Each month Krystal Burt finds out what makes our doctors tick, this month it's Dr Christopher Denz.
What inspired you to become a doctor?
I'm not sure, my mother tells me that even as a child at 10 years of age I always wanted to be a doctor.
What do you know now, that you wished you knew before becoming a GP?
The power of compound interest.
What are your long term plans?
Work, rest and play. I would like to see more of the world over the next decade.
How would you describe the role of a GP?
A guide and support through the trials and tribulations of life.
Why did you decide to work in a private practice?
I could not stand the enormous waste and inefficiencies in the public health sector. I was allergic to hospitals.
What days do you work, do you have a set roster or does it change?
I work Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8am to 6 pm and occasional other shifts.
What is the most important thing you have learned while working in medicine?
You can make a difference in people’s lives.
If you could work as a doctor anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I am already doing exactly what I want to be doing, where I want to do it, at CCMC.
What is the hardest part of being a doctor in the modern tech filled world?
Keeping up with new technology and treatments and making sure patients don’t get hood winked by fake news. Fake health news can kill!
What is the best?
Having everything you need at your fingertips and sorting through the overwhelming volume of information with the patient to get to the best treatment plan for that patient.
Do you have any hobbies or special interests outside of work?
I like to study and keep up with new frontiers of medicine, including technology and treatments like immunotherapies for cancers. I also love astrophysics. I like Science Fiction. I like cars. I enjoy all learning.
Bucket list?
Visit everywhere. Drive a Bugatti Veyron. Learn everything. Help cure cancer. Build an efficient house.
What is the best piece of advice you have received?
Learn from other people’s mistakes as well as your own. It gets exhausting making all the mistakes yourself!
Desert island 3 books?
I don’t read a book twice – so I don’t know the next best 3 books I will read. If I had to choose it would be biographies.
Best part of your job?
Seeing patients do well. Beating cancer, successfully treating cancer, curing a long standing (usually inadequately managed) medical problem.
Worst part of your job?
There are no bad parts to my vocation. I even enjoy fighting with the large companies to get a fair deal for my patients.
Favourite Quote?
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Are you more a hunter or gatherer?
Hunter in my younger days and gatherer as I get older and wiser.
What’s your favourite ’90s jam?
I like the music I like, regardless of the era. A few favourites are: Crowded house; Red; Eurhythmics;
What are your areas of interest in medicine, and why?
Mental illness – because you can make a massive difference if you are able to help.
Immune system treatments of cancer – because it is the future.
Heart disease – because it will kill half of us and IT IS PREVENTABLE!
What’s the last thing you watched on TV and why did you choose to watch it?
Designated Survivor, Altered Carbon, Salvation & Homeland. All great shows on Netflix.
Who would win a fight between Spiderman and Batman?
Nobody. The world would lose. Good should not be fighting with good. There is plenty of evil to go around.
If you could only choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I did it my way.