Dr David Spain: Career reflections from an introverted leader

For episode 16, we took the chance to sit down with Dr David Spain, affectionately known as "Spaino" to capture some of his experience and advice as he moves into retirement after a long and successful career (42 years!) in emergency medicine as the Deputy Director of Gold Coast Health ED.

Spaino shared his thoughts on the history of emergency medicine and the growth he has witnessed while being part of the specialty. We also heard his predictions for the future of emergency medicine and the challenges the profession continues to face.

We loved hearing Spaino's viewpoint on being an (introverted) leader, always leading with integrity and being quietly authoritative to achieve success. He provided insight into his transition into retirement and how flying remote controlled planes (and other cool things) is helping the transition away from clinical practice.

Spaino is a man of few words so we were extra grateful for him to talk with us, and for longer than he would usually talk to anyone. 

Book suggestion: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami