Joseph Epstein

n ‘Don’t miss out on Joe’s tutes’ was the unanimous advice pre-fellowship oral exam.
So, heavily pregnant, I heeded Joe’s stern warning and arrived early for each 7 am tutorial,
dressed formally and ensured all my equipment was in order.
My son was born five weeks before the exam and five days before my next session with Joe.
More fearful than the exam, more fearful than new motherhood, was calling Joe to postpone
the tutorial by a day so I could make it. Of course, he obliged.
When I called Joe five weeks later to say I passed, his response, ‘It couldn’t have happened
to a more deserving person,’ brought tears to my eyes and still does.
Joe not only handed down the science of medicine, but the art of medicine. He has taught
me to respect not only the patient but the pathology and he has taught me to teach.
When overwhelmed by ‘targets’ and ‘ramping’, it serves me well to recall Joe’s passion for
emergency medicine, the kindness he endowed on each patient and the generosity with
which he mentored all staff.
On this momentous occasion, Joe, I would like to thank you – my supervisor, my teacher,
my colleague and my mentor.
Karen Winter | emergency physician and former registrar, Western Health
n It was busy in ED on a
Monday. Joe was one of the
doctors rostered to work
afternoon shift. A flustered
summons from one of
the doctors told me that,
well after he should have
arrived, Joe was not in.
‘Joe Epstein speaking’
‘Hello Joe. It’s Lien here.
Where are you Joe?’
A little hesitation, possibly
sensing the slight note of
desperation in my voice.
‘I’m in Canberra. I’ve
been here all weekend.
I’ll be back tomorrow’.
‘Um ... did you know that
you are on the roster
for pm shift today?’
Confused silence.
‘Am I? S*** ! Look, I can try
to get a flight today and get
back to Melbourne later this
evening, and come into work
straight from the airport’.
Knowing this would not
work, I reassured him that
it would be all right and
that we would cope.
This would be just one of the
many occasions where Joe
would receive a call from me
to ask if he was coming in.
You see, Joe’s burgeoning
calendar of commitments
– spread across multiple
notebooks – sometimes
made it impossible for him
to remember them all.
All in all, and despite
these momentary lapses,
Joe’s memory served him
remarkably well. Everything
was written down in his
very distinctive flowery
and expressive script.
Pens were not lacking. Joe
always kept his top pocket
filled with various coloured
pens in a row. There were
packets of them scattered
in his office. Not biros, but
the preferred ink pens.
Lien Wright | emergency
department office manager
34 | A tribute to Joseph Epstein