Everything but the medicine
Candid insight into the life and work of a general practitioner
Wise, candid, brave and moving, this superbly written memoir by a New Zealand GP is reminiscent of the warm wisdom and humanity of the American physician and writer Atul Gawande.
Over her long career Dr Lucy O’Hagan has developed deep insights into the profound but often complex relationship between patients and doctors. Reading about her own struggle with what it means to be a truly useful doctor is both fascinating and absorbing.
From working with people living on the margins and her own burnout to her efforts to better serve her Māori patients and the humour that’s sometimes needed to get through the day, she keeps her eye on one key question: What is it to be a good doctor in this place?
Pre-order now — books will be shipped 11 September
“It is through the telling of stories that we make sense of ourselves and each other. ”
- Dr Lucy O'Hagan -
haere mai and welcome!
I am a doctor, writer, speaker, teacher and mentor, from Aotearoa New Zealand. My interest is in the curious relationship between doctors, patients and their stories.
I have worked mainly in the community in a variety of contexts from rural and urban, wealthy to impoverished, 90% Pākehā to 90% Māori/Pasifika, from those with health insurance to those who can only come because it is free.
Tēna kotou katoa. Nō Aerani ōku tīpuna.
Ka tū ahau i raro, i te maru o Tititea, i te tahataha, o Mata-Au, i te tai, o te roto o Hāwea.
Ko tēnei taku mihi, ki ngā tāngata whenua, o te Waipounamu, me te motu o Aotearoa.
Ko Lucy O’Hagan toku ingoa.
Nō reira tēna kotou, tēna kotou katoa.
read, listen, be heard
writing
I write about everything except the medicine. My stories excavate the medical encounter, uncovering how it is to be the doctor and re-seeing what happens to the patient and their story.
speaking
My presentations pierce the heart of the matter, make us sit up, laugh and wonder…and help us understand the stories doctors find themselves in.
mentoring
I am on a mission to get doctors to come out of their rooms and talking honestly. Medicine is a fantastic but challenging job… mentoring is a great antidote to isolation and overwhelm.
WAITING FOR COVID…PANDEMIC STORIES read to you
Waiting for a virus to descend upon an isolated island nation, watching the pandemic snarling at our shores.
Written during the Covid 19 pandemic these honest, funny, compelling reflections take you inside New Zealand’s pandemic story through the eyes of a general practitioner.
‘seriously good listening’
‘told with grace and humour’
‘made me laugh cry reflect celebrate’
Thanks to director Stuart Devenie and sound engineer Danny Fairley of Mirrors Audio. Loved working with you both. and thanks to Wellington Faculty of RNZCGP for funding,
WRITTEN AND READ BY LUCY.
Waiting for Covid
book coming september 2025...
'Everything but the medicine'
Everything but the medicine my first collection of stories and essays about doctors patients and stories will be with published by Massey University press in September 2025. Prepare to be moved, shaken and stirred. Be ready to laugh, cry and think again. This book will make both doctors and patients re consider the medical encounter and what it does to all our stories.
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What people have to say
'Waiting For Covid' Audiostories
'seriously good listening''told with grace and humour'
'made me laugh cry reflect celebrate'
On not being Ashley
For a feature today, a wonderful piece of writing about the heroic perception of doctors right now, from one who is out there on the front lines. Dr Lucy O’Hagan, writing on health publication Corpus, has looked at the recent deification of Dr Ashley Bloomfield, arguing that it’s not that it isn’t warranted, but that it is based on a particular set of circumstances that the writer doesn’t share.
Eric Elder memorial lecture
Lucy ‘encouraged fellow doctors to embrace other ways of seeing.’Your talk was really moving, 'real' and inspirational.
Your story inspired me to be myself, thank you.
Your talk at the RNZCGP conference was quite powerful and universal. I recognize that this is a deeply personal story, but... it was therapeutic for many people in the room.
General practice is narrative
Thank you for challenging the narratives that... we need to be less than ourselves to be 'good doctors'Thanks so much for this morning's story about stories. It strikes to the very heart of how I see the world and general practice.