Dr Renee Liang (Paediatrician, Poet, Playwright): Changing Careers & Juggling Multiple Passions

As is sometimes the way with virtual recordings, the audio quality varies in this interview. Please don't let that put you off listening though - Renee has such an interesting story!How do you decide whether to make the leap into a new career? Can you incorporate multiple passions into your working life? How does historical sexism impact on the experiences of women at work today?Dr Renee Liang, a second-generation Cantonese New Zealander, blends her passions for medicine and the arts. A paediatrician with special interest in community and youth health, she is also Asian Theme Lead for the landmark longitudinal study Growing Up in NZ. Alongside her medical career, Renee also works as a poet and playwright. She has written, produced, and nationally toured eight plays, and has made operas, musicals, and community arts programmes. Her poems, essays, and short stories are studied from primary to tertiary level. In 2018, Renee was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.🎙 “We feel it’s a good thing to have balance, but it’s also a good thing to be passionate about lots of things and to draw energy from lots of things, so long as it makes you burn with something to do it.”Image credit: John Rata