AFOEM eBulletin - 22 November 2024
I warmly welcome Eva Kosinski as our new Faculty Manager. Eva has considerable experience in the College as she was the Executive Officer for AFPHM. We are delighted for her on her promotion which is well-deserved given her demonstrated member focus.
Dr Rob McDonald has been endorsed as the Chair of Health Benefits of Good Work®. Rob will be conducting a strategic review of this initiative over the next few months and will be in contact with several stakeholders to seek their feedback and opinions.
I would like to acknowledge Dr Miguel Kabilio for his outstanding leadership of the team that organised the highly successful ANZSOM Annual Scientific Meeting in Perth. The event was attended by approximately 200 delegates including a large contingent of our trainees. The conference was a testament to the hard work and commitment of everyone involved. I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Dr Niki Ellis for her exceptional work in organising the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of our acknowledgment of occupational medicine as a specialty. Her dedication and meticulous planning made the event a resounding success and a memorable milestone for all of us. Details of the events and excellent presentations may be found on the ANZSOM website.
Mr Stephen Bouwhuis from the Department of Health and Ageing provided an update on reporting to the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry. There have now been 48 cases reported compared to 28 for the first three months: National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry – Annual Report 2024 | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. Pre-existing and non-mandatory cases of occupational respiratory disease may also be reported, provided patient consent is obtained. The Department is seeking to form a National Registry Operation Advisory Group and is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified individuals by 16 December 2024.
I mentioned in my last message about the option of holding the Annual Training Meeting (ATM) in conjunction with ANZSOM. Since then, a proposal has been submitted requesting holding the ATM in mid-May in Brisbane. Several trainees only need to complete their Ramazzini presentations to finish their training. The ATM is also used as pre-exam preparation. So there are many trainees who will be immediately disadvantaged if the ATM is delayed until the end of next year. This proposal and its resource implications will be considered by Council next month. The ATM may also provide a convenient opportunity to hold our annual members meeting and hand over of the presidency to Dr Armand Casolin.
Additionally, I would like to bring to your attention the advice from the RACP President that the Board is considering changes to the Constitution to be presented by the Board for consideration by members at a future Annual General Meeting. When these are shared with members, AFOEM members are requested to review these proposed changes and express their endorsement or otherwise for these significant amendments. Your input is crucial to ensure that the Constitution reflects the needs and aspirations of our College.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those members who have approached me and provided feedback on issues in our Faculty and College and how we can improve. Your feedback is important and most appreciated, as it helps us to identify areas for improvement in our training and education services. Two-way communication is important to strengthen the performance of our Faculty.
We have just been advised there is a vacancy for the Chief Medical Officer at Fire Rescue Victoria. Details can be found here.
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 Saturday, 30 November 2024. See the website for more details and to nominate.
RACP Indigenous Health Scholarships – last chance to apply
The Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine is proud to offer the Indigenous Australian and Māori Health Scholarship for Occupational and Environmental Medicine as part of the RACP Indigenous Health Scholarship Program for 2025.
The 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.
Scholarships available for 2025:
- College Indigenous Australian and Māori Health Scholarship
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Scholarship
Applications close Saturday, 30 November 2024. For more information, visit the RACP Foundation webpage.
Safe Work Australia (SWA) is developing a model Code of Practice which provides guidance for PCBUs (employers and organisations) on fatigue risks at work. This draft model Code of Practice has been developed with the support of Safe Work Australia Members and other safety regulators. Safe Work Australia welcomes submissions from all interested stakeholders.
Have your say
The first annual report has been published on the Department of Health and Aged Care website. It summarises data received to the National Registry during its first three months of operation, as required by the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Act 2023.
The Department of Health and Aged Care notes the low number of notifications received during the initial three months of operation which limits what new information can be gained from the data at this time. It recognises the notification of diseases which are not required under the Act and demonstrates the willingness of physicians and patients to support the operation of the National Registry.
The RACP is pleased to see the implementation of this Registry, following our strong advocacy efforts.
