Can three years as President really have gone by that quickly?

It turns out the answer to that question is a resounding 'yes'. As I ride off into the sunset, it might be prudent to take stock and reflect on this term of office. Yes, we have regained strength as a Faculty within the RACP and accessed opportunities after the AMC review to refresh our Advanced Training curriculum.  Yes, we insisted on expanded membership requirements for our CRG to include an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander health professional and a Māori or Pacific health professional. Yes, welcome advice from these members to decolonise our approach led to the responsible decision to codesign all elements pertaining to responsible practice in partnership with Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Māori and Pacific peoples' health. Yes, we have taken an important step in respecting Indigenous Data Sovereignty through new requirements for the Gerry Murphy prize. Yes, we published a resource describing what Public Health Physicians do in Australia with one for Aotearoa New Zealand well on the way.  Engagement within the RACP has increased and now all three Faculty Presidents meet regularly with the RACP President, Adult Medicine Division President and Paediatrics President. Similarly, there is now a direct link through Presidents to the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine. As we all might have guessed, the ROC did not serve us as well as others anticipated. This, our own dedicated Faculty email, has already elicited very positive feedback. Our Faculty Trainees Committee received RACP support to conduct a bespoke binational survey. All this progress has been achieved through the efforts of many - to those on Council, our standing committees, working groups, supervisors, examiners, WPR assessors, mentors ... to all of you, my HUGE thanks.

Yet, compared with the Workplan agreed by Council for 2023 to 2025, the ledger for my three-year term as your President is incomplete and many challenges remain. Despite the recommendations of the 'Future of the Faculty' report, full autonomy as befits our Faculty accountable for training and standards of practice in public health medicine remains elusive. Effort to develop a demand-driven model for PHP workforce planning using population and public health criteria came to nought. In relation to the Faculty's media advocacy, there is still not the level of autonomy that we seek. The most egregious health inequities remain without effective critique by the Faculty. Council has not a single Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or Maori member. A focus on Council's collective cultural competence is yet to bear fruit. An ambition to develop an exclusive operational framework to protect STP posts for Public Health Medicine trainees in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations in Australia remains a pipedream. As the AFPHM is constitutionally authorised to award FAFPHMs as a distinct medical speciality within the RACP, it remains a significant risk that the Board-endorsed approach for Education Governance does not afford clear lines of authority back to Council for this responsibility. Our Redfern Oration is on pause while the RACP considers its options for Congress.

All in all however, there was never a dull moment and I am confident Tony Gill as incoming AFPHM President and Anu Anuradha as President-Elect will keep chipping away with grace and determination, supported by our trainees and Fellows committed to this most demanding of medical specialties.

Opening Soon
RACP Trainee Research Awards
Applications open on Tuesday, 1 July 2025

Now Open
Consider nominating a colleague, mentor or a trainee who is deserving of recognition for the following:

College Medals and Awards

• John Sands Medal
• College Medal
• RACP Medal for Clinical Service in Rural and Remote Areas
• RACP Mentor of the Year Award
• RACP Trainee of the Year Award