The blogosphere is ripe with medical musings for GPs, registrars and med students. Ten of the best Australian medical blogs There are some fantastic medical writers out there providing valuable, thought-provoking and humorous posts to get you thinking and learning. We’ve collated a few of our favourites for you to browse. 1. FOAM4GP blog FOAM4GP is about GPs teaching and sharing skills with other GPs. FOAM (Free Open Access Medical Education) had its beginnings in 2012 and quickly took off. Today, it’s popular among the medical community and is used by doctors from a wide range of disciplines. FOAM4GP focuses on GPs so it stands to reason it’s run by GPs. Their main aim is to help Australian GPs – and those on their way to becoming GPs – constantly update their learning. It’s a hothouse of information, with posts designed to introduce readers to fresh, online content they may not have otherwise come across. An example is Dr Fiona McKinnon’s podcast about training in GP obstetrics, posted originally in ‘Bits and Bumps’, an Aussie obstetrics and gynaecology blog. The FOAM4GP blog is divided into a number of areas. There’s a clinical categories section filed alphabetically according to subjects such as ‘Chronic Disease Management’ or ‘Men’s Health’. You’ll find a great article by Doc Rob titled ‘Do you know what you don’t know?’ in the ‘Prevention Health’ category that will get you thinking. There’s also an area dedicated to education and learning with a focus on exam preparation. For example, a recent post introduces readers to GPTrove.Net – a fantastic new, regularly updated resource developed specifically for GP registrars to use during exam prep. FOAM4GP also has plenty of reflective reading in their ‘Non-Clinical’ area not to mention pieces filled with important advice. One highlight is the ‘Ethics’ category dealing with everything from coping with racist patients to the pitfalls of prescribing for family and friends. If that’s not enough, make sure you visit their ‘A to Z algorithms’ page which collates all the best GP guidelines and algorithms links online. 2. Nomadic GP: Adventures of a rural locum Nomadic GP: Adventures of a rural locum follows Dr Penny Wilson, a rural GP specialising in obstetrics. She recently completed two years as a rural locum and her blog documents her travels and work experiences. Penny describes it as “part travel-diary, part opinion and part clinical education”. Writing in a light-hearted but realistic way, her stories are interesting and refreshing. 3. Life In The Fast Lane The Life In The Fast Lane (LITFL) blog is run by Dr Mike Cadogan and Chris Nickson. It was created by a number of Australasian critical care physicians and nurses. Their aim was to provide online emergency medicine and critical care insights and education for everyone, be it nurses, registrars, specialists or GPs. There’s lots to read on the site from educational resources to blog posts to the LITFL Top 100, a series of rapid fire self-assessment questions categorised by discipline. Their writers have a unique ability it to take dry material and insert their own brand of humour into it, making for a really enjoyable read. 4. Dr Bastian Seidel Dr Bastian Seidel is a rural Tasmanian GP and the RACGP President. His blog is a mix of advice and commentary on the Australian health system. Dr Seidel excels in providing a range of evidence-based prose designed to stimulate thinking and discussion. 5. KI Docs If you’re a rural GP or registrar, you can’t go past GP Dr Tim Leeuwenburg’s site KI Docs. Tim is a GP based on Kangaroo Island and started his blog to help his fellow outback docs. The site is jam packed with resources, procedural videos and posts, all delivered with a searing wit. Many of his posts have a strong focus on critical care treatment and utilising innovative technology. 6. Dr Justin Coleman In his words, Dr Justin Coleman’s blog posts are aimed at ‘look(ing) sceptically at health interventions where the evidence suggests they might not actually be worthwhile.’ Justin is a GP but is also a freelance medical writer and has published over 1,000 articles both in Australian and overseas. While many of his posts are serious, he also has a light side, devoting lots of space to the quirks and oddities encountered in the life of a GP. 7. Broome Docs Dr Casey Parker’s site Broome Docs is a portal for time-poor doctors and registrars to learn and liaise with one another to deliver optimal clinical practice. While the blog is primarily for rural doctors, there is much here for urban GPs and registrars. With plenty of guest posts from other doctors, the site features information about general practice, pharmacology, tropical disease and surgery, just to name a few. Two further sections of interest are his podcasts series titled Lessons Hard Learned and a comprehensive segment detailing real-life clinical cases. 8. On the wards On the wards is an educational blog that speaks to all Aussie prevocational doctors. Written by a team of medical education experts from various hospitals, the posts will help you make the transition from med school to being ‘on the wards’. It’s broken up into a number of handy sections such as ‘ontheblogs’, ‘onthepods’ and ‘onthevids.’ so you can consume information via your preferred medium. It even has a section for career development, aptly named onthejobs, to give you tips about how to secure that medical position. Well worth a look. 9. Croakey The Croakey blog is a one-stop shop for debate and discussion on health issues and policy. Croakey describe itself as ‘a social journalism project that enables debate and investigations of health issues and policy’. With over 250 contributors from all walks of medical life, you’re sure to find something to pique, and hold, your interest. The blog was originally funded by independent media site, Crikey, but is now run as its own platform. The content is regularly updated and provides insights into health and medicine from a range of medical experts. 10. Dr Genevieve Yates Dr Genevieve Yates’ blog exemplifies the saying ‘to have a finger in every pie’. She is not only a GP and GP educator, she’s also a talented writer, actress and comedian. Her creative prowess extends to musical theatre having penned GP the Musical. The musical played to packed houses five nights in a row at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2013. You’ll find all this info on her blog along with medical education resources and a series of posts about general practice. And a bonus blog for Australian Doctor subscribers: 11. Fogs Blog Fogs Blog is a collection of witty posts by Dr Jon Fogarty on the Australian Doctor website. Dr Fogarty is a GP on NSW Central Coast and is also lecturer at the University of Newcastle. His posts centre on his experiences in his clinic but also cover his musings on everyday life and how they relate to his GP duties. The only catch is you need to sign up as a member of Australia Doctor to access them. While you’re there, check out the rest of the site. There’s plenty on offer whatever the stage of your GP journey. *