When: Wednesday, 27 November 2024 at 6pm
Venue: The Royal Automobile Club of Australia, 89 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Presenter: Associate Professor David Heslop
Topic: The implications of anticipated future climate change on occupational and emergency health systems supporting deployed, remote and offshore, and austere conditions
Don’t miss out. register here.
Thrombectomy for acute ischaemic stroke has undergone great advances in the last decade, but the expertise and technology is restricted to tertiary hospitals. Outside of large metropolitan centres, thrombolytic treatment can buy a patient time, but for almost 30 years the first line agent has remained unchanged. Alteplase is an analog of the human tissue plasminogen activator which activates plasmin to dissolve fibrin blood clots. For many years it was assumed that alteplase should be administered within three hours of symptom onset, thus it was a big deal when in 2008, research showed that that window could be safely broadened to four and a half hours.
Today’s guests have over the intervening years been pushing the envelope even further, in an effort to help more than two-thirds of stroke patients who present after that threshold. In this podcast, Professors Bruce Campbell and Mark Parsons discuss a trial of the relatively novel agent, tenecteplase. The publication in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that tenecteplase could improve patient outcomes even if administered up to 24 hours out from a large vessel occlusion. The researchers explain the steps that led up to their study, and the importance of perfusion imaging to identify candidates with salvageable brain tissue.
Key Reference
Tenecteplase for Ischemic Stroke at 4.5 to 24 Hours without Thrombectomy [NEJM. 2024]
Guests
- Dr Duncan Austin PhD FRACP MRCP (Cabrini Health)
- Professor Bruce Campbell PhD FRACP (Cabrini Health; Royal Melbourne Hospital; University of Melbourne)
- Professor Mark Parsons PhD FRACP, FAAHMS (Sydney Neurointerventional Specialists; Consulting in Neurology, Maitland)
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, in collaboration with EY Sweeney, invite you to take part in our 2024 Member Satisfaction Survey (MSS).
Between Monday, 18 November and Wednesday, 20 November, you should have received an email from surveys@slmr.com.au with the subject line: Share your feedback – RACP Satisfaction Survey 2024, containing the survey link.
Please take a moment to complete the survey, as your feedback will help us determine whether we’re meeting your needs and expectations and guide our future direction.
The survey is completely confidential, with responses de-identified and reported in aggregate to ensure anonymity.
The survey will take approximately five to seven minutes to complete, and closes on Monday, 16 December 2024 at 5pm.
Thank you to the new Fellows who participated in the 2024 New Fellow Survey. Twelve per cent of new Fellows shared their feedback in June and July, offering valuable insights into how well RACP training prepared them for unsupervised practice.
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Key Findings
Most new Fellows reported feeling prepared for unsupervised practice, especially when it comes to communication, medical expertise, judgement, decision-making, and ethics. However, gaps were identified in health policy systems, advocacy, and research competencies.
New Fellows faced challenges with:
- Feeling confident in leadership positions
- Adjusting to a less supported environment
- Balancing new workload expectations
- Consistent employment and job security
- Navigating private practice
Approximately one-fifth of respondents found the transition to unsupervised practice challenging, with over half suggesting that additional support from RACP would be beneficial. Difficulties were also reported in work/life balance, accessing RACP support when needed, and completing the Advanced Training Research Projects.
Our Response
These survey findings, alongside other feedback, are helping shape College initiatives such as a Health Policy, a Systems and Advocacy online course, and enhanced supervisory training. We are actively working to address these areas across the RACP.
For more information, visit the New Fellow Survey Page on the RACP website for a summary report of the findings.
The RACP 2024 Member Statistics and Insights Report has just been released. This report provides an aggregated snapshot of College membership as at 30 June 2024 using member data from the College’s customer relationship management (CRM) system.
The report displays a range of characteristics of the membership including demographic measures such as age, gender and location, as well as other characteristics such as largest training sites, specialty etc. Additional analysis has also enabled the report to include trend information about various characteristics of the membership over a number of years.
If you have any questions or feedback, please contact us.
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
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'.
Visit the RACP website to view more Expressions of Interest
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