Jude, Patient Educator & Hand Holder
Jude holds the distinction of being Austin Clinic’s most recent addition. She joined our clinical team in December of 2017. She is a (busy) clinical assistant who works closely with Dr Chen for excisions of BCC, SCC, and Melanomas. On the medical side, this involves setting up sterile fields for surgery. On the human side, it involves “talking with patients and helping them understand what they are having done,” says Jude. “I educate them so they can be calm and keep their anxiety in check.”
Some days, Jude will assist Dr Chen with procedures, suture removal, and wound checks. On other days, she will perform treatments such as
- V2
- Emerge treatments
“I love that my days are busy and interesting,” says Jude. “The people I work with are all wonderful and we all work well as a team. I love chatting with patients too. I pretty much love all aspects of my job.” (It’s one reason everyone loves Jude)
Jude fills in non-work hours by keeping fit, “walking the family dog with my husband, sailing, hanging out with family and friends, and watching my 3 kids play sport.” This last endeavour is not as easy as it sounds. “They play three different sports in three different areas of Sydney.” Perhaps this is why Jude confides, “I do love sleep – when I get it!”
Making It Easy from the Get-Go
Before anyone interact with our clinical team, they get their first sample of the Austin Clinic patient experience when they reach a member of our support team. Our people are professional, helpful, and very, very friendly. We thought you might like to know more about them.
Sharon is our trusty receptionist. She joined Austin Clinic in August and we’re delighted to have her. She meets and greets a wide variety of people each and every day making her job “fun, and a touch hectic,” she says. In her spare time, she likes to keep active, and stay connected to friends and family.
Charlotte
is Austin Clinic’s office manager, a post she’s held since 2016. She’s the oil that keeps our machine running so smoothly, setting up the clinic before patients and doctors arrive, making bookings, answering question, responding to enquiries, and more. You can also thank Charlotte for keeping our shelves filled with all the medical and retail products you need. She enjoys “interacting with patients and getting to know them, as well as working with everyone here on staff.” Away from the office she is a mah-jong enthusiast who likes to spend time with friends and family.
Melissa is our practice manager. Melissa is tasked with keeping the back-of-clinic processes running like clockwork. “That way our doctors and staff can keep their focus on what matters: our patients.” Her days are diverse and unpredictable, a quality that she says she still finds “interesting,” even after six-and-a-half years. “Our staff and patients are what make the work we do so worthwhile,” she says, explaining her unflagging dedication to the people we serve. What makes life outside the clinic worthwhile for Melissa is her gorgeous puppy. “I spend a lot of time walking and playing with my dog, and I enjoy catching up with friends over a nice glass of wine…and skiing whenever I possibly can.”
