WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.179 --> 00:00:03.330 (soft upbeat music) 2 00:00:03.330 --> 00:00:05.400 I was brought up in Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, 3 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:06.840 in the mining area. 4 00:00:06.840 --> 00:00:07.800 In that environment, 5 00:00:07.800 --> 00:00:10.200 I was taught to work hard, 6 00:00:10.200 --> 00:00:14.814 you know, and really just look for the opportunities. 7 00:00:14.814 --> 00:00:18.330 My parents were very, very focused on school. 8 00:00:18.330 --> 00:00:21.180 Education gives the opportunity to get up in the morning 9 00:00:21.180 --> 00:00:22.680 and enjoy what you do, 10 00:00:22.680 --> 00:00:24.794 and that sort of underpinned everything. 11 00:00:24.794 --> 00:00:28.410 (soft upbeat music continues) 12 00:00:28.410 --> 00:00:30.450 I went to med school in 1975 13 00:00:30.450 --> 00:00:32.070 and really at first, 14 00:00:32.070 --> 00:00:35.040 in the first sort of few days, 15 00:00:35.040 --> 00:00:36.600 and I think it might have even been the first day, 16 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:40.170 we were introduced to the anatomy class, 17 00:00:40.170 --> 00:00:41.003 where people have 18 00:00:41.003 --> 00:00:43.050 very generously given their bodies to science, 19 00:00:43.050 --> 00:00:45.330 so that myself and all my peers 20 00:00:45.330 --> 00:00:47.580 would be able to learn the art and the science 21 00:00:47.580 --> 00:00:50.416 of the anatomy of the human body. 22 00:00:50.416 --> 00:00:53.730 And I was, I was sold, done, done, that is it. 23 00:00:53.730 --> 00:00:55.890 If a surgeon puts this back together, 24 00:00:55.890 --> 00:00:57.030 this is exquisite, 25 00:00:57.030 --> 00:00:58.500 that's what I will be. 26 00:00:58.500 --> 00:00:59.988 And I'm thinking, 27 00:00:59.988 --> 00:01:01.387 "I must be either really boring 28 00:01:01.387 --> 00:01:03.862 "or very fortunate that I'm very focused," 29 00:01:03.862 --> 00:01:05.102 (Fiona laughing) 30 00:01:05.102 --> 00:01:06.450 whichever lens you put on that, 31 00:01:06.450 --> 00:01:09.510 because I've stayed the same since 1975 32 00:01:09.510 --> 00:01:12.973 and it's been the focus ever since then. 33 00:01:12.973 --> 00:01:16.590 (medical monitor beeping) (soft upbeat music) 34 00:01:16.590 --> 00:01:19.680 But then I've been very, very privileged 35 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:22.293 to work in an environment, 36 00:01:23.442 --> 00:01:25.770 where both from a clinical team 37 00:01:25.770 --> 00:01:27.210 and a research team, 38 00:01:27.210 --> 00:01:31.560 I work with people that are extraordinary and focused, 39 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:35.790 and you know, and just great to be around 40 00:01:35.790 --> 00:01:37.320 and solve problems with. 41 00:01:37.320 --> 00:01:40.770 But that whole package is focused on them, 42 00:01:40.770 --> 00:01:42.674 the group of people that we treat. 43 00:01:42.674 --> 00:01:46.350 (medical monitor beeping) (soft upbeat music) 44 00:01:46.350 --> 00:01:48.270 And then you think of the system, 45 00:01:48.270 --> 00:01:49.713 the circumstances, 46 00:01:50.550 --> 00:01:52.980 and there are times in my life 47 00:01:52.980 --> 00:01:55.260 where the circumstances have been 48 00:01:55.260 --> 00:01:58.620 in that perfect storm kind of space 49 00:01:58.620 --> 00:01:59.647 and where I think, 50 00:01:59.647 --> 00:02:02.370 "Wow, did that really just happen?" 