The Weekly Wrap: The ‘Pied Piper’ Problem in GP
The old story of the Pied Piper carries a useful caution: a familiar-sounding tune can draw people in, but borrowed music is still not conviction.
People notice more than we think.
They notice when words feel borrowed. They notice when ideas suddenly sound familiar. They notice when a message feels less like belief and more like imitation.
Aspiring leadership is not branding. Pages, posts, and templates can be copied or repackaged, but conviction cannot.
Where did the ideas come from? Were they offered with honesty about their source?
General practice deserves voices grounded in substance.
The genesis of a priority is very important. A priority should not simply sound good. It should come from listening, reflection, and a real understanding of what GPs are experiencing on the ground. To use an aviation analogy from my husband – a serious priority needs more than a borrowed flight plan. It needs a clear sense of the terrain, the conditions, and where people actually need to land.
So where did my priorities come from? Listening. Learning. Lived experience.
They came from speaking to GPs across Australia. They came from hearing uncomfortable truths, not just convenient ones. They came from staying on the phone when the conversation was difficult. They came from listening past the first complaint, the first frustration, and the first uncomfortable truth.
They came from listening to colleagues in cities, towns, outer suburbs, and remote and rural communities. They came from listening across our profession, and sometimes beyond it, including pharmacists whose perspectives enabled me to think beyond the superficial headline-grabbers on pharmacy prescribing. They came from understanding what CoI really means.
One thing I took from GP24, which I hosted as Faculty Chair, was the extraordinary diversity of life and practice among our colleagues. Every GP carries a different reality. Every community has different pressures. Every practice has a different story.
I also know not everyone can attend conferences, meetings, or forums. Someone has to hold the fort, whether that is in the practice, the community, or at home with family. And in remote and rural Australia, that someone can only be you.
That is why I have made a point of traveling, listening, and learning directly from colleagues across the country. Not from a distance. Not through assumptions. Not only from those who are already in the room.
And yes, my family’s frequent flyer points have dwindled as I have tried to see more of our great nation, meet more of our great colleagues, and better understand our great profession. Member-money is safe, my family’s frequent flyer points are not 🙂
Priorities should not be assembled for appearance. They should be shaped by listening, tested by experience, and grounded in substance.
Dr Ramya Raman
