#196 Cultural Conversations and the Water Well Project with Dr Linny Phuong

How do you explain a blood test, a referral, or even shared decision-making when the entire healthcare system is foreign to your patient? In this deeply thoughtful and practical episode, Dr. Linny Phuong, paediatric infectious diseases physician and founder of the award-winning Water Well Project, joins Dr. Rob Park to explore how we as clinicians can better connect with patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Drawing on personal stories, community experience, and years of frontline advocacy setting up and running The Water Well project, Linny shares how a simple, respectful conversation can build trust, shift health outcomes, and empower patients—especially those navigating an unfamiliar system. From chaotic first health sessions in church foyers to calm insights about interpreters, symbols, and the power of pausing, this episode is packed with memorable lessons and practical tips for any GP. Whether it's making sense of preventative health, navigating language barriers, or just knowing when a nod doesn't mean understanding, Linny offers real tools to make your consultations more inclusive, compassionate, and effective. If you've ever had a moment where something felt "lost in translation," this one's for you. https://www.thewaterwellproject.org/ ... If you find this podcast valuable then subscribing, sharing, rating it 5 stars and leaving a review is appreciated. If you would like to request a topic, please contact us via thegpshow.com or [email protected]  Thank you for listening and your support. ...  Job opportunity: Are you a GP, psychiatrist or nurse based in Sydney interested in mental health and whole of person health care?  Exciting job opportunities have come up, please contact Dr Sam Manger for more [email protected]  Interested in whole of person clinical practice and research that addresses the lifestyle and social determinants of illness and wellbeing?  Check out the JCU postgraduate courses: Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, and Master in Lifestyle Medicine. Dr Sam Manger on YouTube: Using lifestyle as medicine: A new era in chronic disease remission Our 3 week online microcredential in Lifestyle Medicine and Mental Health: Life and Mind available here.