RACP — Kia ora, Dr Russell. Welcome to RACP Specialists Week and thank you for taking the time to speak with us. To begin, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Dr Russell — I am a developmental paediatrician at Starship Children’s. I finished training in 2020, and immediately was able to join my dream team at Starship. I work 2 days a week at Starship, and 3 days a week at the Ministry of Health. At the end of last year, I started as the Chief Clinical Advisor for Child and Youth. I’m still finding my feet at the Ministry, but it’s been a really interesting time.

What inspired you to be a doctor?

My parents! My mum is a GP; she’s in her mid-seventies but she’s still working part-time. She loves it. My dad is a neuropathologist, and my brother is  a rheumatologist, so I come from a family of doctors. From an early age, I liked being helpful. I really enjoyed looking after people, and when I finished medical school, I realised that I just loved treating children and talking to families. I continued to just love treating kids, so I really enjoy my job.

What are some rewarding moments that inspire you to carry on when it’s hard?

The job is really hard work. We work really long hours at Starship (I think everyone is working long hours now). I can honestly say that doing a day of clinic gives me energy. I get energy from sitting in a room with children and their families talking about their health and their development. I get a lot from that, and I go away feeling pretty happy. There’s a lot of paperwork too!

In developmental paediatrics we look after children who have chronic conditions, and often there are no easy solutions, however I find it a really rewarding job, because when we do make progress for children, even if it’s small, it’s widely celebrated. It’s so rewarding to see children with quite significant disabilities make progress in the smallest things. Whether its that child that I’ve been looking after saying their first word, or starts walking using a frame, or is able to transition into school, or shows excitement or curiosity about something in the classroom that they hadn’t communicated before. All of those moments are quite magical for parents, and I love being able to be alongside them.

It’s very rewarding; it’s also a really tough job. It’s a complex area of paediatrics. We work in multi-disciplinary and cross-agency ways, and we’re heavily interfaced with schools. It’s a complex but very rewarding area of medicine.

What would a typical day for you look like?

At Starship, I do a clinic in the morning. This can be at the hospital, or a community setting, or at a school. Our team does clinics in specialist schools, and that gives us access to teachers, therapists, SENCOs (Specialist Educational Needs Coordinators). Then in the afternoon, I’ll recover from clinic by doing all the paperwork! I often have meetings online with other agencies, community organisations, disability support organisations, schools, and allied health and nursing colleagues.

I look after children from after birth, right through until sometimes age 18, but usually transitioning around the age of 15 or 16.

What are the big issues at the moment facing children and young adults, from a medical perspective? 

Over the past 20 years or so, mirroring patterns globally, in Aotearoa we’ve seen a really significant increase in the proportion of children who have a neurodevelopmental condition such as autism or ADHD. This is reflected in the New Zealand Health Survey Statistics (2023/24): the prevalence of ADHD amongst children (<15 year olds) has risen from 2.8% in 2018 to 5.3%. For autism, it has risen from 2.0% to 3.0%. That is a massive rise, so we need a lot of paediatricians who are comfortable with developmental and behavioural issues.

The Community Child Health training program is a fantastic program in the College, and internationally it’s a really special program. In Community Child Health, we are trained in three pillars: one is developmental behavioural paediatrics, the second is child protection, and the third is child population health. When you look at those three pillars together, you can see that they make a really strong triad for understanding childrens needs in the community. We are in the age of neurodevelopmental conditions in paediatrics, with a massive shift towards developmental and behavioural presentations.  

Do you see an increase in Trainees entering Community Child Health, or is there a shortage?

We are the second largest training program in paediatrics, after general paediatrics. I think the strength of Community Child Health training is well recognised now. 

What sort of characteristics do you need to work with children?

I think you have to be a patient person to be a community paediatrician. I think you need to be able to celebrate small wins and be happy with those small wins as in Paediatrics they are  big ones. What really helps is a sense of delight in children.

Is there a role for AI in your field? Do you see it increasing?

Absolutely. Developmental paediatrics tends to require very comprehensive history taking and appointments. I am looking forward to when we can use AI tools to help us capture and summarise our appointments and help New Zealand. I think that will save us time. I am already using various AI tools in administrative aspects of my job. We’re living in a very privileged age when it comes to technology. I’ve found using AI tools such as Microsoft Co-Pilot very helpful when creating educational resources or any kind of communication to families. Its important to have the skills and the knowledge to be able to review and edit properly, but AI tools can help people like me who might find it hard to get started on writing.

What do you do to de-stress or relax?

I watch tennis. I play tennis (badly!). I go for runs. I try to take my mind off work. I’ve got two lovely boys – 10 and 8 years old – and they’re so fun, so anytime I get to spend time with them, I can de-stress very quickly.