O'HAGAN, Dr Lucy
Aotearoa New Zealand - GP, Writer & Performer
Dr Lucy O'Hagan is a general practitioner (GP) in Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as a writer, performer, speaker, teacher and mentor. Over her career she has worked in rural and urban practices, caring for patients from wealthy and impoverished backgrounds, in communities that are mostly Pākehā and communities that are mostly Māori and Pasifika.
WONCA spoke with Lucy at the 21st WONCA World Rural Health Conference in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, in April 2026, where she performed her one-woman show, Inside the GP Consultation. Playing 32 characters, the show acts out a day of consultations in a GP clinic, and Lucy has toured it around New Zealand to both public and GP audiences. In the interview below, she talks about the unseen humanity of general practice, why doctors write and why she believes doctors need to talk to each other far more about the things that excite and trouble them.
"Every GP's a performer really," she says, "because it's like a set of 15-minute improvisations."
If the video does not display, watch it at youtu.be/PbTGyFUCQRc.
Lucy is the author of Everything but the Medicine: A doctor's tale (Massey University Press), around 60 pieces of writing, both stories and personal essays, drawn from her life and work as a GP. The book was longlisted for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2026. Her other writing includes essays on the medical encounter and the audio series Waiting for Covid, which she wrote and narrates.
Lucy is also on the other side of the conversation. She is a member of the interview team at Medics Voices, an international platform that brings together interviews and reflections from doctors and leaders across the world of medicine, where she speaks with other doctors about their lives and work.
Visit Lucy O'Hagan's website
Explore interviews on Medics Voices
Read the recap of the 21st WONCA World Rural Health Conference in Wellington