EPISODE 26: Dr. Janice Tan – Expansive Optimism, Digital Health, and the Art of Recalibrating

Hello and welcome to Recalibrating with me, Sheree Johnson, where you'll hear healthcare professionals and others sharing their stories of recalibrating life when the unexpected happened.

Life is full of opportunities to recalibrate with agency, the right mindset, the right resources and the right community.

I think you're really going to enjoy this conversation with Dr. Janice Tan.

Janice is a general practitioner in Sydney and is also on the forefront of digital health strategy.

I love some of the phrases that Janice uses when it comes to digital tech and the fast pace of change.

She talks about having an expansive approach.

kind of optimism.

She talks about considering new tech with optimism and with scepticism, looking from both of those lenses.

And she really values her clinical time as a way of keeping her finger on the pulse while she's meeting all these fabulous things that are coming out of so fast out of the tech space.

Janice describes coming to medicine as with a clear understanding of three things that she really loved.

She really loved science.

She loved talking to people and she loved problem solving.

And I think it's a beautiful example of thinking about what do you love? What are your strengths? Thinking about work from a practical lens, even on a bad day, would this be okay for me? Could I keep doing this work? And from a position of passion, she describes passion as the foundation.

That's the thing.

that can keep us interested in our work.

We had an interesting conversation about what's changed in the consulting room, even in the last five years.

And Janice talks about really everything has changed in the consulting room and even the patients have changed because they're arriving with different information, different kinds of questions, and that's changing the relationship between the patient and the GP.

And I think Janice has some really interesting things to say about the importance of the trust in the relationship between the doctor and the patient.

And as we navigate these new ideas, consent for the transcribing tools and many other things, genomic testing as it becomes more online.

that trust in the relationship is really important for patients to have a place that they can go and ask questions and really think about what's going to work for them and for doctors to have meaningful work that's not somehow superseded or interrupted by the machinery of AI.

We also talked about My Health Record, which is relevant, particularly at the moment, because on the 1st of July, we moved to sharing by default.

So we talked about that.

We also talked about those real feelings of when you step outside of what you know.

So in Janice's case, when she decided to explore work in the corporate space as a strategic advisor, in addition to her clinical work, that that felt uncomfortable and sometimes still feels uncomfortable.

And again, I hope that those of you listening who are thinking about a career change or a portfolio career can really tune into that part of what Janice is saying.

Just because it feels uncomfortable doesn't mean you shouldn't do it or that you can't do it.

That has some implications for our identity and it's the identity work or the limiting beliefs work that is the work you might consider doing with a coach if that's part of what's challenging you in terms of decision-making and clarity for the future of your career.

There are some really clear messages in Janice's view of the world.

One that she seems to think is particularly precious is the empowerment of patience and I I feel reassured by that in the context of big tech and the fast pace of change that's going on that people are expected to navigate.

And she also named very clearly one of her values, which is this idea of wanting to leave the world a bit better than you found it.

I found this conversation with Dr. Janice Tan a really encouraging conversation, and I look forward to hearing what you think about it.

Dr. Janice Tan is a practicing general practitioner and also a digital health leader who is passionate about transforming healthcare delivery.

As general manager of clinical innovation at Bupa Australia, Dr. Tan leads initiatives that leverage emerging technologies and innovative models of care to democratize access to quality healthcare for both clinicians and consumers.

She practices as a GP in southwestern Sydney with clinical expertise in women's health, paediatrics and mental health, maintaining frontline insight while driving digital health strategy.

This dual perspective allows her to advocate for solutions that can improve workflows, reduce inefficiencies and enhance patient outcomes.

Beyond Bupa, Janus contributes to shaping Australia's digital health and primary care landscape with the Royal Australian College of GPs, RACGP, and the Central Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network, ensuring digital health solutions are safe, equitable and designed with the needs of both patients and clinicians at the centre.

I'm really very thrilled today to be talking with Dr. Janice Tan and to be sharing this conversation with you.

Janice and I have said hello a couple of times, very in passing.

It's the first time that we've got to really have a conversation together.

So I'm really curious about learning from her, particularly about digital health.

And I know that you're going to really enjoy this conversation and get a lot out of it.

As you all know, Recalibrating with Cherie Johnson is really about trying to help people see the really the scope of what doctors can turn their skills to and what health care workers are involved in, other than just what we might think of as the traditional clinical work.

And Dr. Tan is a really beautiful example of that.

