A Team of Practitioners

Dr. Mona Marabani
Rheumatologist
President, Australian Rheumatology Association

Rheumatology I think was the first speciality to recognise the importance of the team approach in looking after people. So when you’re dealing with a chronic illness we’ve got to look at all the ways in which that can affect people and all the people who can maybe help you to get on with your life.

Suzie Edward May
Member, Arthritis Australia National Consumer Reference Group (rheumatoid arthritis)
Author of ‘Arthritis, pregnany and the path to parenthood’

It’s really important to build a team of healthcare professionals around you that you feel that you can work with. People that you not only respect for their medical or health expertise, but you who also get along with; that your personalities fit so that you can work together.

Wendy Favorito
Consumer Director Arthritis Australia
Chair, Arthritis Australia National Consumer Reference Group (rheumatoid arthritis)

So when you get that diagnosis of RA one of the things that people can expect is that they’re going to have more than one healthcare provider working with them and I often think of it as a team; as a team of people to help you, it’s not just one person. The rheumatologist obviously is critical in managing the medical sides of it. The GP is just as valuable as the rheumatologist, I think certainly from my experience.

Dr. Samuel Whittle
Rheumatologist, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide

The patients who do best are those who form a good team around themselves. They find a GP that they get on well with. They find a rheumatologist that they can communicate well with and work well with. And then work particularly with the GP to help find other health professionals who can help them with various aspects of managing their disease.