GUEST - Dr Ruby (Palliative Care & General Medicine Physician, Australia)

HOST - Dr. Vishnu Kurup (ICU Trainee, Australia)

ABOUT - Dr. Ruby joins us immediately following an intensive ICU rotation, bringing a unique dual perspective shaped by both the person centered practice of palliative care, and the rigorous framework of general medicine. The conversation centers on several key clinical and systemic topics.

The importance of establishing goals of care early in the patient journey are discussed, including a specific clarification that the assignment of palliative status does not inherently mean a patient is actively dying. Further topics include effective communication, focusing on the use of language that humanizes clinical handover documentation.

Ruby provides insight into her professional trajectory, from starting clinical training in a rural setting to developing interests in oncology, navigating exam stress during the COVID era, and her choice of dual specialist training to remain established in the Geelong region. She also critically examines the operational interface between the Emergency Department, General Medicine, and Intensive Care, unpacking issues such as inherent bias, complex discharge planning, and managing high stakes decision making at critical hours.

WHO IT’S FOR - Medical students, junior doctors, registrars, and anyone who’s curious!

CREDITS -
Written & Hosted by Vishnu // Production & IT by Sheel

SUBSCRIBE -
If this hits home, follow the show and share it with colleagues. Drop topic ideas or stories in the comments.

DISCLAIMER -
This show contains personal views only, educational discussions but not medical advice.

GUEST - Dr Giuliana (Intensivist, Switzerland; worked in Australia)

HOST - Dr. Vishnu Kurup (ICU Trainee, Australia)

ABOUT - Dr Giuliana shares a candid intensivist’s view of the ICU as a generalist specialty: advocating for patients who can’t speak for themselves, navigating end-of-life care, and why calm, compassionate family conversations (including organ donation) matter as much as procedures. She reflects on working COVID ICUs in Switzerland and during Melbourne’s lockdowns, how visiting bans shaped deaths and grief, and on the ICU/surgery/ED interface, bias, and the power of respectful teamwork. We trace her path from a multilingual, arts leaning student who failed first-year science to a resilient ICU consultant, unpacking Swiss training (medicine/anesthetics/ICU mix), early ED/anaesthetics exposure. Beyond work: exams, burnout, boundaries, the gym as “reset,” picking up the violin again, and planning a return to Switzerland with a clearer sense of balance.

WHO IT’S FOR - Medical students, junior doctors, registrars, and anyone who’s curious!

CREDITS -
Written & Hosted by Vishnu // Production & IT by Sheel

SUBSCRIBE -
If this hits home, follow the show and share it with colleagues. Drop topic ideas or stories in the comments.

DISCLAIMER -
This show contains personal views only, educational discussions but not medical advice.

GUEST - Dr Chris McRae (Emergency Physician, Australia)
HOST - Dr. Vishnu Kurup (ICU Trainee, Australia)

ABOUT - Dr Chris McRae, then an ED advanced trainee, now a consultant, unpacks what ED truly does: rapid differentiation under uncertainty, patient advocacy, and the realities of hospital flow (including a grounded take on the four-hour rule). We get into the ED-ICU interface (resus capacity, transfers, NIV/pressors, and when ICU is the right home), how ED training entry has evolved, and why calm communication matters. Beyond work, Chris talks exams, parenting, perspective, ditching the “doctors are special” myth, and balancing career with family.

WHO IT’S FOR - Medical students, junior doctors, registrars, and anyone who’s curious!
CREDITS -
Written & Hosted by Vishnu // Production & IT by Sheel

SUBSCRIBE -
If this hits home, follow the show and share it with colleagues. Drop topic ideas or stories in the comments.

DISCLAIMER -
This show contains personal views only, educational discussions but not medical advice.