51 00:02:02.370 --> 00:02:05.317 And being Australian of the Year was one of those, 52 00:02:05.317 --> 00:02:07.437 "Like, wow, did that really just happen?" 53 00:02:08.850 --> 00:02:11.130 Yeah, so there's circumstances as well, 54 00:02:11.130 --> 00:02:13.200 so there's the people and then the circumstance. 55 00:02:13.200 --> 00:02:16.682 And we've just had the 20 year anniversary of Bali 56 00:02:16.682 --> 00:02:17.933 (siren wailing) (people talking) 57 00:02:17.933 --> 00:02:21.252 and that's harder to talk about as each year goes by. 58 00:02:21.252 --> 00:02:24.180 (fire rustling) (siren wailing) 59 00:02:24.180 --> 00:02:26.700 I think any problem that I... 60 00:02:26.700 --> 00:02:29.670 and I learned a lot, as you can imagine, 61 00:02:29.670 --> 00:02:30.870 you learn a lot about yourself 62 00:02:30.870 --> 00:02:32.970 in these extreme circumstances, 63 00:02:32.970 --> 00:02:35.730 and if you've planned and you're trained, 64 00:02:35.730 --> 00:02:39.960 then that is your privilege to use the training 65 00:02:39.960 --> 00:02:41.707 'cause I say to the youngsters, 66 00:02:41.707 --> 00:02:43.177 "You may think you did all the hard work 67 00:02:43.177 --> 00:02:44.617 "but it's actually you're training 68 00:02:44.617 --> 00:02:47.557 "and the system that has been facilitated for decades, 69 00:02:47.557 --> 00:02:48.847 "hundreds of years, 70 00:02:48.847 --> 00:02:51.628 "and it's been facilitated by. you know, your family." 71 00:02:51.628 --> 00:02:55.440 And you know, so you, there's a level of obligation 72 00:02:55.440 --> 00:02:57.600 and responsibility to give back here. 73 00:02:57.600 --> 00:02:59.460 You know, this privileged education is is useless, 74 00:02:59.460 --> 00:03:00.690 unless you use it. 75 00:03:00.690 --> 00:03:04.830 So, it was a privilege to be able to enact a plan 76 00:03:04.830 --> 00:03:08.580 that was based on a lot of thought and practise, 77 00:03:08.580 --> 00:03:12.600 and, you know, working how to do better, 78 00:03:12.600 --> 00:03:14.077 and then standing back and thinking, 79 00:03:14.077 --> 00:03:16.537 "Well, okay, if we were to do this, 80 00:03:16.537 --> 00:03:18.270 "how would we refine it again?" 81 00:03:18.270 --> 00:03:19.461 You know? 82 00:03:19.461 --> 00:03:20.670 So, all that constant learning, 83 00:03:20.670 --> 00:03:22.157 constantly all the time. 84 00:03:22.157 --> 00:03:25.157 (soft upbeat music) 85 00:03:27.015 --> 00:03:31.680 I think my fundamental belief of going to the table, 86 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:34.170 learning from today to make tomorrow better, 87 00:03:34.170 --> 00:03:36.150 puts you at the edge of knowledge. 88 00:03:36.150 --> 00:03:39.480 I think one of the most important things in what we do 89 00:03:39.480 --> 00:03:41.862 is recognising the need to do better. 90 00:03:41.862 --> 00:03:44.730 (soft upbeat music) 91 00:03:44.730 --> 00:03:47.460 I learned very early, 92 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:49.500 when I was at medical school, 93 00:03:49.500 --> 00:03:54.420 that there's a lot of people that will make comment 94 00:03:54.420 --> 00:03:56.730 without engagement in problem solving. 95 00:03:56.730 --> 00:03:59.850 There are people who told me that because I was a woman, 96 00:03:59.850 --> 00:04:01.650 from a Yorkshire mining village, 97 00:04:01.650 --> 00:04:03.870 I could not be a surgeon. 