Lucy O’Hagan recently released a book called Everything But the Medicine and is touring the country to promote the book and to perform a one-woman show about its premise.
Her writing goes beyond the medicine and explores the intricate and often complex relationship between patient and doctor.
For 20 years, Ms O’Hagan worked as a GP at Aspiring Medical Centre in Wānaka while raising her family.
She has since been teaching and working as a GP in Dunedin and Wellington.
Having studied social science medicine, Ms O’Hagan’s passion lay in trying to understand the humanity of being a doctor, she said.
The medical aspect of the practice was a cognitive and rational exercise which contrasted the emotive experience of connecting with patients on a deeper level, Ms O’Hagan said.
"The human part is very different.
"It requires a relationship and being very self-aware and sensitive to what’s going on and intuitive almost."
Having worked with marginalised communities, such as patients who were homeless or had a drug addiction, Ms O’Hagan had learned how important it was to appreciate a person’s story and not just their ailment.
She had recognised some patients had a mistrust in the medical system due to past experiences.
Having seen patients who struggled to even walk through the door of a doctor’s office, she highlighted the importance of being patient and nonjudgmental, she said.
"I think that’s really partly the benefit of it because you’ve given them an experience of a powerful professional person actually treating them like a human being."
As important as it was to bring a strong humanitarian approach to the practice, Ms O’Hagan acknowledged the pressures of the current system had made it difficult for health practitioners.
She said although most professionals in the field did well in taking the time to listen and understand their patients, the nation-wide understaffing meant doctors were forced to focus mostly on the medicine.
She used her practice as an example, saying it took most patients six weeks to get an appointment, and when she was finally able to see them, the appointment often had to be very efficient.
"I think it becomes very mechanical
... sometimes when we practice like that, we’re actually harming people because we haven’t got time to acknowledge their world."
Having focused so heavily on understanding her patients’ trauma as well as their medical issues, it was also important for Ms O’Hagan to care for her own mental health, she said.
When becoming more involved with patients she said it was crucial that doctors prevented burnouts not only by practising self-care but also by adopting the right mindset.
She said carrying the stories or trauma that were shared by patients was a core reason burnouts occurred.
It was therefore a vital part of the process that doctors aimed to empower their patients without carrying their grief for too long.
Ms O’Hagan performed at the Wānaka Community Hub on Wednesday and is now moving on to Dunedin and Otaki.
