News

Faces of Joondalup - Dr Clare Dibona

Jun 06, 2024

This Crazysocks4docs day we’re shining a light on mental wellbeing for our doctors, opening up discussions around mental health within the medical community.

Organiser of the event at JHC is emergency physician Clare Dibona who says it’s important to acknowledge that doctors, like anyone else, can feel the stress of their work or life circumstances and go through dark times.

“Crazysocks4docs is a light-hearted way to raise awareness and break down the stigma around mental health issues in doctors and health professionals and let our colleagues know we are open to discussions around mental health,” said Clare.

Clare has been doing rotations at JHC since her intern year in 2009 and has had experience in Perth’s tertiary hospitals but returned to Joondalup because of the family-like culture.

“My colleagues have such kindness and humility,” said Clare.

Born into a farming family, Clare has been a trailblazer in her family, being the first among her cousins to attend university.

I always wanted to become a doctor to make a difference,” said Clare.

“I thought that would mean curing disease but now I feel like my patients really just want to be listened to, have thorough care and follow up, but I still haven’t given up on the idea of curing disease,” she said.

Clare says that despite the challenges and stress that come with working in the ED, she has been fortunate not to experience any mental health challenges, attributing her resilience to the support of her colleagues and strong sense of camaraderie within the department.

“I’m very proud of the ED and colleagues in the way we handle stress and importantly pick each other up when we need it,” she said. “But for anyone that isn’t coping and perhaps doesn’t have that support, it’s important to know that there are resources out there.”

Ramsay Health Care is proud to have received an ‘A’ score in multiple categories in the AMA (WA)’s annual Hospital Health Check, reflecting a concerted effort made improve the wellbeing, working conditions and training of our junior doctors, who play a critical role in our health system.

More information about Crazysocks4docs is available online.