By Paul Alexander Wolf After several decades in medicine, one observation has stayed with me more persistently than any guideline, policy shift or clinical breakthrough. It is not about patients, but about doctors. Some clinicians continue developing throughout their careers. Others, equally competent and conscientious, appear to stop. Their knowledge grows, but something else contracts.…

🇳🇱 🇿🇦 🇬🇧 🇦🇺 By Paul Alexander Wolf >>>> The older I become, the less certain I am about many things. Yet I remain astonished by how certain people, conversations, pieces of music—and even small moments—continue to echo through a lifetime. Most experiences fade. They belong to a season and then vanish. Others linger quietly…

By Paul Alexander Wolf >>> Reflections on Direction, Dignity and Australia’s Future For many years I have worked as a family physician in Australia. During that time I have listened to thousands of stories: stories of illness, recovery, resilience, disappointment, hope and loss. Patients do not present with policy papers, economic forecasts or opinion polls.…

By Paul Alexander Wolf Some years ago, I admitted an elderly couple from my general practice to Tailem Bend District Hospital. They had been referred from elsewhere. At the time, I was the Senior Medical Officer of both the medical practice and the district hospital in Tailem Bend. They had been married for many decades…

What Protects the Development of Doctors? Watching Doc Martin in Cornwall? Perhaps. Although if any of us attempted to imitate him too closely, AHPRA would probably be on our doorstep before morning. Still, the question itself has interested me for years. Not the question of competence. Medical education has become remarkably good at developing competence.…