98 00:04:03.870 --> 00:04:06.303 Well, and I thought, 99 00:04:07.564 --> 00:04:08.397 "Well, what do I do here? 100 00:04:08.397 --> 00:04:09.870 "You know, where do I go?" 101 00:04:09.870 --> 00:04:11.490 Clearly there was absolutely no point 102 00:04:11.490 --> 00:04:13.380 in engaging with the conversation with this person, 103 00:04:13.380 --> 00:04:16.800 because they're then not my tribe, 104 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:21.390 because they have no capacity for original thought. 105 00:04:21.390 --> 00:04:22.530 (Fiona laughing) 106 00:04:22.530 --> 00:04:25.050 And so I'd walk on by. 107 00:04:25.050 --> 00:04:28.380 And so, I think as I went forward I've had to... 108 00:04:28.380 --> 00:04:32.400 I've coped with the criticism here and there, 109 00:04:32.400 --> 00:04:33.570 and by just walking on by, 110 00:04:33.570 --> 00:04:35.220 look, you know, fine. 111 00:04:35.220 --> 00:04:37.170 And I will engage in problem solving, 112 00:04:37.170 --> 00:04:39.360 I will engage in criticism with problem solving. 113 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:43.024 We will work out the evidence and work together, 114 00:04:43.024 --> 00:04:44.520 and that's absolutely life's blood. 115 00:04:44.520 --> 00:04:47.020 But I will not engage in people 116 00:04:48.731 --> 00:04:52.680 that have such a narrow scoped view, 117 00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:54.837 that all they can say is, "No." 118 00:04:56.250 --> 00:04:58.177 If we all said, "Yes," and then, 119 00:04:58.177 --> 00:05:00.960 "Let's work out how to make this happen." 120 00:05:00.960 --> 00:05:03.517 Or, "Yes, let's interrogate that, 121 00:05:03.517 --> 00:05:07.260 "work out that it's a rubbish idea and fine." 122 00:05:07.260 --> 00:05:09.720 But if we say, "No," 123 00:05:09.720 --> 00:05:12.660 what we do to that young person often, 124 00:05:12.660 --> 00:05:14.910 is we leave them floundering, 125 00:05:14.910 --> 00:05:16.020 with an idea, 126 00:05:16.020 --> 00:05:19.320 like flapping like a fish on the jetty, you know? 127 00:05:19.320 --> 00:05:20.227 Whereas if we said, 128 00:05:20.227 --> 00:05:22.057 "Yeah, I don't know about that. 129 00:05:22.057 --> 00:05:24.390 "But I think someone over here may know about it," 130 00:05:24.390 --> 00:05:26.617 or, "Yeah, let's have a think about that. 131 00:05:26.617 --> 00:05:28.746 "Let's have a coffee over that." 132 00:05:28.746 --> 00:05:29.579 Or somebody, 133 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:30.847 "Hey, have you heard this idea? 134 00:05:30.847 --> 00:05:32.797 "Can you... can you just take that on?" 135 00:05:33.690 --> 00:05:38.370 If we said, "Yes," as a whole society, 136 00:05:38.370 --> 00:05:41.010 rather than a default, "No," 137 00:05:41.010 --> 00:05:43.830 we would generate energy, 138 00:05:43.830 --> 00:05:45.960 we would generate solutions, 139 00:05:45.960 --> 00:05:49.110 and we'd generate goodwill and collaboration. 140 00:05:49.110 --> 00:05:50.820 And so I think, let's see, 141 00:05:50.820 --> 00:05:53.430 let's take the "no" off the table all together 142 00:05:53.430 --> 00:05:55.590 and let's actually just say, "Yes," 143 00:05:55.590 --> 00:05:57.157 and then there's the "but." 144 00:05:57.157 --> 00:05:59.287 "How are we gonna make this work? 145 00:05:59.287 --> 00:06:02.442 "How are we gonna explore the boundaries, together?" 146 00:06:02.442 --> 00:06:05.442 (soft upbeat music)