So welcome, Janice.

It's lovely to see you.

Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

Hello and welcome to Recalibrating with me, Sheree Johnson, where you'll hear healthcare professionals and others sharing their stories of recalibrating life when the unexpected happened.

Life is full of opportunities to recalibrate with agency, the right mindset, the right resources and the right community.

I think you're really going to enjoy this conversation with Dr. Janice Tan.

Janice is a general practitioner in Sydney and is also on the forefront of digital health strategy.

I love some of the phrases that Janice uses when it comes to digital tech and the fast pace of change.

She talks about having an expansive approach.

kind of optimism.

She talks about considering new tech with optimism and with scepticism, looking from both of those lenses.

And she really values her clinical time as a way of keeping her finger on the pulse while she's meeting all these fabulous things that are coming out of so fast out of the tech space.

Janice describes coming to medicine as with a clear understanding of three things that she really loved.

She really loved science.

She loved talking to people and she loved problem solving.

And I think it's a beautiful example of thinking about what do you love? What are your strengths? Thinking about work from a practical lens, even on a bad day, would this be okay for me? Could I keep doing this work? And from a position of passion, she describes passion as the foundation.

That's the thing.

that can keep us interested in our work.

We had an interesting conversation about what's changed in the consulting room, even in the last five years.

And Janice talks about really everything has changed in the consulting room and even the patients have changed because they're arriving with different information, different kinds of questions, and that's changing the relationship between the patient and the GP.

And I think Janice has some really interesting things to say about the importance of the trust in the relationship between the doctor and the patient.

And as we navigate these new ideas, consent for the transcribing tools and many other things, genomic testing as it becomes more online.

that trust in the relationship is really important for patients to have a place that they can go and ask questions and really think about what's going to work for them and for doctors to have meaningful work that's not somehow superseded or interrupted by the machinery of AI.

We also talked about My Health Record, which is relevant, particularly at the moment, because on the 1st of July, we moved to sharing by default.

So we talked about that.

We also talked about those real feelings of when you step outside of what you know.

So in Janice's case, when she decided to explore work in the corporate space as a strategic advisor, in addition to her clinical work, that that felt uncomfortable and sometimes still feels uncomfortable.

And again, I hope that those of you listening who are thinking about a career change or a portfolio career can really tune into that part of what Janice is saying.

Just because it feels uncomfortable doesn't mean you shouldn't do it or that you can't do it.

That has some implications for our identity and it's the identity work or the limiting beliefs work that is the work you might consider doing with a coach if that's part of what's challenging you in terms of decision-making and clarity for the future of your career.

There are some really clear messages in Janice's view of the world.

One that she seems to think is particularly precious is the empowerment of patience and I I feel reassured by that in the context of big tech and the fast pace of change that's going on that people are expected to navigate.

And she also named very clearly one of her values, which is this idea of wanting to leave the world a bit better than you found it.

I found this conversation with Dr. Janice Tan a really encouraging conversation, and I look forward to hearing what you think about it.

Dr. Janice Tan is a practicing general practitioner and also a digital health leader who is passionate about transforming healthcare delivery.

As general manager of clinical innovation at Bupa Australia, Dr. Tan leads initiatives that leverage emerging technologies and innovative models of care to democratize access to quality healthcare for both clinicians and consumers.

She practices as a GP in southwestern Sydney with clinical expertise in women's health, paediatrics and mental health, maintaining frontline insight while driving digital health strategy.

This dual perspective allows her to advocate for solutions that can improve workflows, reduce inefficiencies and enhance patient outcomes.

Beyond Bupa, Janus contributes to shaping Australia's digital health and primary care landscape with the Royal Australian College of GPs, RACGP, and the Central Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network, ensuring digital health solutions are safe, equitable and designed with the needs of both patients and clinicians at the centre.

I'm really very thrilled today to be talking with Dr. Janice Tan and to be sharing this conversation with you.

Janice and I have said hello a couple of times, very in passing.

It's the first time that we've got to really have a conversation together.

So I'm really curious about learning from her, particularly about digital health.

And I know that you're going to really enjoy this conversation and get a lot out of it.

As you all know, Recalibrating with Cherie Johnson is really about trying to help people see the really the scope of what doctors can turn their skills to and what health care workers are involved in, other than just what we might think of as the traditional clinical work.

And Dr. Tan is a really beautiful example of that.

So welcome, Janice.

It's lovely to see you.

Thank you.

Thank you for having me.