Dr. Leon Tan is an experienced General Practitioner with over 25 years of practice. A graduate of Monash University in 1996, he became a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 2000. He then completed a Masters Degree in Wellness at RMIT in 2012.
Leon is dedicated to providing high-quality, holistic health care to all his patients and has a special interest in Wellness Medicine and Preventative Health.
He has given numerous talks and presentations on Wellness topics including Mindfulness Meditation, Exercise as Therapy and Cancer management. He is also actively involved in teaching, education and mentoring having worked at both Monash and Melbourne Universities and continues to teach medical students and GP registrars on site.
So what is Wellness?
Wellness can mean so many different things to different people. It is a term we see all around from various health clinics to our local chemist, gym and spa and also many supplement and food products.
Overall, wellness can be seen as attaining a more positive health status – the opposite to illness.
Attaining wellness is often seen as an active, dynamic and conscious process of growth and awareness that leads to holistic lifestyle changes and improved health and wellbeing. Importantly, this is achieved through balance and attention to the numerous dimensions of wellness including our physical, mental/emotional, spiritual and social status.
What is a Wellness consultation – what can I expect?
Wellness consultations can come in many different forms with some focusing on mental or spiritual wellbeing and others more on physical optimisation and rejuvenation.
Most practitioners will be quite holistic in their approach but many choose to focus on their own area of specialty. Advice can vary significantly so it is important to finds practitioners that are aligned with your values – some therapies can be unhelpful and sometimes even harmful.
As a medical doctor, my priority is examining a patient’s existing medical issues and concerns and focus on how a wellness perspective can improve their health and overall functional status.
My aim is not to replace or totally change a patient’s treatment or management but to listen, enhance their understanding of their health problems and help work towards an improved, positive outcome.
How is it different to preventative medicine?
Preventative medicine is an important part of health care that focuses on evidence-based medical interventions such as vaccination, cancer screening and health checks – it is about early detection and avoiding serious disease and illness. Wellness is a more proactive behaviour focusing on optimised wellbeing through self-directed or guided lifestyle choices such as healthy eating, meditation, exercise and supplements. Evidence for these activities may be emerging or not yet fully established.
How is attending a Wellness doctor different to seeing a naturopath or chiropractor?
Medical doctors have had extensive training and experience in treating patients with trauma and serious illnesses (such as cancer) and a variety of chronic and complex health conditions. Experienced GP’s have attended hundreds of patients of all age groups and understand the impact of illness on their lives. Doctors are also well trained in examining research and understanding the strengths of various evidence-based practices.
My own practice as a Wellness Doctor has involved working collaboratively with numerous allied and complementary health practitioners in an open and respectful manner and many patients have found this invaluable for their health care needs.
Consider a wellness consultation when:
You would like to have open discussion and review of your current medical issues or concerns.
You would like another perspective/opinion on a current medical issue or problem.
You would like to have broader discussion on preventative health to include positive lifestyle changes and optimisation.
You would like a medical and wellness opinion on a particular supplement or therapy.
You would like to explore wellness in more detail for your personal health and wellbeing needs.
Book now with Dr Leon Tan at Clarity Medical in St Kilda East.
