The Education Hub - Conversation with the experts

Medically Unexplained Symptoms (MUS) in young people

In this episode of Conversation with the Experts, host Camille Foley speaks with consultant psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Court and paediatrician Dr. Alex Cussen about Medically Unexplained Symptoms (MUS) in young people, real physical symptoms like pain or fatigue that don’t have a clear medical cause. The episode also provides suggestions for service delivery for MUS presentations and provides insights from families and young people with lived experience of MUS.

Narrative Medicine Pt.3 - What stories do your scars tell? BONUS

In this final episode of our three-part narrative medicine mini-series, join us for a conversation on Jackson’s Opening. A poem by Andy Jackson. We unpack the layers of meaning within our wounds, challenging us to rethink scars and the narratives that emerge from them. 
Link to the poem Opening by Andy Jackson. 

How to help children take medicine

In this episode from the Royal Children’s Hospital, we dive into the practical challenges of giving medicines to kids. Join host Amanda Stock, Paediatric Emergency Consultant, as she chats with Clinical Pharmacist Natalija Bogunovic, and Child Life Therapist Anne-Maree Leahy. Together, they explore common concerns and share expert advice on how to give tablets and capsules, safely part-dose medicines, and support children in learning to swallow tablets. Whether you're a parent, caregiver or healthcare provider, this episode is packed with helpful strategies to make medicine time less stressful and more successful for everyone. 
 
Links:
Swallowing tablets - KidzMeds - EMEESY
For RCH clinicians: through eMIMS- don't rush to crush is accessible to learn if a medicine can be crushed and dispersed
Royal Children's Hospital- Kids Health Information Fact sheet : How to give your child medicine coming soon 

Narrative Medicine Pt.2 - What sacrifices shape our lives? BONUS

In this second - bonus narrative medicine episode - we discuss Zdravka Evtimova’s haunting short story, Blood of a Mole. Join us as we reflect on themes of empathy, detachment and burnout. Like in the previous podcast, we'd like you to get involved in the writing component during our chat. This will help you digest the story better as well as give you an opportunity to create your own ending to this part of the story. 
Link to the short story Blood of a Mole by Zdravka Evtimova 

Trauma-informed preventative care (TIPC) - extended

Today’s episode provides a deep dive into trauma and trauma-informed preventative care (TIPC), and how it guides the way we approach care for children, young people, and families, and for ourselves as healthcare providers.
 
Listen as Rachel Tolan, a senior mental health clinician and credentialed mental health nurse, speaks about the clinical side of TIPC, as well as guest Carmen Ludeman, a lived experience advisor, who provides a unique perspective from the lens of families, carers, and supporters."
 
Resources:
Trauma-Informed Preventative Care Foundational eLearn (RCH staff only)
Trauma-informed preventative care (TIPC) - short introduction podcast
The Behaviour Support Profile EMR Tip Sheet (RCH staff only)

Narrative Medicine Pt.1 – What stories shape your life? BONUS

This is a BONUS mini-series from our sister show 'Teach, Think, Treat' (TTT). These episodes are first published on that channel before coming here to CWTE. We wanted to share this fascinating series with you, on the concept of narrative medicine.
Join us for a thought-provoking three-part mini-series on narrative medicine, where storytelling meets the art and science of care. Featuring Dr. Mariam Tokhi and Dr. Fiona Reilly, we explore texts that reveal the power of narrative medicine in healthcare and life. 
Link to the poem What the Doctor Said by Raymond Carver. 
Follow our sister show TTT via the main page below and click on Apple and Spotify icons to load it into your app.
educationhubttt.podbean.com

