AMCU - Australian Medical Community Union

08/09/2025

https://youtu.be/iHMgdt6iFgQ?si=4QZtyX0NvrGvQuLv

email to amcu@strmedical.com.au (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2500794/open_sms) 🎙️ Episode 7 – Hate Speech and Polarization: When Care Be...

31/07/2025

https://youtu.be/yX9gQnr4kjQ?si=q_IlSJOImPGfqU8m

email to amcu@strmedical.com.au (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2500794/open_sms) 🎙 Podcast Summary Title: The Systemic Destruction of Mora...

31/07/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1N96vz7mRr/?mibextid=wwXIfr

28/06/2025

https://youtu.be/p0SyE9cj-Kk?si=3fXRfK0qouWmTr81

email to amcu@strmedical.com.au (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2500794/open_sms) Why does it feel like the harder you work, the less you ke...

14/06/2025

🧩 The Paradox of Performative Toughness

Ever noticed how some people who know very little about a topic come in swinging — full of confidence, low on empathy?

“Stop whining.”
“You’re paid well.”
“Do something yourself.”

Often it’s coming from someone who:

🔹 relies on taxpayer-funded healthcare
🔹 lives on government support or subsidies
🔹 expects society to function smoothly when they need it.....but shows zero respect for the people who hold that system together — nurses, GPs, teachers, social workers, carers.

This isn’t about attacking anyone’s circumstances.
It’s about the disconnect.

💔 You benefit from a caring society — but lash out at those doing the caring.

That’s not toughness.
That’s a failure of humility and gratitude.

👥 Some people are genuinely struggling. That deserves compassion.
But others? They weaponize cynicism. They mock the very people trying to make things better — while demanding everything stay convenient for them.

🤝 We need to bring back social trust.
Not every complaint is weakness.
Not every critic is lazy.
Not every professional is rich.

Sometimes, people speak up because they care.
Because they see a system cracking — and they want to fix it before it breaks entirely.

🌱 So before you post that quick put-down, ask yourself:

Do I actually know what I’m talking about?
Or am I just reacting to a truth I find uncomfortable?

14/06/2025

💡 What Does Your Medicare Rebate Actually Pay For?

When the government gives $42.85 for your GP visit,
that’s not going into a doctor's pocket.
It has to cover everything involved in delivering safe, professional care.
________________________________________
🧾 Here’s what your rebate is stretched across:
• 👨‍⚕️ Doctor’s time (consultation, notes, follow-up calls)
• 👩‍💼 Receptionist’s wage (the one who took your call & checked you in)
• 🧹 Cleaner (to meet infection control standards)
• 🖥️ Computer systems (medical software, booking systems, secure messaging)
• 💡 Electricity (lights, heating, aircon, vaccine fridge)
• 🪑 Furniture (chairs, desk, exam bed, BP monitors, curtains)
• 🧴 Consumables (gloves, gauze, syringes, printer paper, sanitiser)
• 🧾 Medical indemnity insurance (mandatory, rising yearly)
• 🧑‍⚖️ Accreditation fees (for safety compliance & quality standards)
• 🧠 Admin time (referrals, forms, Centrelink reports, scripts, recalls)
All from one rebate: $42.85.
________________________________________
🧊 That amount was frozen for years.
Then raised by only pennies per year.
But everything else?
⬆️ Wages
⬆️ Rent
⬆️ Insurance
⬆️ Power
⬆️ Equipment
________________________________________
💬 So when there’s a gap fee, it’s not greed.
It’s basic survival — just to cover the cost of caring for you.
________________________________________
🔁 Share if you’ve ever thought "why am I paying a gap?"
Because the real question is:
Why isn’t Medicare covering what it should?

08/06/2025

🔍 Deeper Reflection: Why Do People Comment With Aggression and Dismissiveness?

1. Digital Detachment & Anonymity

Social media platforms give people the illusion of interaction without accountability. Locked profiles, fake names, or minimal digital footprints make it easy to:

Speak without consequences

Avoid meaningful dialogue

React impulsively, rather than reflectively

This cultivates a culture of “drive-by” judgment—quick opinions with no responsibility.

2. Collapse of Empathy in a Hyper-Individualist Society
Western societies, particularly in neoliberal economies like Australia, the US, and the UK, have steadily shifted toward individual responsibility narratives. The message is often:

“If you’re struggling, it’s your fault. Fix it yourself.”

This ideology rewards self-sufficiency, while dismissing structural issues like underfunded healthcare, worker exploitation, or bureaucratic injustice. Over time, this hardens into a lack of empathy—and even resentment toward those who speak out.

3. Projection and Internalized Insecurity
Many people feel powerless in their own lives—stressed, underpaid, overlooked. So when they see someone else voicing dissatisfaction, it triggers defensiveness or envy. Instead of processing their own frustration, they lash out:

“If I’m not allowed to complain, why should you?”

This is classic psychological projection—disowning one’s discomfort by attacking it in others.

4. Mistrust and the Decline of Civil Discourse
We live in an age of profound distrust: of institutions, experts, and even each other. That mistrust often manifests as:

Mocking professionals (e.g., GPs, teachers)

Minimizing others’ struggles

Seeing every complaint as “whining” rather than legitimate concern

This stems from years of being told “everyone’s lying” or “you can’t trust anyone,” particularly through populist rhetoric and algorithmic outrage cycles.

5. Addiction to Outrage and Quick Validation
Algorithms reward provocative, simplistic content. The more extreme or emotionally charged a comment is, the more engagement it receives—likes, replies, attention.

For some, this becomes addictive. They learn that the fastest way to feel powerful is to criticize loudly, even if they’re uninformed. It’s not about being right; it’s about being heard.

🧠 So What Can We Do?

