Mastering Intensive Care

About Mastering Intensive Care

This podcast is designed to inspire intensive care clinicians to become the very best they can be at delivering care to their critically ill patients.

Publisher

Andrew Davies

Category

health & fitness · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 Mar 2017

Latest episode

7 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 100 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   7 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT

   100 - Claire Davies - The Art of Compassionate Witnessing

   Host Andrew Davies interviews spiritual care practitioner Claire Davies about compassionate witnessing and authentic presence in intensive care.

2. 

   5 Mar 2026

   What Happened After Run Larapinta – Mastering Intensive Challenges Recap (Episode 10)

   From finish-line highs to injury, doubt, and rebuilding. Over two years ago, Run Larapinta ended in triumph. But the months that followed brought injury, uncertainty, and a slow road back to running. In this episode, I reconnect with fellow intensivist Ed Litton to reflect on what really happened after we crossed the finish line. The original Mastering Intensive Challenges - Run Larapinta series, published over several months in 2023, followed our journey as we prepared for and completed the four-day, 120 km trail running stage race along the spectacular Larapinta Trail in Central Australia. It was a shared adventure and a memorable experience. But the story didn't end there. In this recap episode, Ed speaks honestly about the unexpected challenges that followed, including a hip injury that led to months off running, and the psychological impact of losing his confidence. It was a slow rehabilitation, and it taught him important lessons about the patience and humility an endurance runner must have. It wasn't all roses for me, either, and I talk about the knee injury that temporarily derailed me, and threatened my identity. This episode serves as a reflection on the Run Larapinta journey and a reminder that the most meaningful lessons from endurance challenges often come after the finish line. Andrew Davies -------------------- Relevant links Mastering Intensive Care podcast Mastering Intensive Challenges - Run Larapinta - Episode 1 Mastering Intensive Challenges - Run Larapinta - Episode 2 Mastering Intensive Challenges - Run Larapinta - Episode 3 Mastering Intensive Challenges - Run Larapinta - Episode 4 Mastering Intensive Challenges - Run Larapinta - Episode 5 Mastering Intensive Challenges - Run Larapinta - Episode 6 Mastering Intensive Challenges - Run Larapinta - Episode 7 Mastering Intensive Challenges - Run Larapinta - Episode 8 Mastering Intensive Challenges - Run Larapinta - Episode 9 Mastering Intensive Care page on Facebook Mastering Intensive Care at Life In The Fast Lane Andrew Davies on X (Twitter) (https://twitter.com/andrewdavies66): @andrewdavies66 Andrew Davies on Instagram: @andrewdavies66 Andrew Davies on LinkedIn Email Andrew Davies Audio Producer Chris Burke Burke Sound & Media (https://burkesound.wordpress.com/)

3. 

   21 Dec 2025

   98 - Forbes McGain - Every decision has a footprint

   The guest on this episode is Dr Forbes McGain, who speaks about what sustainability really means in healthcare, and why it's inseparable from good medicine. Drawing on his clinical work, research, and experience during COVID-19, Forbes explores how everyday ICU decisions carry environmental consequences, how "less is more" can benefit both patients and the planet, and how sustainability can align with patient safety, staff wellbeing, and cost. The conversation moves from bedside practice to hospital systems and innovation, while also reflecting on communication, mentorship, and what it means to be a thoughtful, humane intensivist. Forbes is an intensivist, anaesthetist, researcher, and one of the leading voices in sustainable healthcare in Australia. He works clinically at Western Health in Melbourne and is also an Associate Professor of Critical Care and the Associate Dean of Sustainable Healthcare at the University of Melbourne. In this episode, Forbes speaks about: How growing up on a farm shaped his connection to nature and medicine His pathway through anaesthesia and intensive care, and why he still practises both What sustainability really means in healthcare Why every decision made on an ICU ward round has an environmental footprint Thinking in life cycles rather than single-use devices Practical examples of sustainable practice at the bedside The principle of "less is more" in intensive care Micro, meso, and macro approaches to creating change The central role of nurses in the ICU Hospital energy use and the case for fully electric hospitals Innovation during COVID-19, including the McMonty isolation hood What sustains him personally, and advice for trainees interested in systems change I hope you enjoy listening to this inspiring conversation with Associate Professor Forbes McGain. Andrew Davies -------------------- About the Mastering Intensive Care podcast: The podcast aims to inspire and empower you, through conversations about the human side of Intensive Care, to bring your best self to work, with a focus on compassion, collaboration and personal wellbeing. -------------------- Relevant links A/Prof Forbes McGain on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/forbes-mcgain-94032330/) Healthcare Carbon Lab (https://mdhs.unimelb.edu.au/healthcare-carbon-lab) Climate CATCH Lab Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) (https://www.dea.org.au/) McMonty Hood (https://medihood.com.au/) Mastering Intensive Care podcast Mastering Intensive Care page on Facebook Mastering Intensive Care at Life In The Fast Lane Andrew Davies on X (Twitter) (https://twitter.com/andrewdavies66): @andrewdavies66 Andrew Davies on Instagram: @andrewdavies66 Andrew Davies on LinkedIn Email Andrew Davies Audio Producer Chris Burke Burke Sound & Media (https://burkesound.wordpress.com/)

Inside a recent episode

100 - Claire Davies - The Art of Compassionate Witnessing

Published 7 Aug 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] It's given me an immense amount of professional satisfaction. It has required me to be very humble at times. It's... It's changed me and I know that you've noticed that I'm different. I think I have more patience now. I think I'm kinder to myself and I'm kinder to those around me. So it has been a pretty incredible... I could never have imagined myself ending up in pastoral care because I think I thought it had something to do with religion. When I came to understand that it's about what sustains me and I needed to actually work out my worldview and what actually supports the essence of who I am that some might call the spirit and in order to be able to sit with others in their suffering and sit with them also as they're grappling with these questions about their belief system, which may or may not be a religious worldview, but it might just be around the injustice that's got nothing to do with a religious framework. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

29 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

18 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 45 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

51

Social presence

91

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

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