Rachel's Blogs
Some Cracking! Cases
Practitioners have been bringing their most challenging cases to me for mentoring & supervision for over a decade, that's hundreds, in fact, probably thousands, of cases, tempting me to say, therefore I've seen 'everything'. Except of course I haven't. And each...
![Ever Watch Yourself Back Like…[Generalist V Specialist]](https://rachelarthur.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Untitled-design-15-510x510.png)
Ever Watch Yourself Back Like…[Generalist V Specialist]
ALL • THE • TIME Especially given I am now a relic, my original training not quite pre-industrial revolution but pre-specialisation obsession. So that once I started seeing paying patients I just saw, and have seen...everyone. And because our patients always drive...
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The Silent Scream of Aging?
One of my dear friends told her husband several years ago that she had noticed he was now making, 'old man noises' upon standing up from couches & chairs. She told him that must simply stop. She pointed out that he was only 50 and that she neither could nor would...
MasterCourse II
13 years ago I was first asked to contribute to ACNEM's thyroid training 8 years ago I put together a little Masterclass on Diagnostics & 6 years ago co-created another one on Thyroid 2 years ago I dived deep into new literature to update my ideas & my...
*NEW* Advanced Thyroid Training Coming Soon!
I've spent the best part of about 4 months recording my *NEW* Advanced Thyroid Assessment training. I told my team this would be easy and quick, given it was to be based on a great little 2-part, 2hr updated presentation I delivered just last year for ACNEM!! Sixteen...
Keeping Things Real & Representative
Any pathology test is only of value if the result produced is 'real', or, representative of that individual, right? So the timing of the test is a major pivot point then: do I tell my patient to present for the test, or collect the sample themselves, on their...
Are You A Finger-Pointing-Prescriber Or A Change-Maker?
Are we doing ourselves out of a job? I've been talking treatment plans with my New Grads recently. Given, only recently these were major assessment items in their clinic units, they have been trained to create ALL-ENCOMPASSING (biopsychosocial) prescriptions and...
The GREAT Cortisol Capture! 35K Aussies Get Tested
And all 35K results have been collated, analysed & made available so we can be better informed regarding expected Cortisol values based on sex (spoiler alert: women win & when I say win I mean track higher generally🤷♀️), age &...
Is Your Diagnosis on the $ or a Misdirection?
No, I can't leave it alone. I've been gabbing on about Gilbert's Syndrome for about 15 years now and it's not going to stop anytime soon! This is not because I think it's the most common condition we encounter but, rather because it is not uncommon. It is also not...
I read it on Facebook
We all (inaudibly🤞) sigh when patients utter this & adopt the brace position for whatever mis- or dis-information may follow. So how would you feel, if instead, these were the words of the health professional you're seeing? We could debate forever the pros...
Increasing Patient Buy-in: Compliance Changers
Have you ever noticed that our products don't work if our patients don't take them?!🙄 The reasons for non-compliance, dis- or non-engagement, poor patient buy-in & follow through are many: *My dog ate the instructions * My inbox swallowed the instructions...
Have You Received a Nudge?
A recent foreboding article featured in NewsGP Pathology requests under the microscope warned, 'More than 5000 GPs are about to receive a letter from the Department of Health about their pathology requests.' This is a ritual cleanse performed by Department of Health...
Independent Education For All
Over years of delivering independent education in integrative health I have spoken to some diverse audiences. This has included health professionals from very different backgrounds: from hospital-based psychiatrists & mental health nurses, to whom I presented on...
What’s Changed For You?
How much has THE world🌏 changed in the last 2 years?! Have the changes within the field of Integrative Health been equally seismic? I'm sure there are many different aspects to speak to & we all have our own thoughts to share on this. I shared my thoughts...
More FODMAP Fails
Last week, yet another patient with refractory diarrhoea, up to 10 stools a day, Bristol type 5-7, for 3 decades following a diagnosis of Crohn's at 16 years old. A range of specialists have thrown everything at 'it' - single & combination immunosuppressants, TNF...
Where Is That??!!!
Ever been guilty of having a 'man's look' for something? I have. Particularly when it comes to the online omniverse! I can be a bit flaky at finding things right there on the page...allegedly! So for those of you who have a similar experience with my website &...
Meet My Alter Ego
Did I say, ‘Our Brain’? 🙄 Maybe it really should be, ‘Their Brain...on Drugs: what recreational substances reveal'. While infinite self-analysis is an occupational hazard for health professionals, when we use our detective powers for good not evil, our patient...
I’m Against Absolutes
And health, no matter which side you sit on, seems to be particularly plagued by them. I (incorrectly) recall my 4 year degree as being a series of deep personal losses, some favourite food, then caffeine, then alcohol etc etc.😂 Likewise, I'm aware that...
That ‘Throat Feeling’
"My 7yo daughter was frequently distressed, telling me she had that 'throat feeling'." As you can imagine, mum offered up a smorgasbord of suggestions to help her try and describe it: Can you swallow ok? Does it burn or taste funny? Where is it? Is it hard, soft,...
What Good Can Come From ‘Getting on the Gear’
When was the last time you 'got on the gear?'. Wait, am I showing my age?🙄 The afore mentioned 'gear' could be beers or GnTs, weed or hooch, eccies or pingers, 'nose candy' or blow. I could keep going! While, anything beyond alcohol, might be purely a...
Flooded with Thoughts about Mental Health
I'm sure you've heard by now that we've been in deep water. My team and I are safe but shaken, both from our own experience of...
This
There's probably some poignant lines from a rap song everyone knows that I could insert here but, alas, Gold FM doesn't play anything produced after 1999, so I'm none the wiser. What I'm trying to bring to mind, is the potential clash between our reality & our...
FREE Introduction to Nutritional Psychiatry
I've been hatching this passion project for quite some time. In truth, I can probably trace its beginning back 2 decades, when I returned to practice, after working in psych meds for big pharma. I knew then I had something to say. Because even then I knew that we, as...