64 | Dr. Himali McInnes on writing, intergenerational trauma & correctional facilities

Doctor NOS

Dr. Himali McInnes is a general practitioner who works in a busy Auckland clinic and a prison. She writes short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. Her book of medical essays, The Unexpected Patient, was published in September 2021 by Harper Collins. Himali is an avid reader, a constant gardener, and an urban chicken farmer and beekeeper.
In this episode, we discuss her work in general practice and women's correctional facilities, her process in writing, the model minority and the struggle with balancing two cultures, intergenerational trauma faced by our patients, and the challenges of social mobility and punitive structures of correctional facilities in New Zealand. You can find links to her most recently published book 'The Unexpected Patient', and some of the articles mentioned in the podcast episode.
Articles written by Dr. McInnes:
The Guardian, Intergenerational trauma: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/14/we-dont-live-in-isolation-our-ancestors-trauma-can-affect-our-health-generations-later
The Guardian, Auckland terror attack: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/06/as-a-sri-lankan-new-zealander-i-know-my-adopted-country-can-find-compassion-amid-terror
The Unexpected Patient: https://www.harpercollins.co.nz/9781775541707/the-unexpected-patient/
As always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at [e-mail].

Audio credit:
Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloud
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

Support the show

As always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at [e-mail].

Audio credit:
Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloud
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

Chapters

1. Himali McInnes (00:00:00)

2. Finding medicine (00:01:16)

3. Finding general practice (00:02:28)

4. Balancing GP and writing (00:03:41)

5. Himali's writing process (00:05:56)

6. The Unexpected Patient (00:13:13)

7. Intergenerational trauma in our patients (00:15:43)

8. West Auckland terror attack on ethnic minority (00:21:31)

9. Working in correctional facilities (00:29:47)