Hello and Kia ora all,

Welcome to 2024. As we begin a new year, I would like to extend my thanks to all AFRM members for your continued commitment and contribution to the rehabilitation medicine specialty. A special welcome to new Fellows as you commence your careers as rehabilitation medicine physicians and to our new trainees who are commencing their training to become future rehabilitation medicine physicians. We are all at different stages of our careers but we are all members together. As you plan your activities for the year, I would like to encourage you all to consider joining us at the College on a committee as we continue our very important work in 2024.

I invite you to browse our vacancies and consider how your knowledge and expertise can impact our members, patients, and the specialty overall.

All expressions of interest and information on applying can be found on the RACP website.

2024 RACP Elections

Members will have recently received an email notifying them of calls for nominations for the upcoming election for the RACP President-Elect and for a number of other College Body vacancies. The nomination process is now open. If you have anyone in mind or would like to nominate yourself for any of the open positions, you can find more information on our website.

BNRS Letter

I am happy to report that we are making progress on the Binational Rehabilitation Strategy. Certain progress to date has been slow. We are now in a position to hopefully make good forward progress in 2024. Currently we are officialising our working relationship with AROC and RMSANZ to ensure there is a strong foundation for our partnership moving forward. Once the documentation is completed for formalising that arrangement, we will be looking to send out an EOI to form the working group. I am very much hoping that while progress to date has been slow once we pass this stage, we will be able to make significant progress. The Binational Rehabilitation Strategy remains a key focus for AFRM and an important tool for demonstrating the vital role that rehabilitation medicine plays in the health of people in both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. I look forward to being able to provide updates on this work as and when they are available.

Education matters

New AFRM curriculum: 2024 sees the commencement of the implementation of the new AFRM curriculum. It should be remembered that the changes not only affect new trainees but will also involve some changes for supervisors. I suggest it would be good for supervisors to familiarise themselves with the new curriculum so that we can all commence planning for any necessary changes in our supervision practices within our workplaces.

RACP Education governance review: Members may be aware that there is currently a review of the education governance for the whole College. AFRM executives have been involved in discussions with the education governance working group regarding any potential impact on AFRM training and processes. We will keep members updated on the progress.

Policy and advocacy matters

Long COVID: The RACP and I have contributed to the discussion on long COVID, and numerous articles have been published on the topic. Our particular focus has been on advocating for the continuation of funding for specialist MDT long COVID clinics. This is a very important aspect of our specialty since the pandemic began and patients are now dealing with the long-term effects of the illness. The urgency of the initial response to COVID may be passed, but COVID is still with us. We hope to continue the conversation and advocate for keeping services open. Below are some of the articles that form part of our advocacy work:

• GPs on their own with long COVID patients as specialist clinics close down, RACP warns
• Long COVID cases will likely increase with each new wave, so why are we closing clinics?
• Long COVID patients suffering as clinics shut down across the country

I would also like to announce that my President’s posts, which are usually featured in the AFRM eBulletin, will only be available on the ROC (on an ad hoc basis) in the future. This way we can provide important updates, as and when they are relevant, instead of waiting and inundating you with a lot of information once a month. This will also be the final edition of the AFRM eBulletin, as all information will be posted on the ROC going forward.

We will be holding our first AFRM Council meeting on Thursday, 21 March 2024. If there is anything of note that you would like us to discuss, please feel free to contact the AFRM Secretariat at afrm@racp.edu.au. 

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and best wishes for 2024.