The following communiqué highlights the key issues discussed as part of the 01-2021 College Council (Council) meeting held on Thursday, 18 March 2021, and exists to feed back to the membership on College Council business.

Governance Update

The Council received various governance updates at this meeting with key focus on developments with the College Strategy and Values, and actions resulting from the Effective Governance review. The Council acknowledges that the College’s structure and vision for the future are based on decisions made by the Members and looks forward to continuing its involvement in these discussions.

Constitution Review

The Council was presented with various proposed draft models for constitutional change for review and consultation at this meeting. The Council had a robust discussion around each draft model and reviewed possible outcomes that may result from each model, relative to the Council and other College bodies. From these discussions it was also clear that a key point of focus for the Council was ensuring an Indigenous voice is embedded in the final, revised Constitution. It is evident there is diversity of opinions among the Council as to which draft model is best for the College; however, there was general consensus that good communication and opportunity for a strong member voice in decision making processes are vital considerations for constitutional change.

RACP Response to Draft Australian National Medical Workforce Strategy 2021–2031

Council members provided feedback to the EGM, People and Strategy, on the strategy document. The Council agreed that analysing workforce is a complex task and requires more detailed data across an extensive number of areas such as training, diversity, work-life balance, and behavioural economics.

Regional and Rural Physicians Project Update

The development of the Regional and Rural Physician Working Group (RRPWG) is progressing. At this meeting I was appointed as Chair of the group as Council felt that the criticality of this piece of work was best supported by the Chair of the Council taking on this function. I look forward to working with the RRPWG to develop recommendations to achieve the College Council’s vision of achieving equitable health outcomes for Australians and New Zealanders living in regional and rural locations. 

Physician of the Future

Prior to this meeting, Council members participated in a short survey regarding the evolving nature of our work. Results from this survey were discussed at the meeting via a word cloud analysis and it was evident that among many varying factors identified, evolving technology will have a significant impact on the physician of the future, as well as genetic medicine, telehealth and what the hospital of the future may look like. The Council will continue to progress with the development of a working group to consider the physician of the future and develop advice and recommendations for how to best move forward with this important area of work.

The next meeting of the College Council is scheduled for Thursday, 1 July 2021.

Professor Nicholas Buckmaster
Chair, College Council