Kidney health in ex-prem infants

Monitoring and managing the health of kidneys in the neonatal population is important for their longevity. In this podcast, we talk with paediatric nephrologist, Dr Tom Forbes, as he discusses the whys and hows of monitoring the health of kidneys in premature infants. Tom also talks about the Neonatal Kidney Collaborative Guidelines for the follow-up of ex-neonatal patients with respect to their kidney health. Don't forget about World Kidney Day 13th March. 
World Kidney Day 2025 Homepage https://www.worldkidneyday.org/
Kidney Health Australia (includes an online kidney health check for adults and lots of other resources for kidney patients of all ages) https://kidney.org.au/
Kidney Health Monitoring in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Graduates – Clinical Practice Guideline from the NKC.
Kidney Health Monitoring in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Graduates: A Modified Delphi Consensus Statement | Pediatrics | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network
World Kidney Day: Case Finding for Kidney Disease in Children– From Neonates to Adolescents
https://www.kireports.org/article/S2468-0249(24)03464-8/fulltext
 

Procedural sedation in the Emergency Department

Did you know that about 10% of the population avoid seeking medical care due to fear associated with medical procedures?   
Early healthcare experiences shape future responses and poorly managed procedural distress can have long-term negative effects.   
When a procedure is anticipated to be particularly painful or distressing, we may need consider the use of procedural sedation.   
But which sedation is the best? when should we use it? and what do we need to consider?  
To help answer these questions and talk more about procedural sedation in the Emergency setting we are lucky to be joined by Amanda Stock and Melanie Turner.
Communicating procedures to Children  
Nitrous Oxide - Oxygen Mix 
Ketamine use for procedural sedation
B+ videos 
 

Iron deficiency in children

Whilst iron is important for red blood cell production in the body, about a third of the population are deficient in iron. Treatment in adults is a relatively simple process but is more complex in children. Join us as we talk with paediatric haematology trainee, Dr Cara Lacey as she discusses the recognition and treatment of iron deficiency in children.  
 
https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/iron_deficiency/ 
https://www.rch.org.au/uploadedFiles/Main/Content/nutrition/Iron.pdf 

An Education Odyssey - Ed Hub 2024 Year in Review - BONUS

In this BONUS episode from our sister show Teach Think Treat, we delve into what the Education Hub at the RCH has done during this year. From running multiple escape rooms to producing regular podcasts and creating new face-to-face conversational education sessions, we’ve done a lot! We ponder the pitfalls of education in a large hospital setting, the power of outreach and how to inspire people to attend education programs in person. Join us as we take you on our 2024 education odyssey at the Education Hub – RCH. 

Farm safety for children

Whilst there are thousands of them dotted across the country, farms are a very unique place of work. And the reason for this is that farms are the livelihood of the farmers themselves and almost always, the farmers live on the farm. This means, if the farmers have children, the children are also on the farm and in many cases, they will work on the farm, often from a young age.  
But just like any workplace and any home, accidents can happen and some of these are serious.  
Today we have 3 guests who each have a different role to play in farm safety for children and are coming to this conversation from different perspectives. 
 
Farm Family Safety Toolkit | National Centre for Farmer Health
 
RCH, Farm Safety Fact Sheet
https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Farm_Safety/
 
VFF, Child Safety on Farms Guidebook
Available with additional information: https://www.makingourfarmssafer.org.au/resources/child-safety-on-farm-handbook/
Direct link for handbook: https://www.makingourfarmssafer.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/VFF-Child-Safety-on-Farms-Guidebook-PDF.pdf
 
Kidsafe Victoria, Farm Safety Information and resources
https://www.kidsafevic.com.au/home-safety/farm-safety-creative-competition/
Direct link to parent guide to farm safety: https://www.kidsafevic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/202204-Kidsafe-Parents-Guide-to-Farms-web-version.pdf
Direct link to farm safety checklist: https://www.kidsafevic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Farm-Safety-Checklist_Digital.pdf
 
Victorian Better Health Channel, Farm Safety Information
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/farm-safety-children
 
Royal Life Saving Australia, Farm Water Safety
https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/stay-safe-active/locations/farm-water-safety

The vomiting child

In paediatrics, we are used to vomit. Lots of vomit. Sometimes it feels as if just looking at the child in the wrong (or right) way makes them vomit.  
In this podcast with Dr Jeremy Friend we discuss a sensible approach to the vomiting child and ask the question, why did they vomit? 

