Dr Anne Malatt
Anne has been a doctor for 40 years and an eye surgeon for over 30 years. She loves her work, her patients, teaching and writing, for she loves people and life. Anne feels great joy in being able to share her lived experience and wisdom, that other people may learn and grow and return to being the All that we all are.
The Nocebo Effect
I read an article (1) recently on the nocebo effect, which is the opposite of the placebo effect. When a person expects a side-effect of a medication or treatment,...
Compassion, empathy and sympathy – what do they truly mean?
As a profession, medicine is beginning to be aware that we must care for the whole person, if we are to truly practise the art and science of our...
Can we truly care for other people without caring for ourselves?
I used to think I was a clever person, but the way I lived my life when I was younger was not so clever, as I did not care...
Coffee: Do I love it, or do I need it?
I used to love coffee. I would drink six double shots of it every day. This was instant coffee, back in the day, before everyone had an espresso machine...
Medical training is more stressful than the army
A recent systematic literature review of physician suicide confirmed that doctors now have the highest suicide rate of any profession and stated that:
"It's very surprising that the suicide rate among...
Is exhaustion the beginning of depression?
I have struggled with depression in the past. I have been feeling tired at times lately, and have noticed that when I am very tired, old depressive thoughts can...
Evidence based medicine: what is the evidence?
Medicine today prides itself on being evidence based, meaning that our practice is not random or whimsical, but scientific, based on treatments that have been tried and tested in...
“Physician, heal thyself” does not mean treat yourself
“Physician, heal thyself”
The Bible, Luke 4.23 (King James Version).
We as doctors are fond of treating ourselves, citing the old proverb, “Physician, heal thyself” as our justification. But ‘heal thyself’...
Dealing with the tension of being on call
I always found it really stressful to be on call for emergencies, until I learned a different way to deal with the tension of being on call.
Working ridiculous hours
We...
Why aren’t women leading the way?
Women are natural leaders. We lead by example, by reflection and by virtue of the fact we have an innate wisdom in our bodies that we are deeply connected...
