🌟 Team Member Spotlight: Dr Nick Titheridge! 🌟

Why I Became a GP:

"In my hospital rotations, I had interests in Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics, and Orthopaedic rotations. Following my hospital time, I worked as a military doctor with the Royal Australian Navy. As part of that role, I did everything for the crew at sea—from removing foreign bodies stuck in throats, treating travel and sexual infections, relocating joints, and setting broken bones. I also did a whole bunch of training related to emergency settings, like emergency management of surgical trauma, road crash rescue training (where I got to cut off the roof of a Mercedes to remove a dummy), and airlift rescue.

After my time doing all of that, I can't imagine a career where all I get to do all day is replace a knee joint over and over again. General practice has such a variety of presentations that it keeps me interested and learning. I thought about emergency medicine, but shift work and the hospital politics made it much less appealing.

After working in General practice for 5 years at my last practice, I can really see the advantages of having a regular GP. A prime example is recurrent chest infections that respond to a particular antibiotic, particularly in at-risk populations. After a couple of hospital admissions, I get to see what treatment worked well and can initiate it at the onset of concerning symptoms to reduce the risk of getting really unwell and going into hospital again. It has also been great to see babies all the way from a positive urine test in the office to a 5-year-old with an ear infection, particularly when they remember me and come in smiling."

Special Interests:

- Acute medicine (musculoskeletal injuries, infections, suturing lacerations) 🩹🦵

- Travel medicine 🌍✈️

- Family medicine (pregnancy and children) 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

- Sexual health (PrEP, acute infection management, vaccinations) 💉🔬

"I worked with the Navy dive teams, so I've got a lot of experience with ear, nose, and throat (pressure-related ear injuries, cauterising recurrent bleeding noses, sinus infections/polyp issues/breathing issues) and sports injuries and recovery from my time working with the ADF sports teams, which run in fairly competitive circles."

Hobbies:

"Theatre shows , eating out, travel, computer games, sci-fi and fantasy books. Previously, I was into snowboarding, surfing, electric skateboarding, scuba diving, and kite surfing, but these days they tend to be holiday activities rather than weekend interests."

Current Obsession:

"Lasagne matched with a red wine. Previously homemade woodfire pizza and wheat beer. I don't feel great stating that it's either of these. I'd like to say bike riding around Albert Park, but I spend more time thinking about the lasagne."

Catch Dr Nick for a comprehensive and compassionate approach to your healthcare needs! 🌟