AMD eBulletin – 26 September 2024
A message from your President
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Greetings and kia ora!
As we reach our third quarter of the year, I’m pleased to share some upcoming events and updates on recent work with you. The Adult Medicine Division (AMD) Council had its second meeting of the year in August, with many members able to join in-person at the College’s Sydney offices for some robust discussions around key issues. AMD Council and our Executive Committee (AMDEX) continue to work on our work plan initiatives to support the professional careers of Fellows and trainees of the Division.
Wellbeing is a key concern at the moment, and is a common thread being heard across our workforce. The AMD President and I are planning to meet with the Chair of the College’s Member Health and Wellbeing Committee in the coming weeks for a discussion around how we can support vulnerable and professionally isolated members, including those in locum positions or with small fractional appointments.
There is also an ongoing conversation about the possibility of a new Rural Generalist Medicine (RGM) specialty. While the RACP is supportive of the role of rural generalists, the College and AMD have raised some concerns including the impact on existing models of care, scope of practice and around ensuring adequate training and supervision, in particular for the Additional Rural Skills Training (ARST)/Advanced Specialised Training (AST) programs relevant to other specialist medical colleges. For the RACP it is adult and acute care medicine, paediatric medicine, and palliative care. RACP representatives, including the AMD President, Professor Graeme Maguire, also recently met with the Australian Medical Council’s Rural Generalist Medicine Recognition Review Panel to further discuss some of these issues.
I want to extend my appreciation to the following AMD Council members whose terms have recently concluded: Associate Professor Bridin Murnion, Associate Professor Natasha Smallwood, Associate Professor Michele Levinson, and Professor Anthony Russell. I want to express my gratitude and appreciation for their contributions to AMD Council meetings and activities throughout the years.
AMD Representatives
The Adolescent & Young Adult Medicine Committee (AYAMC) is a joint committee of AMD and the Paediatrics & Child Health Division, made up of representatives from both Divisions. AYAMC is currently seeking expressions of interest for vacant AMD Fellow and trainee roles on this Committee. For more information and to submit your application, please visit the Expression of Interest page.
AMDEX is scheduled to meet next on 4 December 2024. If you have any feedback, questions, or comments for me or the AMD Council, please reach out through our secretariat at adult.med@racp.edu.au.
Thank you for your continued engagement and support.
Professor Brian Wood
President-Elect
Adult Medicine Division
AChSHM President’s Post
Hello and Kia ora,
I’d like to remind you that nominations are currently open for three important awards, so please encourage those in your network to apply:
All three awards will accept nominations until 15 October 2024.
The AChSHM Indigenous Scholarship offers medical students, junior medical officers, registrars, and physician trainees who identify as Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or Māori the opportunity to attend the AChSHM Annual Scientific Meeting. The scholarship provides educational and networking opportunities, exposure to career pathways in sexual health medicine, and supports understanding the health needs of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori peoples. Two scholarships are available, each offering:
- Registration to the AChSHM Annual Scientific Meeting, along with associated travel and accommodation expenses up to a total value of AUD $2,000.
- One year of mentoring support from a member of the AChSHM Committee.
For more information, please visit the webpage. Applications close on 15 September 2024.
The College’s Policy & Advocacy team continues to support our Chapter, with two key initiatives added to the Chapter work plan. These initiatives focus on increasing awareness about the importance of HIV clinical indicator testing, especially among our own College bodies, other medical colleges, and external organisations. Meetings have been held with the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA), the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID), and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) to discuss improved clinical indicator utilisation.
Additionally, we are advocating for access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), including ineligible public health patients and vulnerable populations, by developing a policy on HIV. This document will be published later this year.
The College has also made recent submissions on a number of key items which are available to view on the RACP website, such as the submission to the draft Ninth National HIV Strategy 2024-2030 and the submission to the Towards Australia’s National Immunisation Strategy 2025-2030.
For updates on AChSHM submissions, position statements, and media, please visit the Chapter webpage: Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine.
If you have any items to raise with the Committee or any feedback to share, please contact us through our secretariat at shmed@racp.edu.au. The next AChSHM Committee meeting is scheduled to be held virtually on Wednesday, 30 October 2024.
Dr Massimo Giola
Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine President
AChPM President’s Post
Hello and Kia Ora
It was lovely to catch up with many of you at the recent highly successful ANZSPM conference. Congratulations to ANZSPM and the organising committee lead by Professor Greg Crawford.
At the conference dinner I had the honour of presenting our 2024 AChPM awards:
- AChPM Best Trainee Research Project Award: Dr Brian Fernandes
- AChPM Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Discipline of Palliative Medicine: Associate Professor Mark Boughey, MBBS BMedSc DipPallMed FAChPM MPH
Congratulations to both award recipients!
