Australian Doctor Australian Doctor 12 May 2017 | Page 8

News
The photos make my patients happy
Doctors of Australia celebrates the diversity
and passion of those working at the heart of
healthcare. Launched by Australian Doctor, the
project includes a website showcasing GPs’
personal stories.
Dr Yao Zhang, from Naracoorte, SA, shares his
story here:
I STARTED taking photos when
I was 13 years old. My father
gave me a black-and-white
camera to play around with. I’ve
never been to school to learn
photography, but I learned a lot
about photography from library
books when I was studying
medicine in China.
I’ve taken lots of photos in
the Naracoorte area in SA,
where I’m based.
Last year, I had a patient with
a history of four different types
of cancers. She felt very down
because she had been fighting
these cancers for 20 years and
couldn’t get out often.
I said I would print one of my
photographs, and she could
put it at home — it made her so
happy. She carried the photo
everywhere. At the end of her
life, she kept the photo next
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| Australian Doctor | 12 May 2017
to her bedside table until she
passed away.
The photo was of a tiny hill
that became golden in colour in
the late summertime, and there
was a whole group of cows on
the hill.
It’s a reflection of the local
beautiful scenery in Naracoorte.
People here are very proud of
their town and proud of the
environment they’ve got.
I started putting some prints
of my photos in my consultation
room. I must have given out
hundreds of photos to my
patients. My older patients are
really happy about it, but the
kids really like it too. Many kids
are scared of needles, but after
they come in and I give them a
photo, I make them really happy
and they’re not so scared of
needles anymore.
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