Trauma-informed preventative care (TIPC) - short introduction

As we shift our focus from, "what’s wrong with you?” to “what’s happened to you?”, we can be better informed about a child or young person's situation and approach their care accordingly. This is known as trauma-informed preventative care (TIPC). 
 
In this episode, paediatric anaesthetist and Campus Mental Health Strategy TIPC program lead, Dr Catherine Olweny, talks about the TIPC framework and how we can improve our patients’ responses to care.
 
Resources:
Trauma-Informed Preventative Care Foundational eLearn
Trauma-informed preventative care (TIPC) - extended podcast
Paving the Way: Trauma-Informed Preventative Care at The Royal Children's Hospital Policy Summary

Blood pressure in children

About 15% of children globally have high blood pressure and many may not know it until it causes problems in adult life. Early detection is therefore critical to prevent cardio-vascular disease. PhD candidate, Jonathan Glenning from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s Heart Research Group gives us an overview of high blood pressure in children and talks about his vision of drastically increasing the rate of childhood blood pressure monitoring. 

Constipation in children

How do you approach the common clinical presentation of constipation? In this case-based episode, we are joined by paediatric gastroenterologist, Dr Mark Oliver. Mark is given 4 typical age-related presentations, where he discusses how best to manage these.  
RCH Encoporesis Fitness Training Diary: 
https://www.rch.org.au/uploadedFiles/Main/Content/kidsinfo/constipation-encopresis-diary.pdf  
RCH Constipation Clinical Practice Guidelines: 
https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Constipation/  
North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition (NASPGHAN): 
https://naspghan.org/  

Learning from Wadja Aboriginal Family Place - Introduction

Learning from Wadja is a new sub-series for health professionals who work with aboriginal patients and their families. Wadja is at The Royal Children's Hospital, Australia on Wurundjeri land. In this first podcast, we ask Selena and Mick from Wadja Aboriginal Family Place how they run culturally sensitive services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families who visit RCH for care. We also discuss how Wadja was founded and a bit about its history. 

Child health informatics

This episode with Professor Jim Buttery dives into the complexities of healthcare data sharing, the barriers created by privacy laws and disparate systems, and the potential solutions to these challenges. Key highlights include discussions on the issues with interoperability within Australian healthcare, the impact of historical systems like EMRs on data sharing and emerging technologies that could revolutionise how healthcare data is managed and utilized. Professor Buttery also touches on the role of consumer expectations in driving improvements and consumer involvement in the future of healthcare informatics. 

Vaccine administration insights

In this episode, we explore the intricacies of vaccine administration in community settings with Rachael McGuire, Education Nurse Coordinator at The Melbourne Vaccine Education Centre. This episode covers a range of topics, including optimal locations for childhood vaccinations, tips for immunisers, s-trategies for enhancing patient comfort and handling common concerns like allergies and illnesses. Rachael also shares valuable insights into professional collaboration, emerging trends in vaccination and essential resources for healthcare professionals. 

Vaccine hesitancy

Whilst many people can appreciate the importance of vaccinations, there exists a small percentage of the population who are hesitant to receive them. In this episode, we chat with Dr Jessica Kaufman about the rate the vaccination amongst children in Australia, the factors that contribute to vaccine hesitancy and some practical strategies to address those who are hesitant. 

Involving LGBTIQA+ Communities in Research and Improvement

In this episode we speak with Ken Knight, Chair of the Melbourne Children's LGBTIQA+ Collective, about what it takes to be LGBTIQA+ inclusive in care, and in health and medical research.
Anyone interested in joining the Campus LGBTQIA+ Collective can email ken.knight@mcri.edu.au 
MJA article - The kids are OK: it is discrimination not same-sex parents that harms children: https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2017/207/9/kids-are-ok-it-discrimination-not-same-sex-parents-harms-children 
Queers in Science: https://queersinscience.org.au/