Compassion is at the heart of medicine, not science, not politics, nor policy, not commerce but the frailty of human beings and the slow unwinding of their bodies, argued GP poet Glenn Colquhoun in the RNZCGP conference oration.

Dr Colquhoun is the author of many poetry and children's book and his 2003 Montana poetry award-winning collection Playing God hints at the possibility GPs often act as a midwife to natural healing processes.

In today's oration, he shared personal recollections of his own ache, recalling his father's death, a 10-year marriage and the achingly huge love he feels towards his daughter.

The importance of ache in medicine is that it is often a starting point for healing.

Dr Colquhoun uses his own ache as a starting point for recognising the same feeling in others and knowing how to ask the right questions in a consultation.

He notes the irony that his early sense of vocation as a priest that he rejected, along with organised religion, before turning to medicine has led him to a similar place of hearing confession.

When patients start to tell their stories, of facing their own death, failing at their job, losing someone they love, or finding the past continuously makes a hash of the present, simply being there with them and sharing the fire is important.

"People can figure it out from there. This is not doing nothing, ache recognises ache."

The most pressing reason for considering ache in general practice is the fact people keep coming to see their GP with it.

"Ache is important in medicine because it is pounding on the door."

Spirituality hugely important in medicine

Spirituality is hugely important in medicine and it seems, at times, to be forgotten, Dr Colquhoun says.

Dr Colquhoun often finds himself listening to patients' laugh, cry, praise, confess and ache desperately hoping they have a biological ailment he covered at med school.

"But I shouldn't be surprised. Biology comes and goes and we do what we can as health professionals, but spirituality is at the core of being well, because it can alter our story and give us the emotional ability to make sense of whatever befalls us."

It is a profession that is spiritual by its very nature, he concludes.

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