Retirement from Clinical Practice

I will retire on Oct 14 this year. After graduating in medicine at the age of 23, I find myself, 50 years later, still with an enormous love and desire to learn all things medical. I have always looked forward to every day in a long and varied career. But it’s time. We are no […]

Consultations with Dr John Weiner during the COVID-19 pandemic – updated MAY 27 2021

*Get vaccinated if and when you are eligible* The following updated post includes information on: No appointments for new referrals after June 2021 (my retirement going forward) Triage of referrals TeleHealth consultations Face-to-face consultations Mask wearing Fees Skin tests and Lung function tests (spirometry) Address details Please take the time to read it all (2 […]

Tales of a Medicine-Watcher: 8. The Prepared Mind

Tales of a Medicine-Watcher are true stories from 50 years in medicine. Names and dates changed, staff names real (unless otherwise noted). The term Medicine-Watcher is used in The Youngest Science, the autobiography of Lewis Thomas, which I use with respect.  “John, have you thought of performing a meta-analysis on those studies?”. I stared at […]

Tales of a Medicine-Watcher: 7. When You Hit Bottom

Tales of a Medicine-Watcher are true stories from 50 years in medicine. Names and dates changed, staff names real (unless otherwise noted). The term Medicine-Watcher is used in The Youngest Science, the autobiography of Lewis Thomas, which I use with respect.  “What do you reckon this is?” I stared at the slightly irregular, rounded ball […]

Tales of a Medicine-Watcher: 6. Our Friend Ever True

Tales of a Medicine-Watcher are true stories from 50 years in medicine. Names and dates changed, staff names real (unless otherwise noted). The term Medicine-Watcher is used in The Youngest Science, the autobiography of Lewis Thomas, which I use with respect.  His eyes glared, unblinking. He was angry. Really angry. “Hold him tighter” was all […]

Renaming cancer: Back to the future, but will it work now

A joint Australian-US paper in the BMJ has recommended renaming low risk conditions that are currently called “cancer”. The authors advise that tumours such as small papillary thyroid cancer, low-grade breast intraduct cancer, and localised low-grade prostate cancer are examples of these low-risk conditions. There are many others. There has been an outpouring of criticism […]

Tales of a Medicine-Watcher: 5. You Don’t Need A Silver Fork

Tales of a Medicine-Watcher are true stories from 50 years in medicine. Names and dates changed, staff names real (unless otherwise noted). The term Medicine-Watcher is used in The Youngest Science, the autobiography of Lewis Thomas, which I use with respect.  “Well, we have a drink before dinner. Usually a single-malt whisky. Or two. With […]