Everything But the Medicine

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?

Author Biography

Lucy O’Hagan entered Otago Medical School in the first class to be half female and graduated in the year of the Cartwright Inquiry. She has studied the sociology, anthropology and philosophy of medicine, as well as narrative practice. She has been a rata hauora/general practitioner for over 30 years and has worked in a huge range of contexts: rural tourist town, shearing gang clinics, urban iwi-run services and free clinics for the homeless. She currently works at Oratoa Cannons Creek in East Porirua in a predominantly Māori Pasifika practice owned by Ngāti Toa Rangatira. Lucy has been mentoring GP trainees for over 20 years, including teaching consultation skills and reflective practice. She is a well-known GP writer, speaker and performer who has written plays, given addresses and performances at conferences and written a monthly column for New Zealand Doctor Rata Aotearoa since 2017. In 2024 she recorded stories and reflections she had written during the pandemic. Waiting for Covid is available on podcast platforms.