Cultivating Curiosity: A systems and design thinking approach to innovation in patient safety, communication and quality improvement in Heathcare with Associate Professor Bhavesh Patel.

In S6 E8 I am delighted to welcome Associate Professor Bhavesh Patel to the podcast. Dr Patel is a senior paediatric surgeon at The Queensland Children's hospital with over two decades of experience in paediatric and neonatal, colorectal and urological surgery. He is the Queensland State-wide Clinical Lead for Surgical Quality Improvement through his appointment at Clinical Excellence Queensland. As an Associate Professor he teaches students at several medical schools, and provides state-wide education to nursing staff and other medical professionals. He trains future surgeons, and his research spans across a number of fields.  Bhavesh also has interests in digital health, technology, health literacy and human factors in health care.

In this conversation I have the opportunity to learn more about his work and the different hats Bhavesh now wears in his clinical, executive and educator roles. We discuss the evolution of his work in quality and safety and the systems thinking lens he applies to complex problem solving in healthcare. Bhavesh share his personal and professional journey and development and the impact of coaching on his ability to harness his ideas and efforts, gaining confidence and focus in recent years.

I was particular keen to explore his creative approach to digital innovation in patient communication including infographics and his recent work in building an experimental AI avatar. 

We do well to cover a lot of ground here but I still left this conversation feeling I had peeled only a few layers of the onion, and the brilliant, curious mind of this creative clinician. There will have to be an encore! 

Finally Bhavesh gives a taster for his keynote presentation at the 2025 Creative Careers in Medicine conference and listeners who missed the conference will be able to access the recordings when released ( details below). 

Links / references:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbhaveshpatel/

https://www.instagram.com/handofasurgeon/?hl=en

CCIM conference - recording link with be listed when available:

https://ccim2025.my.canva.site/

Bhavesh's book recommendations:

If Disney Ran Your Hospital Fred Lee

https://www.samuelthomasdavies.com/book-summaries/business/the-almanack-of-naval-ravikant/

The Mind Full Medic Podcast is proudly sponsored by the MBA NSW-ACT Find out more about the charitable organisation supporting doctors and their families and/ or donate today at www.mbansw.org.au

Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care professional. Moreover views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of our employers or other official organisations.