HILTON KOPPE

"Hilton was my supervisor for 2 years during my GP training, and I also participated in a couple of weekend creative writing retreats for doctors that he ran. I feel incredibly lucky to have had Hilton as such and inspiring mentor and educational supervisor during this time.   As a facilitator, Hilton has a unique ability to bring a group together, to put people at ease, and to get people sharing the things that really matter - the stuff from the heart, the stories about patients that were causing us to have sleepless nights, and the tears and the joys that go with being a doctor. Under Hilton's excellent facilitation, care and expertise, as a group we often found ways to ease the burden, and found creative ways of resolving these tricky situations.   Hilton placed such importance on the holistic development of us as registrars, and it was so refreshing to be taught in this way. It was so much more than just imparting medical knowledge!  From pre workshop Tai Chi exercises to still the mind, to some post workshop creative writing to consolidate our learning, he certainly brought my creative and curious nature to the fore, and fostered a desire for life-long learning and personal growth that continued to benefit me today."  

Dr Heidi Spillane, Sexual Health Physician, Sydney

"Hilton was a wonderful supportive GP supervisor and was the reason I chose the Northern Rivers for my GP training.  As a Medical Educator, he was innovative and many trainee GPs gained a lot from his writing workshops at training weekends.  He used creative starters to get us writing poems and short passages.  We all loved the feeling of casting off the shackles of 'not being able to write' and actually producing something interesting in a short period.  The workshop was also useful as a debrief about stressful clinical scenarios and relationships.  I was fortunate to attend another workshop with Hilton, this time in Lennox Head.  We were a small group of doctors and we worked together to write a play about a clinical scenario.  Once again, it was so liberating, and the script was even published in an international journal!"

Dr Zewlan Moor, GP, Brisbane www.byronbibliotherapy.com