How medicolegal practice found me and can find you too

It’s tricky to look back on difficult times, but out of them sometimes do come new directions, so it’s worth reflecting on them purely just to realise this.

I’m sure I was one of many who found themselves pretty lost and wondering about career pivots in 2021 as we emerged from the worst pandemic in modern times. All health professionals struggled with the constant change and uncertainty to our work, flipping from face to face to telehealth, from private practice back into locum work and public hospital roles. When the restrictions were lifted, some were relieved to go back to what they knew and felt familiar after times of immense change.

Others like me felt something had shifted and heading back to my pandemic career life felt like it no longer made me happy. 

In 2021 I looked around for something else to do. It wasn’t the first time, but it was the most sustained of explorations and I cast the net quite widely. From medical writing, which I’d done for years but fantasised taking to a more serious level, to teaching, to board director roles and to finally putting that CV in at Bunnings to work in the Gardening section. 

I have always been intrigued by human behaviour, character and predicament. I recognised that the day to day grind of being  staff or private psychiatrist kept me distant from that as the discipline and practice in a redundant and overburdened system had little time and regards for such a luxury.  And I loved words. From the smallest person I was amazed and moved by characters, story, expression and journey.

I needed something that embraced the two, and as much as I loved it, medical writing needed to become a hobby and interest, not something that allowed me to provide. 

As a long time learner I threw myself into doing courses and certificates. By 2022 I had committed to the AICD Company Directors Course, studying while I worked in Locum posts across Australia. I obtained my qualifications; a huge stretch in intellectual discovery, developing a mastery of topics that I had never accessed during medical or pharmacy training. 

I also spoke to psychiatry colleagues about roles on Medical Panels, positions that only came up every 3-5 years or so, and seemed elusive for a complete novice like me. But these conversations did begin my quest to learn more about the world and field of medicolegal practice.

I am Adult Generalist trained, and was interested in forensic psychiatry as a trainee but never enough to pursue it as a discrete subspecialty. Back then my only goal was to get my FRANZCP as fast as possible so, as a single mother of a young child, I could have autonomy and flexibility over my working week. Years later with my son now an adolescent, it was time to think about pivoting but in a way that embraced and incorporated my real loves in life. 

My love of writing and the art of writing communication

My love of the discipline of psychiatry 

Enter my decision to pursue work as an Independent Medicolegal Expert - a consultant psychiatrist who had an interest in applying my understanding of psychiatry and my love to express this through written communication. I was excited to learn that I could be of value in informing and guiding civil matters such as third party claims and personal injury matters. I completed qualifications with the AMA that seemed to open the door and legitimize my qualifications and expertise. I was approached by medicolegal agencies and with a fair degree of imposter syndrome and a lot of encouragement from peers I jumped into this new world and moved away from clinical practice forever. 

At the same time, there was a surge in demand for qualitative reports for victims of historical sexual abuse, post the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Childhood Abuse, and the development of the National Redress Scheme. I began to be highly sought after in the same way as I was a female psychiatrist in private practice; invariably victims of male perpetrators did not feel comfortable speaking to an male in authority. I recognised that I did not need a sophisticated knowledge of the law, but only the aspects that applied to me, being the Wrongs Act, and the Civil Proceedings Act/Civil Procedure Act, depending on jursidiction.

I was not sought after for a forensic psychiatry background but my ability to assess a patient in around two hours, and prepare a report based on the findings, informed by my years of clinical practice and my understanding of the psychiatric sequelae of traumatic incidents. 

I was aware that my role would entail being an Expert Witness in Court. To date, the cases I have been involved in have settled at mediation, but I’m prepared for the task. I am also aware that the robustness of my report carries a lot of weight as to whether matters can settle before being heard in the Supreme Court. 

I have developed a love of professional development involving anything in the medicolegal environment, and have joined Societies that stretch and expand my knowledge. I am learning to see things how lawyers see them, while staying in my own lane. I have created new professional networks and my knowledge base has expanded as a result. I now have a busy medicolegal practice, and work with psychiatrists to support each other's work, discuss cases and enhance our understanding of this field. 

My experience as a medicolegal expert has enhanced my professional career and I see it as a really exciting time, rather than the traditional approach to the work being there for those slowing down, and “keeping their hands in”. I’ve learnt that often relevance and proximity to clinical years is better regarded that longevity as a psychiatrist. 

And I’ve recognise that this specialty of psychiatry, which should be regarded as such, would be the most advantageous of options for those juggling parenthood, who want something that is flexible yet stretches the mind and the intellect. 

But most of all for me, I’ve discovered it remains one area where I feel that psychiatrists are still considered to be experts, in a system where we are often disregarded for our knowledge and expertise, and replaced by non-medical clinicians at every opportunity. In court rooms and with the legal profession, my opinions absolutely do matter. And that goes a long way to delivering me a sense of satisfaction in my work.