A message from your President
Hello and kia ora
Welcome to the first AMD eBulletin for 2026. As the year gathers momentum, we are pleased to share the following updates:
- AMD Executive Committee (AMDEX) meeting: The AMDEX held its first meeting for 2026, with a focus on reviewing the 2026 work plan and confirming key priorities for the year ahead. Wellbeing and workplace support is a key concern for our members, and we will be advocating for practical changes to support our Fellows and trainees. We will also be helping to cross-promote Specialty Society events and resources; some of these are included below but please reach out to the secretariat team if you have other items.
- AMD Council meeting: The first AMD Council meeting for 2026 will be held face-to-face on 21 May 2026 at the College’s Sydney office. The role of AMD Council is to support the professional careers of AMD Fellows and trainees, to promote and advance the body of knowledge of adult medicine specialties, and to be a voice of AMD members within the College.
- AMD Council meets twice a year, and the AMDEX meets an additional four to five times. Both AMD Council and AMDEX include members from across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, from a range of specialties. We have introduced a few of these representatives below; and as always I encourage you to raise any items for AMD Council to discuss with your representative or with the secretariat team.
As always, if you have any topics that you would like our Division to consider or any topic you would like to be included in our quarterly eBulletin, I encourage you to contact me via the secretariat at adult.med@racp.edu.au.
RACP Fellows honoured for outstanding contributions to medicine
Congratulations to the 16 RACP Fellows recognised in the 2026 Australia Day and Aotearoa New Zealand New Year honour lists. These awards highlight the outstanding work RACP members do and the importance of that work in local, national and international communities.
Find out more.
AMD Council – Meet the Members
We’re trialling a new format for this year’s eBulletin, including introducing you to some of the current members of the AMD Council.
Dr Fahid Hashem, Elected Member (Australia)
Dr Fahid Hashem is Senior Staff Specialist at Gold Coast University Hospital, holding dual Fellowship in endocrinology and general and acute care medicine. He has served on various RACP committees for over a decade, including current terms on the CPD Committee, Queensland Committee, AMD Council and the AMDEX. His reason for joining the AMD Council is to help the College support physicians to be at their best, and to advocate of the wellbeing for the community we share our lives with.
Fahid is also involved in physician training and wellbeing locally (was previously Director of Medical Registrar Unit). His involvement with RACP training includes:
- Supervisor Professional Development Program (SPDP) facilitator
- Senior Accreditor for Basic Physician Training (BPT)
- Local BPT progress review panel member
- Local examiner for FRACP Clinical exams
- Supervisor for Basic and Advanced Trainees, and AT Research Project reviewer.
Dr Michelle Downie, Internal Medicine Society of Australia and New Zealand (IMSANZ) representative
Michelle is a general physician, endocrinologist and Associate Chief Medical Officer at Tauranga Hospital, Aotearoa New Zealand. She has served on various committees in the RACP on a continuous basis for the last 15 years, having held roles on the General and Acute Care AT Committee, Adult Medicine Division Education Committee (AMDEX), AMD Council, and the Written Examination Committee.
Michelle is currently the president of IMSANZ. This is one of Australasia’s largest physician societies and represents all arms of General and Acute Care Medicine. Michelle is passionate about advancing general medicine training and workforce and enhancing member benefits for our society. Integral to this is the important role of Advocacy for general medicine as a specialty, particularly in regional and remote areas where general medicine forms the backbones of many of our hospitals.
IMSANZ has an upcoming meeting in Queenstown this month, and their main ASM will be held this year in Hobart in the first week of September. IMSANZ welcomes all physicians to join them and connect with their diverse membership while brushing up on a wide range of topics in Acute Medicine!
Dr Sam Whittle, Australian Rheumatology Association (ARA) representative
Sam is a senior consultant rheumatologist at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, and mostly unsuccessfully divides his time between his roles as a clinician, researcher (developing the Australian Living Guidelines for Inflammatory Arthritis and Juvenile Arthritis via an ANZMUSC Practitioner Fellowship), undergraduate teacher (at Adelaide University), postgraduate supervisor, and President of the Australian Rheumatology Association.
As someone who strongly believes in the power of collegiate and collective action to tackle important problems, sitting on the AMD Council has been a great opportunity to contribute a rheumatologist's perspective – and that of the smaller specialties more broadly, many of which face significant workforce challenges – to the work of the College, and to gain a much deeper appreciation of the importance of the RACP as a key player in improving health and healthcare experiences across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and beyond.
