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Basil Donovan
LIFELINE Basil Donovan From brothel doctor to academic sexual health physician, Basil Donovan’s career spans the emergence of a uniquely Australasian style of sexual-health practice that is clinically broad, interdisciplinary, population-based, and adaptable. He is director of the Sydney Sexual Health Centre at Sydney Hospital, and a clinical associate professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of Sydney. Who was your most influential teacher, and why? Hans Wuelfert, a former German soldier who spent his 18th birthday as a Russian prisoner-of-war, yet finished up teaching me French language and culture in an Australian country school. He embodies the resilience and dignity of the human spirit: I must look him up. Which research event has had the most effect on your work? As part of the team that characterised the primary HIV illness, I learnt the values of collaboration and of listening to my customers. What would be your advice to a newly qualified doctor? Get out of the medical subculture at every opportunity, otherwise you’ll be dangerous or, even worse,boring. How do you relax? By keeping the company of interesting people. And sleeping—I’m good at it. What is your favourite book No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880 by Allan M Brandt. No techno-fix is going to do me out of a job. What is your favourite word The French phrase-cum-word esprit d’escalier. God, I wish we’d thought of it. What are you currently reading? Brenda Love’s Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices. You caught me! What is your worst habit? Nicotine addiction, but at least it gives me some empathy for the foibles of my customers. What is the greatest love of your life? Femininity, particularly in the forms of my partner, Patanne, and my daughter, Bonnie Mae. How would you like to die? No, thank you. I’ll have the shiraz.
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The cool gene? ven casual readers of newsp a p e rs cannot have missed reports of the great strides being made in genetics, at least in identifying genes that carry certain traits. According to some folk it really is all in our genes. Nature versus nurture? Forget it! Let’s assume for the moment that this really is true. If so, it is only a matter of time before they identify a gene responsible for bad taste in clothes. If this comes to pass it will be great fun. I confidently predict that it will be very rare in Italians (to whom I defer on most matters sartorial) and very common in those who work in the financial markets. One of my simple pleasures when watching the television news is to rank the way people dress on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being really elegant and 10 being an affront to the eyes. City gents usually score 8 and above, largely for their enthusiasm for wearing boldly stri p e d s u i t s , with boldly striped shirts, set off a treat by (yes, you’ve guessed it) boldly striped ties. The effect is devastating.You think you are watching them through a series of mesh screens. I remember being on a long airplane journey and browsing through the in-flight magazine when I saw a really elegant sports jacket,muted brown and very stylish. I tore the advert out and when I got back I phoned the shop (in Bond Street, London, I think). I spoke to the salesman who knew exactly the jacket I was interested in and enthused about my good taste. “And how much is it?” He answered very rapidly so that I thought I had misunderstood. “How much?” I asked again and this time I got it. £1100. “What!” I said, “for an off-the-peg jacket?” I can get a bespoke suit in Savile Row for half that price”. There was a pause and with a hint of a
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laugh in his voice he said,“Just come in and see us, sir”.The ultimate salesman. However, I hope he’s not holding his breath. For hospital doctors who have their eye on a senior position and who aim to look smarter, I have a few tips on how to be well dressed without spending a fortune. I should, perhaps, preface my remarks by saying that I am no role model and that my advice applies to men only. Working from home I rarely wear a shirt, never mind a tie. However, I can make an effort when required and have taken to wearing a dinner jacket on important days such as Christmas Day. On New Year’s Day this year, I dressed as a Japanese ninja warrior (but that’s another story). The most important item is the blue s h i rt . Never ever y wear any other colour. A dark suit and a white shirt make you look like an apprentice undertaker. Summer-weight and winter-weight clothing are a good idea since a Harris tweed jacket in summer smacks of eccentricity or worse. Also, make sure you have both business and leisure garments. I remember a colleague making a perceptive comment about a distinguished doctor: “He has no leisure clothes, he just wears older suits!” This was highlighted recently when members of the Conservative party met,supposedly informally. Some managed nicely but a couple of notables, still wearing suits, simply took off their ties! And talking about ties, never wear one with a picture on it (unless as a joke). A nice stripe is fine, and a knitted tie gives one an intellectual air. If you elect to wear a suit, never a brown one. Stick to blue—no-one ever got the sack for wearing a blue suit.
David Jack
THE LANCET • Vol 353 • March 27, 1999
1110
The cool gene? ven casual readers of newsp a p e rs cannot have missed reports of the great strides being made in genetics, at least in identifying genes that carry certain traits. According to some folk it really is all in our genes. Nature versus nurture? Forget it! Let’s assume for the moment that this really is true. If so, it is only a matter of time before they identify a gene responsible for bad taste in clothes. If this comes to pass it will be great fun. I confidently predict that it will be very rare in Italians (to whom I defer on most matters sartorial) and very common in those who work in the financial markets. One of my simple pleasures when watching the television news is to rank the way people dress on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being really elegant and 10 being an affront to the eyes. City gents usually score 8 and above, largely for their enthusiasm for wearing boldly stri p e d s u i t s , with boldly striped shirts, set off a treat by (yes, you’ve guessed it) boldly striped ties. The effect is devastating.You think you are watching them through a series of mesh screens. I remember being on a long airplane journey and browsing through the in-flight magazine when I saw a really elegant sports jacket,muted brown and very stylish. I tore the advert out and when I got back I phoned the shop (in Bond Street, London, I think). I spoke to the salesman who knew exactly the jacket I was interested in and enthused about my good taste. “And how much is it?” He answered very rapidly so that I thought I had misunderstood. “How much?” I asked again and this time I got it. £1100. “What!” I said, “for an off-the-peg jacket?” I can get a bespoke suit in Savile Row for half that price”. There was a pause and with a hint of a
E
laugh in his voice he said,“Just come in and see us, sir”.The ultimate salesman. However, I hope he’s not holding his breath. For hospital doctors who have their eye on a senior position and who aim to look smarter, I have a few tips on how to be well dressed without spending a fortune. I should, perhaps, preface my remarks by saying that I am no role model and that my advice applies to men only. Working from home I rarely wear a shirt, never mind a tie. However, I can make an effort when required and have taken to wearing a dinner jacket on important days such as Christmas Day. On New Year’s Day this year, I dressed as a Japanese ninja warrior (but that’s another story). The most important item is the blue s h i rt . Never ever y wear any other colour. A dark suit and a white shirt make you look like an apprentice undertaker. Summer-weight and winter-weight clothing are a good idea since a Harris tweed jacket in summer smacks of eccentricity or worse. Also, make sure you have both business and leisure garments. I remember a colleague making a perceptive comment about a distinguished doctor: “He has no leisure clothes, he just wears older suits!” This was highlighted recently when members of the Conservative party met,supposedly informally. Some managed nicely but a couple of notables, still wearing suits, simply took off their ties! And talking about ties, never wear one with a picture on it (unless as a joke). A nice stripe is fine, and a knitted tie gives one an intellectual air. If you elect to wear a suit, never a brown one. Stick to blue—no-one ever got the sack for wearing a blue suit.
David Jack
THE LANCET • Vol 353 • March 27, 1999