Telehealth item numbers for palliative medicine
Telehealth is vital in addressing palliative care needs. It allows for outpatient review of patients less able to attend clinics due to frailty or as they deteriorate, virtual consultations with Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs), provision of remote support for community palliative care patients at home and ensures rural and remote areas have access to specialist care through local nursing services and rural GPs.
The MBS Review Advisory Committee (MRAC) report from March 2024 offers important recommendations on telehealth and the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), advising the continuation of telehealth (video) items for initial consultations and reintroducing telehealth (phone) items for follow-up consultations with consultant physicians.
Your committee continues to advocate for the inclusion of the full range of phone-based consults including initial consultation telephone telehealth items and palliative medicine specialist equivalent items.
Recent policy and advocacy updates
The College is actively working on medication shortages advocacy. Recent advice from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) indicates that a shortage of the supply of oral liquid morphine (Ordine) might continue until November 2024. The College has been engaging with both the TGA and Medicines Australia about medication shortages and is looking forward to further work on this issue once the TGA completes its consultation work.
Communication and spirituality workshops
There are several upcoming workshops available for health professionals, leaders, and educators. The Centre for Organisational Change in Person-Centred Healthcare (OCPH), in partnership with Deakin University, is hosting bi-monthly workshops focused on refining core skills and managing complex conversations. The ANZSPM will also offer workshops modelled on the AChPM Communication Skills Workshops, facilitated by Dr Amy Waters from St George and Calvary Hospitals, Sydney.
The spirituality workshop is scheduled to be delivered online on four consecutive Tuesdays from 4pm to 5.30pm (AEDT) on 5, 12, 19 and 26 November 2024. The Spirituality Working Group aims to accommodate up to 33 participants, primarily targeting advanced trainees in palliative medicine. If you have any questions, please contact the chapter secretariat via pallmed@racp.edu.au.
Scholarship opportunity
I would like to draw your attention to the Margot Nott Scholarship which has been established to support Palliative Medicine Advanced Trainees in South Australia, providing assistance with training fees and stipend support. The scholarship is valued at $20,000 per annum for up to three years. For more information, please visit the webpage. Applications for 2025 close on 30 September 2024.
Rural and Remote Institute of Palliative Medicine (RRPIM)
ANZSPM is seeking a Director, Development Lead for this project – 0.2FTE.
The project, which is supported by the RACP, aims to develop pathways for doctors wishing to train as palliative medicine specialist in rural areas. More information about the project is available here.
Training
The training team has been doing an excellent job with 91 reviewers as part of the review panel and 19 case studies awaiting allocation. If you are interested in joining the review panel, please reach out to the TCPM Education Officer at palliativemedtraining@racp.edu.au.
Additionally, the review of the AChPM curriculum has been completed. The College is now working on the implementation timeframes. The Committee is supportive of the accreditation process and ensuring adequate resources for the implementation plan.
Lastly, I’d like to inform you about the End of Life Law for Clinicians (ELLC), a free online training program designed for all medical practitioners and students. The program covers Australian law related to end-of-life decision-making, which can assist clinicians in managing legal aspects of care and delivering optimal end-of-life, palliative, primary, and aged care. You can access the program here.
If you have any feedback, questions, or concerns for the Committee, please contact us through the Chapter secretariat at PallMed@racp.edu.au The next AChPM Committee meeting will be held virtually on Tuesday, 8 October 2024.
As always thank you for your continued support.
Associate Professor Peter Poon
Australasian Chapter of Palliative Medicine President
Hello and Kia ora,
EOI for an Aotearoa New Zealand representative
We are currently seeking expressions of interest for a vacant Aotearoa New Zealand representative role on the Committee. For more information and to submit your application, click here.
Recent advocacy work
I am pleased to announce that the NSW Ministry of Health’s Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs has released updated clinical guidance for the use of long-acting injectable buprenorphine (LAIB). Developed by Professor Nicholas Lintzeris, Michelle Shulz, and myself, this updated guidance incorporates clinical and consumer experiences, research evidence, and new product information. You can access both the complete guidance document and the brief guide for quick reference on the NSW Health website.
I recently attended a meeting with the RACP President, Professor Jennifer Martin, Ms Suz Punch and Ms Caroline Paterson from the Department of Health and Aged Care to discuss access to LAIB for very vulnerable populations. This followed on from a joint letter organised by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), which the RACP co-signed with the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) earlier this year. The letter strongly advocated for a special access program for LAIB for these populations. The Department is looking at the suggested model acknowledging that there are some significant barriers from their perspective.
Our College and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) have recently released a joint position statement, "Prevention and Treatment of Gambling-Related Harm" supporting an outright ban on all forms of gambling advertising. The statement highlights the urgent need for legislative action to address gambling-related harm in Australia, emphasising its impact on individuals, families, and support networks, including carers. Along with myself, the following AChAM members played a crucial role in the development of this joint statement as members of the joint Problem Gambling Working Group:
- Professor John Saunders FRACP, FAChAM, FAFPHM, (AChAM President-elect)
- Dr Nico Clark FAChAM
- Professor Michael Baigent FAChAM, FRANZCP
- Dr Dan Wilson FAChAM
The RACP and RANZCP are also advocating for the removal of barriers that prevent people from seeking treatment for addiction, stressing the importance of addressing harmful gambling behaviour.
The Chapter Committee continues to advocate for an urgent update to the National Guidelines for Medication-assisted Treatment of Opioid Dependence published in 2014. Earlier this year, the Chapter Committee led a joint letter co-signed by the RACP, RACGP and the RANZCP Presidents, which called on the Department of Health to update the guidelines with expert input from our three Colleges. We received a response from the relevant Deputy Secretary advising us that her team would engage with the Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ANACAD) regarding the need and process for updates of the guidelines. To follow this up, I recently wrote to Professor Michael Farrell, Chair of ANACAD to highlight the importance of this update.
Lastly, to access recent AChAM policy position statements and recent submissions, please visit the Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine page on the RACP website. I also invite you to read the CPAC reports to find out more about the broader policy and advocacy work of the College.
The College is in the final stages of finalising its Drug Policy Position Statement titled Achieving a health-focused approach to drug policy in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. This process has included consultation within and external to the RACP.
The long-anticipated NSW Drug Summit has now been announced. It will include two days of regional forums on Friday, 1 and Monday, 4 November 2024 in Griffith and Lismore respectively, followed by two days in Sydney on Wednesday, 4, and Thursday, 5 December. The NSW Government has appointed former NSW Deputy Premier Carmel Tebbutt and former NSW Leader of the Opposition, John Brogden as Co-Chairs.
Upcoming meetings
The next APSAD conference is scheduled to take place from Wednesday, 30 October to Saturday, 2 November 2024 at the National Convention Centre Canberra. A Chapter Fellows meeting will be held during the conference on Thursday, 30 October, at 1pm (AEDT), accessible via video conference.
The AChAM Committee is scheduled to meet next on 11 October 2024. If you have any feedback, questions, or comments for me or the Committee, please reach out through our secretariat at AddictionMed@racp.edu.au
Thank you for your continued engagement and support.
Professor Adrian Dunlop
Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine President
Expressions of Interest (EOIs)
All Expressions of Interest
AMC Accreditation Committees EOIs
The Australian Medical Council (AMC) is currently seeking Expressions of Interest for the following positions on AMC committees:
- Health Consumer members (two positions available), Specialist Education Accreditation Committee
- Health Consumer member, Progress Monitoring Sub Committee
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander member, Recognition of Medical Specialties Sub Committee
Find out more or email the AMC at accreditation@amc.org.au if you have any queries regarding the positions.
Call for Nominations – College Medals and Awards
If you know someone deserving of recognition for their outstanding contributions and achievements, now is the time to nominate them for these prestigious College Awards:
- The John Sands Medal recognises a Fellow who makes a significant contribution to the welfare of RACP and its members.
- The College Medal is aligned to the College motto hominum servire saluti. It is awarded to a Fellow who makes a significant contribution to medical specialist practice, healthcare and/or health of community through physician activities.
- RACP International Medal recognises a member who has provided outstanding service in developing countries.
- RACP Medal for Clinical Service in Rural and Remote Areas recognises a Fellow who has provided outstanding clinical service in rural and remote areas of Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand.
- RACP Mentor of the Year Award recognises a Fellow who has made an outstanding contribution to mentoring or provided a high level of support and guidance throughout training.
- RACP Trainee of the Year Award recognises a trainee who has made an outstanding contribution to College, community and trainee activities.
Nominations must be received in full by Monday, 30 September 2024.
Full details are available on the RACP Foundation webpage or contact the RACP Foundation.
Opening soon: RACP Indigenous Health Scholarships
The RACP Indigenous Health Scholarship Program aims to support those medical graduates and current trainees of the RACP who identify as Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or Māori on their chosen career path to becoming a physician. The Scholarships provide a funded pathway through Basic, Advanced, Faculty or Chapter training in Australia and/or Aotearoa New Zealand.
