About
Hi, my name is Mark Curtis. I am an Urgent Care Medicine physician based in Auckland, New Zealand. My undergraduate training was at at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, University of London. I have over 20 years experience in different specialties include General Internal Medicine (Senior Reg), Emergency Medicine(Senior Reg), Adult and Paediatric ICU, anaesthesia, O+G, Psychiatry. I also worked in Queenstown NZ as a General Practitioner/Urgent Care doctor for 10 years which gave me a lot of exposure to ski field/sports injuries.
I started The Art of Urgent Care because I am at a stage in my career where I believe I can help my colleagues. I have been on the frontline for most of my career and I know how hard it is. There are many issues with modern medical careers and in particular a lack of true mentorship. Too often doctors are left to find their own way, with little guidance on how to grow. This blog is my way of giving something back — a place to share lessons from the floor, reflections on practice, and ideas to help colleagues navigate the demands of urgent care.
For me, the craft of medicine rests on three main things. Firstly, the hard yards of clinical experience; there is no substitute for this. A commitment to lifelong learning, and last, the presence of good mentors. If you are looking for support, encouragement, or simply a voice that understands the struggles of urgent care, I hope this site can serve as a kind of mentor in writing.
I am also a trained life coach, and I bring that perspective into how I think about growth and resilience in medicine. Outside work, I recharge in the outdoors, especially on skis!
Urgent Care is a tough job. This blog is dedicated to exploring that art, helping doctors sharpen their craft, and also helping them to feel happier and more fulfilled in their work. The content of the site will be useful to all those working on the frontlines regardless of speciality. Join me on this journey.
Welcome to The Art of Urgent Care.
Mark Curtis
MB.BS (London), MRCP(UK), MRCGP(UK), FRNZCGP, FRNZCUC.
The Concept
This is not an encyclopaedic website. The main emphasis of the site is on case-based learning. I think this is one of the best ways to learn because everything is in context and it cuts through unnecessary detail. We all remember those patients which have had an effect on us from years ago but reading written case reports from colleagues can have a similar benefit. The nice thing is that this is also a way of honouring those patients that have helped us learn.
My suggestion is to think of this website and newsletter as a continuous online course. A five minute read once a week may not seem much but consider how much "virtual" experience you will have gained in six months. If you keep reading these cases, at some point in the future something you remember will be pivotal for you and your patient.
In addition to cases there will be some general interest content on various themes which aim to help performance particularly for urgent care practitioners.
The Meaning Behind the Logo
The logo of The Art of Urgent Care (Ars Urgentis) is built around Chiron the Centaur, the wise teacher and healer of Greek mythology. Unlike the more commonly portrayed wild centaurs, Chiron was renowned for his wisdom, compassion and knowledge of medicine, philosophy, music and the arts. He lived and taught on Mount Pelion in Thessaly, where he became the mentor of many of the great heroes and physicians of Greek mythology, including Asclepius, Achilles, Jason and Heracles. Chiron therefore represents the tradition of medicine as a craft that is passed from one generation to the next through mentorship, teaching and experience.
The bow and arrow draw on the Stoic metaphor of the archer. An archer can choose the target, prepare carefully, draw the bow and release the arrow with skill—but once the arrow has left the bow, its ultimate destination is no longer entirely within their control. So it is with medicine. We can prepare, think carefully, make good decisions and give our patients our very best effort. But we cannot control every outcome. The archer reminds us to concentrate our efforts on what lies within our control, while accepting with equanimity those things that do not.
The two lions represent courage. To practise medicine well requires courage: the courage to make decisions in uncertainty, to confront difficult situations, to acknowledge our mistakes and to advocate fearlessly for our patients. But doctors must also have the courage to advocate for their profession—to defend clinical independence, professional standards and the conditions necessary to provide good care. Protecting the integrity of medicine is ultimately another way of protecting our patients.
The shield represents resilience. Medicine is demanding. Doctors face uncertainty, responsibility, suffering, criticism and sometimes outcomes that are difficult to accept. Resilience does not mean becoming impervious or losing our compassion. It means developing the strength to absorb adversity without allowing it to diminish our commitment to the practice of medicine. In life there comes a point when we have to decide what is on our shield.
Finally, the motto Docendo Discimus: “By teaching, we learn”. This captures the central philosophy of The Art of Urgent Care. Often attributed to the Roman philosopher Seneca, the phrase reflects something fundamental about medicine: teaching others deepens our own understanding. Every case we discuss, every mistake we examine and every lesson we pass on has the potential to make both teacher and learner better doctors.
The logo is therefore a reminder of what we are trying to cultivate: wisdom through mentorship, courage in practice, resilience in adversity, and continual learning through teaching.
Free membership
Free membership includes email newsletters which cover clinical cases, general interest topics and links to useful research and FOAMEd articles. Members will also have exclusive access to CME style quizzes and the full archive of newsletters. Please subscribe. Thank you for supporting the site.
Submissions
If you would like to publish a case report on the site contact me on the email below. I am always on the look out for interesting cases with good learning points. Follow the usual format and I will help with the editing. Check with your college. You may be able to claim some CME for medical writing.
Case report format:
- Strictly no identifying details.
- Brief description of the presentation including relevant observations, exam findings and initial investigations and outcomes/final diagnosis.
- Learning Nuggets- main learning points and personal reflections.
- References/Suggested Reading- references in Vancouver format.
Please note this is only open to members of the site.
Contact Details
If you have any feedback or enquiries please email me at: