binds receptors to glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, GIP.
    GLP-1 and GIP are incretin hormones, secreted after food intake and involved in regulating gastric motility and appetite. The analogue therapies have resulted in weight loss of 10 to 20 percent in trials on patients with obesity or other weight-related comorbidities. For various reasons, however, they remain unsubsidised by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. This hasn’t stopped social media influencers driving up off-label demand from the wider public, creating a problem for regulators and the diabetic patients most in need.
    Guests
    Professor Chris Rayner MBBS PhD FRACP (Gwendolyn Michell Professor, Adelaide Medical School; Consultant Gastroenterologist, Royal Adelaide Hospital)
    Professor Gary Wittert MBBch, MD, FRACP (Mortlock Professor, Adelaide Medical School; Senior Consultant Endocrinologist, Royal Adelaide Hospital)

    Production
    Produced by Mic Cavazzini DPhil. Music courtesy of Free Music Archive includes ‘Mister S’ by Tortue Super Sonic. Music licenced from Epidemic Sound includes ‘Multicolor’ and ‘Flower Fountain’ by Chill Cole, ‘Blacklight’ by John B Lund, and ‘Habitual’ by Ava Low. Image by Ketut Subiyanto courtesy of Pexels. 
    Editorial feedback kindly provided by RACP physicians Stephen Bacchi, Aidan Tan, David Arroyo, Joseph Lee, Jia-Wen Chong, Li-Zsa Tan, Fionnuala Fagan, Stella Sarlos and Marion Leighton.
    Please visit the Pomegranate Health web page for a transcript and supporting references. Login to MyCPD to record listening and reading as a prefilled learning activity. Subscribe to new episode email alerts or search for ‘Pomegranate Health’ in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox or any podcasting app.

    • 54 min
    Ep101: Setting the standard for workforce wellbeing

    Ep101: Setting the standard for workforce wellbeing

    We’ve known for a decade that about 50 percent of doctors meet the criteria for burnout, and the figure is up to 70 percent among trainees. But organisations have been left to come up with their own solutions to this, the result being that many simply offer band aid solutions rather than systemic ones. Unforgiving work conditions pose a problem for both recruitment and retention of staff to the health workforce. The New Zealand Health Department, Te Whatu Ora, forecasts that within ten years supply of doctors, pharmacists and nurses will fall short of demand by 14 to 18 percent. In response they have establish they have established a national Health Charter that sets the workplace standards to keep staff safe and engaged.
    Australia is one step behind, but in early September there was a leadership conference aimed at developing a similar wellbeing strategy nationally. It was envisaged that there would be Chief Wellness Officers at every major health service, reporting validated metrics about their workforce to a national taskforce. And as explained in the keynote presentation at the conference, at the organisational level there are different responses appropriate to the three main domains that influence staff wellbeing; these being personal resilience, professional culture and basic administrative efficiency. This podcast captures reflections from wellbeing champions at several different Australasian health jurisdictions.
     
    Guests
    Dr George Eskander MB DCH DRANZCOG FRACGP (Executive Area Director Clinical Services; North Metropolitan Health Service & Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Hospital Care Group)
    Dr Bethan Richards MB FRACP MMed MSportsMed (Head of Rheumatology, Chief Medical Wellness Officer, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital; Senior Clinical Lecturer, The University of Sydney)
    Dr Joanna Sinclair MB FANZCA (Senior Medical Officer Wellbeing Lead, Counties Manukau Health) Victoria Hirst (Chief of Knowledge Networks, General Manager of Health Roundtable, Beamtree)
    Associate Professor Anne Powell BPharm, MBBS, FRACP (Program Director of Physician Education, Alfred Health in Melbourne; Monash University)
    Professor Jennifer Martin MBChB MA FRACP PhD GAICD (Chair of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Newcastle; John Hunter Hospital)


    Production
    Produced by Mic Cavazzini DPhil. Music licenced from Epidemic Sound includes ‘Kryptonite’ by Blue Steel and ‘Thyone’ by Ben Elson. Music courtesy of Free Music Archive includes ‘A Path Unwinding’ and ‘The Zepplin’ by Blue Dot Sessions and ‘Summer Days’ by Kai Engel. Image by sturti licenced from Getty Images. 
    Editorial feedback kindly provided by physicians Aidan Tan and David Arroyo. Thanks also to Sarah Dalton and Fiona Fitzgerald for their coordination support.

    Please visit the Pomegranate Health web page for a transcript and supporting references. Login to MyCPD to record listening and reading as a prefilled learning activity. Subscribe to new episode email alerts or search for ‘Pomegranate Health’ in 

    • 56 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
60 Ratings

60 Ratings

~andyb~ ,

Fantastic

This is an excellent podcast by the RACP on a range of interesting and relevant topics. Fantastic job getting some quality experts in to discuss their fields. Keep up the high quality 👍

Dance student ,

Informative, topical and succinct resource

Excellent for medical students, as well as practising medical professionals.

Dr Graham Davison ,

Succinct professional content

The first episode on end-of-life conversations is excellent. I entered it out of curiosity, was pulled in because of brevity (15:18), liked the the brief fluent comments and summaries -- and that the website offers an episode transcription and references. Also the professional nature of production. Well done.

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