AFOEM eBulletin - 20 December 2024
It is now coming to the end of a very busy year. Many thanks to all those members who have willingly donated their time to support the Faculty. Of course, the changes to our curriculum and development of policy documents, as well as advocacy, has been dependent on the support of committed, capable and conscientious staff throughout the College. We also appreciate the work by our Faculty staff, Eva and Jane, who both had to hit the road running.
AFOEM Council met on 3 December and endorsed the proposal to hold the Annual Training Meeting (ATM) in mid-May in Brisbane. We are most grateful for the submission from Dr Clare Wood and Dr Andrew Lingwood who have agreed to commence planning for the ATM. Trainees will be contacted by Faculty staff in the near future advising of details.
Council also discussed the need for planning for the changes in training, supervision and examinations that are expected from the revised curriculum and entry into training prerequisites.
I attended the convocation at the Melbourne City Hall on 23 November. I had the pleasure with Professor Jennifer Martin of congratulating Dr Ameer Alhusuny, Dr Harry Chow and Dr Kah Heng Lee with the awarding of their Fellowships.
I have been notified of the results of the recent examinations. I would like to congratulate those trainees who met the required standard in written and or practical examinations. I appreciate that some trainees will be disappointed but the process is valid and checked to ensure that the standards required reflect the answers that would be given by a minimally competent specialist in occupational and environmental medicine.
I would also like to express my appreciation to the staff and Fellows who have given considerable time and effort over many months in developing the questions and conducting these examinations. This reminds me that nominations are now open for the AFOEM President’s Awards and details can be found here.
ANZSOM has announced that it has negotiated an arrangement with the UK Society of Occupational Medicine. Their journal will shortly be able to be accessed by ANZSOM members for free through the ANZSOM website. This is another reason for becoming a member of ANZSOM, and many trainees are already benefitting from the resources readily available on their website.
Finally, I wish all members and staff seasons greetings, and look forward to catching up with you again in the New Year.
Dr Warren Harrex
AFOEM President
Nominate a colleague to recognise their outstanding contributions to the Faculty in one of the following areas:
- Education, training and assessment
- Policy and advocacy
- Trainee commitment
Nominations close Friday, 31 January 2025. Visit the RACP website for more details and to nominate.
The RACP welcomes the results of the Medical Board of Australia’s sixth annual Medical Training Survey (MTS). This anonymous survey was open between August and October 2024 and was completed by 41 per cent of RACP trainees, including Overseas Trained Physicians who are currently undertaking supervised practice in Australia (n=3,069). Findings point to small but important improvements in key areas such as workload, trainee wellbeing and the provision of safe training environments.
Key findings:
The quality of training and clinical supervision remains high
We continue our work to improve the support we provide to our members who occupy vital supervisory and educational leadership roles. We are also looking to improve our recognition of these roles in 2025.
A need to legitimise and protect teaching and learning time in service delivery contexts
In 2025, the College will be initiating a new Workforce and Healthcare Reform Advocacy program, which will feature increased calls for protected training and education time for members. We’re also looking at our Accreditation Standards to see how these can better support legitimising and protecting educational activities as a core function of accredited training settings.
The importance of safe training environments
We continue our important work to improve the psychological safety of trainees in training settings and we maintain our zero-tolerance stance on unprofessional behaviours. Please refer to our President Jennifer Martin's recent communication on civility and the RACP’s existing support programs.
Trainee wellbeing is critical
Our Member Health and Wellbeing Strategic Plan sets out the College’s aim to improve member wellbeing at both individual and systematic levels. Individual support is free and readily available through the RACP Support Program, along with our range of other services.
Call for clearer communication regarding training requirements
We know we have work to do to meet trainee expectations for quality and timely services. We have invested in new resources for our Member Support Centre and we are launching new technology and processes to support improved training management. We look forward to you all being able to enjoy the benefits of these exciting initiatives in 2025.
Accessing the results
We encourage you to further explore the MTS results via the:
Thank you to all RACP trainees who participated in this important survey.
Further details about the survey can be found on the RACP website andthe Medical Training Survey website.
We are pleased to share the results of our 2024 Supervisor Voices Survey. The survey ran over a three-week period in August, and we would like to thank the more than 600 supervisors and educational leaders across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand who took the time to contribute their voice. The feedback collected provides a solid evidence base to shape the way we support supervisors moving forward.
Key findings
The survey highlighted increasingly heavy supervisory workloads and a pressing need for more dedicated time to fulfill supervisory responsibilities. Despite these challenges, most supervisors still feel they provide high-quality clinical and educational supervision, emphasising their important contribution to training and education.
The results also revealed that supervisors often feel unrecognised for their significant contributions to training, along with persistent concerns around the culture of medicine.
Accessing the results
We encourage you to explore the results through our 2024 Supervisor Voices Survey Summary Report.
How we’re responding
Based on these results, we’re taking the following steps:
- Prioritising advocacy for dedicated time for supervision as a key focus area in our engagement with jurisdictions.
- Enhancing support for supervisors by providing concise resources, timely assistance, and clear role expectations.
- Exploring a formal feedback process to support supervisors’ development.
- Establishing mechanisms to improve recognition of supervisors’ contributions from both the College and workplaces.
- Updating our SPDP program to better meet your needs.
For further information, please visit the Supervisor Voices Survey webpage or reach out to our team at evaluation@racp.edu.au.
The College would like to thank each of our dedicated supervisors and educational leaders for their commitment to the development of their profession, and for their participation in this survey.
The member consultation webpage is your go-to place for all policy and advocacy consultations including contributing to government submissions and College position statements. This will make it easier for you to provide your valuable input to College submissions, to add your voice to drive change, and make a real impact on your profession.