We need to:

Rebuild a culture of nuance and context
Model critical empathy—disagreeing with dignity
Challenge toxic individualism by naming structural causes
Restore trust in professional voices by refusing to let mob cynicism define our discourse

06/06/2025

Podcast Segment Preview – “How Do You Change the World?”

Host (John):

People often ask — how do you change the world?

Some say you can’t.
Some say it’s not your place.
That injustice is inevitable. That it’s a job for politicians.
But when you look around… it feels like no one’s really doing it.

And when you try?
You’re called out.
Targeted.
Shamed.
Blocked.

Told you’re too much, or not enough.
Told to follow the rules, to stay quiet, to keep the peace.

And so, good people fall silent.
And when they do —
Inequity rises.
Division grows.
And the suffering… it gets louder.

But I made a choice.
To change the world — one person at a time.
To carry every criticism and keep going.
To stand firm in my belief that better is possible.
To speak for those who can’t.
To listen.
To learn.
To act.

Not to win…
But to leave this world a little kinder, a little fairer, a little braver than I found it.

Because sometimes, the only way forward — is to care enough to try.

31/05/2025

Description:

In this powerful second episode of White Coats, Red Lines, we speak with Dr. Min — a Burmese doctor who became a target of the military regime for choosing ethics over obedience. After joining the Civil Disobedience Movement in the wake of Myanmar’s 2021 coup, Dr. Min was charged under Law 505A, had his medical license revoked, his passport seized, and his academic records blocked from international verification. Now living stateless near the Thai border, he continues to heal others in exile with nothing but a stethoscope and his unwavering oath.

We explore the junta’s use of bureaucratic violence — from license stripping to academic sabotage — and hear firsthand the emotional toll of being cut off from family, career, and country. Dr. Min’s story is one of resilience, resistance, and a call to the global medical community to act in solidarity.

🩺 Theme: When healing becomes a crime.
📩 Contact: amcu.media@outlook.com
📣 Call to Action: Subscribe, share, and stand with Burma’s doctors.

Email to AMCU.MEDIA@OUTLOOK.COM (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2500794/open_sms) Description:In this powerful second episode of White Coats...

31/05/2025

# # 🟡 “NO BUDGET TO INCREASE YOUR MEDICARE REBATE”?

Let’s look at where the money did go.

Between **2014 and 2017**, your Medicare rebate — the government’s contribution to your GP visit — was **frozen**.

That’s right:
❄️ **No increase** for your care.
❌ No adjustment for inflation.
👩‍⚕️ Just flat funding — while clinic costs soared.

Why?

> “Budget pressures,” they said.
> “Tighten the belt,” they said.

# # # 💸 BUT DURING THAT SAME PERIOD…

🔻 \$1.2 billion lost in mismanaged vocational education schemes
🔻 \$5 billion spent on consultants and contractors
🔻 \$2.5 billion on offshore detention with no transparency
🔻 \$1.4 billion in subsidies for fossil fuels — every **year**
🔻 Billions on weapons systems over budget and behind schedule
🔻 \$500,000+ on government ad campaigns during election years
🔻 And in recent years?

* \$20 billion for **Stage 3 tax cuts** mostly benefiting high earners
* \$250 million stadium rebuilds
* \$5.6 billion in **JobKeeper payments to companies that increased profit**

# # # 🧠 Meanwhile, what about your rebate?

| Year | Rebate (Item 23) | Real Cost to Clinics |
| 2014 | \$37.05 (frozen) | \~\$50 |
| 2017 | \$37.05 (still frozen) | \~\$55 |
| 2024 | \$42.85 | \~\$65–\$75 |

📉 When the freeze ended, they gave 1–2% indexation per year.
Inflation? Rent? Wages? Up by **60%+** in the same time.

# # # 🩺 This isn’t a funding issue. It’s a **priority issue**.

They’ll fund weapons, wastage, and consultants —
but not the **frontline care that keeps Australians well**.

# # # 💬 We’re not asking for gold-plated care.

We’re asking for **fair, sustainable funding**.

Because without real Medicare support:

* Clinics close
* GPs burn out
* Patients wait longer — or miss care entirely

🔁 SHARE if you believe healthcare should come before handouts to corporations.

30/05/2025

🗣️ “I Work at a GP Clinic. Here’s What I Wish More People Knew.”

A story from the front desk.

I’m not a doctor. I’m the person who answers the phone when you’re sick, the one who smiles when you walk in, the one who hears your story before anyone else does.

But today, I got yelled at again.

“How dare you charge me! Health care is free in Australia! I pay my taxes!”

The man was shaking with anger. He had a lit cigarette in one hand and a Medicare card in the other.
He wasn’t the first. He won’t be the last.

🧾 But here’s what I wish everyone understood:

Medicare covers some of the cost.
It’s like a partial voucher—not a blank cheque.
It hasn’t kept up with inflation, wages, or clinic costs for years.

The doctors here don’t get a salary from the government.
They pay rent. They pay our wages.
They pay for the medical supplies, power bills, software, cleaning, insurance, even the tissues in the waiting room.

When a gap fee is charged, it’s not because they’re greedy.
It’s because the rebate doesn’t cover the real cost of running a safe, clean, caring service.

☕ People spend $40 a week on coffee or the same amount for cigarettes/day… but feel robbed over a $20 health gap.

Sometimes, I want to say:

“Your doctor stayed up late writing a referral. They squeezed you in when you were scared. They called the hospital to make sure you were okay. They care.”

But I stay polite. I breathe through the abuse.
Because I understand—money is tight, pain makes people frustrated, and the system is confusing.

All I ask is this:
Before you shout, ask. Before you accuse, learn.
We’re not here to take—we’re here to help.