I’m back home this week before heading off to the Gold Coast for a national Medical Educators’ conference. I’ve been given the honour of co-facilitating a one day forum for Medical Educators and Indigenous Cultural Educators. I will also be presenting a workshop on one of my favourite topics: ‘Using medical humanities to build empathy in doctors’.
This brings me to the book of the week: ‘all the beginnings: a queer autobiography of the body’ by Quinn Eades. Quinn, who created this book as part of a PhD in creative writing, writes poignantly about many experiences from a patient’s point of view, including being a new mother, having a hysterectomy, and the journey of having a twisted ovary being diagnosed…..eventually. The book also contains several traumatic life events experienced by Quinn, whilst identifying as a ‘she’. Quinn now identifies as a transman who has begun transitioning since the book was published. I admire Quinn’s courage, his incredible resilience, and willingness to show his vulnerability.