The ARA will soon release its latest workforce report highlighting ongoing challenges in meeting demand for rheumatology services, and is also launching the Australian Rheumatology Journal, a new diamond open access publication for the Australian and regional rheumatology community.
If you would like to join AMD Council, please reach out to the secretariat team about current vacancies, via adult.med@racp.edu.au.
For more information on the AMD Council and its membership, visit the RACP website.
Professor Brian Wood
President, Adult Medicine Division
AChSHM President’s Post
Hello and kia ora to all! Sharing some recent highlights for AChSHM members:
- Congratulations to Dr Joanne Peel who has been appointed as the Sexual Health Editor for the Internal Medicine Journal (IMJ).
- We have a wide range of scholarships, awards and prizes funded by the Chapter. These open in May, August or September 2026 for applications – I encourage you to apply or nominate your colleagues for these.
- There has been ongoing advocacy by the AChSHM Committee about the importance of HIV clinical indicators. In recent months we’ve met with the HSANZ, TSANZ and RANZCO to further promote cross-specialty collaboration and knowledge sharing.
- Registrations for the 2026 AChSHM ASM are still open, with the event to be held virtually on 21 March 2026. Please share with your networks and encourage your team to attend – I look forward to connecting with you there!
For updates on AChSHM submissions, position statements, and media, please visit the Chapter webpage.
Clinical Professor Louise Owen
President, Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine
AChPM President’s Post
Hello and kia ora. Recent highlights from the AChPM committee include:
- Key initiatives for 2026 include a focus on Chapter member engagement. We’re looking at ways to promote our specialty within and outside the College, and to forge stronger connections with new Advanced Trainees. I will share more news here throughout the year!
- We have been doing ongoing advocacy work with the Australian Senate Inquiry on ‘Transition of the Commonwealth Home Support Program to the Support at Home Program’. The Chapter letter is now available on the APH website.
- We are seeking Expressions of Interest for a Paediatric AChPM member to represent on the AChPM Committee. This position is open to all AChPM paediatricians and I strongly encourage you to join us on the committee to help grow and advocate for our specialty.
If you have any feedback, questions, or concerns for the Committee, please feel free to reach out through the Chapter secretariat at PallMed@racp.edu.au.
Dr Gauri Gogna
President, Australasian Chapter of Palliative Medicine
Hello and kia ora, and welcome to my first update of 2026! This is a shorter format to focus on the key highlights of recent months – but as always, if you have any feedback, questions, or comments for me or the AChAM Committee, please feel free to reach out via our secretariat at AddictionMed@racp.edu.au
Recent updates include:
- We met with MCNZ in late 2025 to discuss the application process for Vocational Scope of Practice Recognition for addiction medicine. MCNZ are currently updating their criteria and unfortunately will not be accepting applications until mid-2026 at the earliest, so in the meantime we are working closely with the RACP’s Policy & Advocacy team in Aotearoa NZ as well as local influential stakeholders who may support such an application.
- There is ongoing development of a proposal to create a Divisional training pathway for Addiction Medicine (leading to FRACP). We have been gathering support from key internal and external stakeholders – including the feedback to date from Chapter members – and working with College staff to identify any operational or regulatory hurdles that need to be addressed. Our next step will be to seek support of the College Education Committee, before the proposal is ready to finalise and present to the RACP Board.
- There are continuing ongoing challenges in many jurisdictions which the Committee receives regular updates on, including naloxone access in Aotearoa NZ, MBS issues for Australian FAChAMs in private practice, and workforce challenges in multiple jurisdictions. All of these issues impact access to care for vulnerable members of our community.
- A voluntary register of FAChAMs who can provide Aviation Addiction Medicine Assessments for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is now live on the Chapter website here.
Professor John Saunders
President, Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine
Expressions of interest
Join the Regional, Rural, and Remote Physician Special Interest Group
Interested in shaping the College’s work on regional, rural, and remote healthcare? The Regional, Rural, and Remote Physician Special Interest Group is now open for expressions of interest from all RACP members.
This is not a committee and there are no fixed meetings or ongoing commitments. It’s a flexible, interest-based way to contribute your experience, insights, or ideas. Whether you work in a regional, rural, or remote setting, or simply care about improving health equity beyond metropolitan centres, you are encouraged to join.
There is no fixed closing date. Expressions of interest are open year-round.
To apply, complete the short application form on the EOI page and return to the Manager, Peak Bodies via council@racp.edu.au