Several scholarships are available for 2025:
- College Indigenous Australian and Māori Health Scholarship
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Scholarship
Applications open 1 October 2024. Further details on these scholarships are available on the RACP Foundation website.
Don’t miss the Northern Territory Annual Scientific Meeting (NT ASM) 2024
This year’s program features clinical updates across adult medicine such as, haematology, immunology/rheumatology, endocrinology, general medicine, geriatric medicine, gastroenterology, respiratory medicine, renal medicine, cardiology, and neurology.
Other highlights include:
- Paediatrics and child health: FASD services and challenges, developmental and behavioural medicine, RSV and rheumatic heart disease.
- Practical workshops (participation in the workshops will be calculated as CPD Category 2)
- NT Trainee Research Awards
- The sunset dinner cruise “Wisdom around the campfire” featuring an inspirational panel discussion with Professor Bart Currie and other respected members of our Northern Territory health community.
More than just educational - connect with your colleagues in a vibrant, yet relaxed environment.
Register now.
Important PBS update
Services Australia and The Department of Health and Aged Care are continuing to work together to increase the number of PBS medicines that can be requested and approved using the online PBS Authorities System. This will include mavacampten for symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy from 1 September 2024. For more information:
Symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
PBS Listings: 1 September 2024
FAQs: Online PBS Authorities System
Complete the My Work Profile survey
My Work Profile is a longitudinal and authoritative data set describing the specialist physician workforce in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. If you're overseas, you've got no obligation to participate at this time. By completing your profile, you'll help support our advocacy activities and inform future workforce planning by policymakers, including national and state governments.
While it's not compulsory to complete a profile, the accuracy of this database depends on the number of Fellows that participate. We listened to your feedback and simplified the questionnaire this year. It should take five minutes to complete.
Complete My Work Profile
New Toolkit: Medicines Advice Initiative Australia (MAIA): Medicines and the Kidney
The Medicines Advice Initiative Australia (MAIA) consortium, in collaboration with the Council of Australian Therapeutic Advisory Groups (CATAG), has released a new toolkit titled "Medicines and the Kidney," aimed at improving medicine use and patient care in Australia. This resource provides essential tools and guidance for healthcare professionals to address dosage adjustments in patients with reduced kidney function.
The toolkit includes:
- Practice Tool: Offers resources for Medicines and Therapeutics Advisory Committees to support local stewardship on medicine dosage adjustments and effective patient education during discharge.
- Teaching Tool: A clinical scenario for educators to demonstrate safe dosage adjustments for those with reduced kidney function and educate patients about their condition.
Key points for health services:
- Anticipate dosage adjustments for patients with reduced kidney function when prescribing.
- Educate patients and carers on the diagnosis and potential need for medicine adjustments.
- Ensure accurate discharge summaries for patients whose kidney function has declined during hospitalisation.
- Medicines and Therapeutics Advisory Committees, supported by CATAG, should implement local protocols for kidney function estimation, medicine dosage adjustments, and communication standards during transitions of care.
If you would like further information about the toolkit, please don’t hesitate to contact CATAG Project Officer, Mrs Jennifer Nolan at catag.qum1@outlook.com.
Apply Now for SRSA Grants to Support Rural Specialists' Professional Development
Support for Rural Specialists in Australia (SRSA) helps rural specialists stay skilled and engaged so they can provide the best care to their communities. Eligible applicants are invited to apply for a grant of up to $12,000 to complete CPD activities like conferences, workshops, clinical attachments, and peer review.
The application deadline is 15 October 2024. Visit the SRSA website for more information and to submit an application.
Eligibility:
To apply for an SRSA grant, you must work rurally (Modified Monash Model categories 2-7) as either:
- A (non-GP) specialist
- An Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander specialist trainee
- A specialist international medical graduate under assessment
If you received a grant in our previous funding round (Funding Round 8), you are not eligible to apply in this round. If you were unsuccessful in the past, we encourage you to apply again.
SRSA is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care and managed by the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges.
Contribute to the advanced training curricula renewal
Thank you to those members who have contributed to our current Advanced Training Curricula Renewal project – we appreciate each honest review of the content, comments on what might be lacking and suggestions for where further changes and refinements might be required.
“Drop in” Zoom based information sessions are providing avenues for both information and feedback, and an informal opportunity to network with colleagues.
Please visit our website to discover how you can review the draft curricula, provide feedback and check what drop-in sessions are coming up by specialty.
If you are recording CPD hours for 2024, you can claim Category 2 hours for the time spent both reviewing the curriculum and providing feedback. Please allocate the entire period of reflection and review, including the 15 minutes to complete the online form. Click on the specialty-specific online feedback form below – you can provide feedback on more than one program.
