Medfem x MDQueer Present: The often ignored queer female experience

Join us for this episode of Inspirational Women in Medicine and our first podcast episode of 2021 where we interview Dr Lucy Desmond. Dr Desmond is a current doctor, and also the founder of Beauty Within Medicine, a company that aims to improve medical education through high yield summaries and resources that celebrate diversity and are inclusive of all. Aside from running Beauty Within Medicine, Dr. Desmond herself is currently doing Basic Physicians Training, as well as being heavily involved in medical education and research. Today, we discuss Dr Desmon's journey through medicine, her perspectives on the current medical system and medical education, her vision for the future of Beauty Within Medicine, and her advice for current medical students and doctors. 

Join us this time as we discuss gender biases in diagnosis of autistic women with Dr Rachel Moseley. Dr Moseley is a senior lecturer in psychology and researcher at Bournemouth University. Her research is centred around Autism Spectrum Conditions, particularly around the experiences and mental health of autistic adults. In this episode, we discuss the experiences of autistic women, the importance of avoiding the use of stereotypes that perpetuate stigma about autistic individuals, and the importance of overcoming the barriers to correct diagnosis of autistic girls and women.

Join us as we talk to Professor Clara Chow about sex differences in diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary disease! Professor Chow is a renowned cardiologist who is the president of Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, and has a strong interests in public health, prevention of heart disease, and advocating for gender equality in the field of cardiology. In this episode, we discuss possible reasons for the common misdiagnosis of women’s heart conditions; the importance of having a diverse and representative healthcare workforce; and the importance of both medical and community education in helping improve diagnosis and awareness of female presentations of heart disease.

Our first “Parenting in Medicine” podcast episode! Join us as we chat to Jess Peters, a third-year medical student and mother of twins, about starting a family mid-way through medical school and surviving 6 months of parenting, full-time study and a global pandemic thrown on top! We talk about being pregnant during clinical placements, support systems, taking time off and returning back to medical school. Jess can be contacted at [email protected]

Join us as we learn from Dr Anita Elias about the presentation and management of vaginismus and vulvodynia, and referring patients with sexual difficulties. Dr Anita Elias is the Head of the Sexual Medicine and Therapy clinic at Monash Health and we were honoured to speak with her about this important topic.

Listen as our expert guest, Dr Anita Elias, Head of the Sexual Medicine and Therapy clinic at Monash Health, teaches us how to ask about sex, and the causes, signs, and symptoms of dyspareunia!

Join us as we catch up with Dr Angela Stratton, a Rural Generalist and the new Statewide Clinical Lead for the Victorian Rural Generalist Program. In this episode, Angela discusses her journey through medicine, and shares some amazing insights about medicine and life that she has learned along the way.

‘Inspiration Women in Medicine’s’ first podcast with Dr Fiona Brownfoot! Dr Brownfoot is a clinician scientist at The University of Melbourne and obstetrician at the Mercy Hospital for Women. She speaks passionately about developing novel therapeutics for preeclampsia and her recent interest in developing biomedical engineering technologies that aim to reduce devastating pregnancy complications, such as stillbirth. We talk career pathways through medicine, navigating the research field and her hopes for women's health research in the future.

MDQueer and Medfem are proud to present our first collaborative venture – a podcast discussing queer women’s health. In this podcast, we explore experiences of accessing healthcare as a queer woman, and we speak about medical school and its teaching of queer health, and will also discuss experiences of queer medical students. It was our honour to speak with Associate Professor Ruth McNair, a highly accomplished doctor and a leader in the field of lesbian and bisexual women’s health.

Introducing the Medfem podcast! Medfem is a collective for University of Melbourne medical students passionate about gender equality. In our podcast, Medfem Presents, we hope to educate people about womens’ health, amplify the voices of our amazing female speakers, and spark the discussion about gender equality and diversity in medicine.