This webpage has been developed based on feedback from the 2023 Member Satisfaction Survey, where many members advised that a single webpage with opportunities to contribute to consultations would support enhanced engagement with policy and advocacy.
To find out how your input to prior College consultations has made a powerful impact, read the College Policy & Advocacy Council’s reports and review approved outputs in the P&A Library.
Find out more.
Physicians often prescribe medicines as part of managing complex medical conditions. Both medications and multi-morbidity are becoming increasingly complex.
The Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists (ASCEPT) launched their renewed Evolve Top-5 Recommendations within pharmacology and toxicology that asks clinicians to rethink their prescribing decisions for quality patient care.
Refer to the media release here.
Learn about ASCEPT Evolve Top-5 recommendations here.
The Medicines Advice Initiative Australia (MAIA) has released a new toolkit to support the safe and effective use of SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) in the perioperative period.
About MAIA
MAIA is a consortium dedicated to improving medicine use in Australia, involving leading organisations such as the University of South Australia, Australian Medicines Handbook, and NACCHO.
Toolkit Highlights
- Practice Tool: Resources for Medicines and Therapeutics Advisory Committees to promote safe use of SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1RA medicines.
- Teaching Tool: Clinical examples for educators to guide optimal, patient-centred perioperative care.
Key Points for Health Services
- Monitor SGLT2 inhibitor-associated ketoacidosis with point-of-care blood ketone testing.
- Use ‘SGLT2 inhibitor-associated ketoacidosis’ for non-diabetic patients.
- Manage GLP-1RA therapy with evidence-based, patient-centred approaches, and update ‘Sip Til Send’ policies to reflect their use.
- Ensure clear advice on resuming medications at care transitions.
Get Involved
Please share these tools with your networks to enhance safe practices.
For more information, contact Julie Briggs at catag.qum2@outlook.com
CATAG has launched three new resources to enhance quality use of medicines and support health professionals, Medicines and Therapeutics Advisory Committees (MTCs), and consumers.
1. Consumer Counselling Tool: Changing Brands of Biologics
This plain-English tool helps hospital-based health professionals explain key information about switching biological medicines to consumers. It supports MTCs in implementing the Biologics and Biosimilars Best Practice Guiding Principles.
2. Perioperative Management Toolkit: SGLT2 Inhibitors & GLP-1 Receptor Agonists
This toolkit assists MTCs and hospitals in the safe use of these medicines during the perioperative period. It includes:
- Practice Tool: Guidance for MTCs.
- Teaching Tool: Clinical scenarios to demonstrate optimal, patient-centred care.
Next Steps
- Disseminate these tools within your networks.
- Contribute to CATAG's ongoing projects by sharing local resources on:
- Heart Failure (MAIA project).
- Emerging Therapies (e.g., medicinal cannabis, psilocybin, ketamine – CwC project).
For more information or to submit resources, contact catag.qum2@outlook.com.
Visit www.catag.org.au for details.
The TGA recently published a Medicines Safety Update (MSU) article regarding ‘Product Information safety updates – November 2024. It can be found here.
New and amended Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) listings are available here. This information relates to the administration of these listings by Services Australia.
For further information on broader PBS changes, please visit the PBS website.
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) subsidised medicines can be critical to patient care. That’s why Services Australia is committed to improving its services. Take this short survey to share your thoughts about how health professionals hear about PBS Authorities monthly listings and transformation changes.
Take the survey
In 2019, a man was referred to Royal Adelaide Hospital with worsening breathlessness and a productive cough. He was a 47-year-old electrician with a history of tobacco smoking who’d been well before the onset of symptoms. Over a couple of admissions, the patient’s condition progressed to type 2 respiratory failure. While the ultimate explanation for this presentation was a bit of a unicorn, the dramatic escalation of examinations and interventions runs through some textbook respiratory medicine; ECMO, infectious diseases, bronchoscopy, CT, interpretation of blood gases and the alveolar gas equation, stenting and ultimately transplantation. This is discussed in the careful manner expected of a long-case presentation in the physician training exams.
Guest
- Dr Thomas Crowhurst FRACP (Northern Adelaide Local Health Network)
Hosts
- Associate Professor Stephen Bacchi (Lyell McEwin Hospital; University of Adelaide)
- Dr Brandon Stretton (Central Adelaide Local Health Network)
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.
Visit: Pomegranate (racp.edu.au) for the full episode.
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
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.
By completing your ‘work profile’ you will provide us with valuable insights which we can use to make evidence-based and informed advocacy decisions for improving workforce planning. All you need to do is log in to My RACP, click ‘update my work profile’ and answer a few questions about your work activities.
Complete your ‘work profile’
Did you know that RACP Benefits gives you access to a range of discounts and offers from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading brands and retailers? Simply log in to the portal to start shopping and saving today. These special deals are exclusive to the College and made possible by our benefits partner, Member Benefits Australia.
Log in or find out more.
Did you know that you can now update your address details online? Simply log in to MyRACP and go to 'Edit my details'.
AFOEM contact details
AFOEM Faculty enquiries (including Council and committees):
Jane Konjevic
AFOEM Executive Officer
Email: afoem@racp.edu.au
Aotearoa NZ AFOEM office:
Email: AoNZ_AFRM@racp.org.nz
AFOEM Education and Training enquiries:
Education Officer
Email: occenvmed@racp.edu.au
AFOEM Examination enquiries:
Examination Coordinator, Assessment and Selection Unit
Email: examinations@racp.edu.au
AFOEM training site accreditation enquiries:
Site Accreditation Unit
Email: accreditation@racp.edu.au
AFOEM CPD enquiries:
Email: mycpd@racp.edu.au