For most specialties noted below you have until close of business Wednesday, 2 October 2024 to tell us what you think about the College’s shift towards competency-based assessment.
You can provide feedback on more than one program:
Clinical genetics
Clinical pharmacology
General and acute care medicine
Haematology (adult)
Immunology and allergy
Infectious diseases
Neurology (adult)
Rheumatology (adult)
Sexual health medicine
Public health medicine
Dermatology
Questions? Email memberservices@racp.edu.au and ask to be put in contact with the Curriculum team.
Internal Medicine Journal
The latest issue of the Internal Medicine Journal (IMJ) is now live on the Wiley Online Library and the RACP website (log in using your RACP login credentials). Access articles tweeted on IMJ's Twitter account for free, for a limited time. The easiest way to access the IMJ is via the Wiley Online Library App, find out how you can access it.
Key highlights from the issue are:
- Solitary pulmonary nodules and incidental findings
- Hormone therapy for transgender and gender-diverse adults
- Therapeutic drug monitoring of anticancer agents
- Colorectal polyps in young adults
- Pregnancy outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous lupus patients
- SGLT2 inhibitors for heart failure
Read the journal
This recording comes from the launch of the 2nd Monitoring and Evaluation Report on Hepatitis C Elimination in NSW. The work was conducted through the Kirby Institute under the guidance of infectious diseases specialist, Professor Greg Dore. As presented in this seminar, data show that the state is on track to meet the 2025 target set by NSW Health, and the national target for 2030, but there have been surprises along the way that have required an adaptable approach to surveillance and intervention.
This is particularly true in correctional settings which typically have high rates of hep C transmission due to the amount of injecting drug use that takes place coupled with an absence of needle exchange programs. Presenting on this theme was Colette McGrath, who is General Manager of Population and Preventative Health for Justice Health NSW. Her very pragmatic approach is informed by almost a decade of experience working with this population.
Guests
Professor Greg Dore FRACP (Kirby Institute, Viral Hepatitis Clinical Research Program Head; St Vincent’s Hospital).
Ms Colette McGrath (Population and Preventative Health, General Manager, Justice Health NSW)
Key Reference
Hepatitis C Elimination in NSW: Monitoring and Evaluation Report, 2024 [Kirby Institute]
Video Recording from launch event
Please visit the Pomegranate Health web page for a transcript and supporting references. Login to MyCPD to record listening and reading as a prefilled learning activity. Subscribe to new episode email alerts or search for ‘Pomegranate Health’ in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox or any podcasting app.
https://www.racp.edu.au/pomegranate/view/guest-lecture-fighting-hepatitis-c-in-prisons-and-the-community
You’ve told us that you need your College to be more responsive and supportive. We’ve listened to your feedback and we’re establishing a new Member Support Centre to help you navigate your College, improve enquiry response and resolution times and better support your needs. Thank you for your feedback – it helps us improve.
Update your details with the College
Did you know that you can now update your address details online? Simply Login to MyRACP and go to “Edit my details”.
RACP Benefits – your new lifestyle benefits program has arrived
Save on all your favourite lifestyle and service brands from leading retailers across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand – with RACP Benefits. Our lifestyle benefits portal offers you exclusive discounts and genuine savings on items in a range of popular categories. To celebrate the launch of RACP Benefits, we have some great offers for you to explore.
So log in today and take advantage of your RACP Benefits.
Pomegranate Health podcast: Your contributions welcome
The RACP podcast, Pomegranate Health, has published over 100 episodes since starting out eight years ago.
To provide more frequent and focused content we’re seeking contributions from our speciality societies, committees and affiliated professional organisations.
To hear what this would sound like, listen to the episodes tagged [IMJ On-Air]
These episodes feature authors published in the Internal Medicine Journal being interviewed by the relevant section editor.
They have covered themes as varied as asthma management, hospital-acquired complications, causes of readmission and the JEV outbreak.
You already spend considerable time preparing lectures and webinars for your colleagues. Audio podcasts provide an easy way to reach thousands more around the world. Each episode gets downloaded around 6500 times over the first 12 months from publication, with 21 per cent of listeners located outside of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
All you need to do is to organise one or more presenters and an interviewer familiar with the material. The podcast producer will coordinate an online recording lasting about one hour and then edit it down before publication. The intention would be to ‘brand’ regular episodes from your specialty society or organisation in the same way that we’ve done with [IMJ On-Air].
Please send any questions or ideas to podcast@racp.edu.au
View career opportunities on the RACP website.