Dr Anne Saunders
Tell us about where you practice, and some of the other roles you have?
I work part time as a general practitioner in private practice. I see a wide variety of patients in this role including offering addiction medicine services depending on clinical need. I also have the privilege of working in a tertiary emergency department as a consultant GP part time. I am the immediate past co-chair of the RACGP Victoria Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Committee and was in this role for four years. As an RACGP educator, I teach medication assisted treatment for opioid dependence and the family violence program.
What aspects of being a GP do you enjoy most, and what do you find most challenging?
I find looking after patients the most satisfying part of my job, followed closely by the longstanding relationships with medical colleagues. I have been in my current practice for the past six years and, reflecting on this (especially at this time of year), I feel incredibly lucky to be trusted by my patients as their GP. On any day there is amazing work, from chest pain and musculoskeletal injuries to issues of aging or mental health. I think this keeps me sharp and allows me to remain curious about what is happening with my patients. The most challenging part of my role is always administration and keeping on top of the paperwork; figuring out how exactly to get the system to work like the clinical guidelines recommend.
What motivated you to specialise in addiction medicine within general practice?
When I first thought about this question, the easy answer was that a patient was my motivation for developing more expertise in addiction medicine. On my second read, I think it was also that my great uncle struggled with alcohol dependence his entire life. I saw the devastating effect it had on him in terms of social isolation, lack of opportunities, and eventual late diagnosis of metastatic colon cancer. I would love to think that more GPs can reach out to their patients about their substance use before it comes to that.
One of my GP supervisors gave me excellent advice when I was training; when I wasn’t sure about the right course for a patient problem, I should use that as an opportunity to extend my medical knowledge. So, of course, the first time a patient came to me with difficulty regarding their alcohol use I started my journey into developing skills in addiction medicine. I also felt that this area had a lot of stigma. Patients frequently struggled to both find help and to engage consistently with healthcare providers. GPs are ideally situated to ask questions, provide support, and walk alongside our patients. This also makes us invaluable when treating chronic health conditions like substance use disorders.
How can Victorian GPs become more involved with addiction medicine?
There are many ways: Self-directed learning materials are available on the RACGP AOD landing page, with information on almost any topic of addiction in general practice. For GPs who are interested in learning more about opioid governance and extending their skills, I would encourage them to consider enrolling in the MATOD course. Reconnexion is doing an educational series of webinars next year about benzodiazepine deprescribing, which I am looking forward to. Also, next year there will be the GPADD Conference in September. The theme of the conference will be about addiction medicine in general practice; smoking, alcohol, THC, benzodiazepines, and opioids. I would also like to highlight that mental health skills undoubtedly help when discussing change with any patient who may need to adjust their lifestyle. Spending some time learning emotional regulation techniques, motivational interviewing, or CBT is incredibly helpful.
Anyone interested in getting involved in the AOD Committee, or other committees can contact the faculty at vic.faculty@racgp.org.au.
For more information on MATOD training, contact vic.matod@racgp.org.au.