When Dr Gillian Deakin became a GP, she knew she didn’t want to work behind a desk. Instead, she travelled overseas to make a difference. More recently, she has focused on treating patients with functional illnesses — symptoms that come and go despite all tests and scans showing up as normal.

Dr Gillian Deakin grew up close enough to hear the lions roaring at night in Sydney's Taronga Zoo.

She was part of a large, Catholic family and learned social justice and critical thinking from a young age.

When Gillian became a doctor, she promised herself her career wouldn’t involve sitting behind a desk.

She worked on the Australian outback film Burke and Wills, in Antarctica and on the tiny coral atoll of Kiribati.

Today Gillian treats patients with functional disorders —  aggravating symptoms that sometimes escape medical diagnosis and can deeply affect people’s lives.

This episode of Conversations touches on personal stories, family origins, personal stories, mothers, fathers, Antarctica, Kiribati, outback Australia, GP training, functional symptoms, and functional illness.