February 2023

The following Communiqué highlights the recent activities of the Fellowship Committee as well as discussions from the 01-2023 Committee meeting, held on Monday 13 February 2023.

Gender Equity in Medicine

• We are pleased to appoint Professor Elizabeth Elliott as the Chair of the Gender Equity in Medicine Committee (GEMC) and look forward to working with them to advance the College’s gender equity in medicine activities.

College Awards and Medals

• We congratulate and acknowledge all the nominees and recipients of the 2022 various College Awards and Medals.
• Further information on the awards and our 2022 recipients can be found here.
• We appreciate the extraordinary achievements and contributions of our members and encourage you to nominate your colleagues to enable us to celebrate the good work of our members.

Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education (LIME) Network Conference Sponsorship

• The College will be sponsoring the LIME Connection X Conference on 22-25 October 2023.
• This conference provides a space to facilitate discussion and innovation in Indigenous health and celebrate successes in the field.
• We encourage you all to attend and participate in the conference and the other valuable initiatives managed by the LIME Network.

RACP Congress

• We held a workshop during our meeting to discuss and plan for the future of RACP Congress.
• Our aim is to make Congress a valuable event for members and improve member engagement with this event.
• We will be proposing some recommendations for the future of Congress to the Board for their consideration and hope that we can commence work to organise Congress 2024 soon. 

Get to know your College

Dr Hashim (Hash) Abdeen is a newly qualified Rheumatologist based in Queensland and has dedicated much of his time advocating for trainees to improve the trainee experience.
Hash was the Chair of the Federal AMA Council of Doctors in Training and was the recipient of the 2022 RACP Trainee of the Year Award. Hash’s commitment to achieving a positive training environment that supports high quality education and training and promotes doctor wellbeing is evident in his extraordinary work and commitment to his roles across the College. Hash is selflessly committed to the College, evident through his various roles including the Chair of the College Trainees’ Committee, trainee representative on the Fellowship Committee as well as a trainee representative on the College Education Committee and Queensland Regional Committee. He is also a Practitioner member on the Queensland Board of the Medical Board of Australia.
Hash is passionate about improving the health system through his leadership and advocacy work and ensuring we continue to identify opportunities that result in improved patient care.

Dr Sharmila Ramessur Chandran
Chair, Fellowship Committee
February 2023

November 2022

The following Communiqué highlights the recent activities of the Fellowship Committee as well as discussions from the 04-2022 Committee meeting, held on Thursday 24 November 2022.

Gender Equity in Medicine

• We're pleased to announce that the Gender Equity in Medicine Committee (GEMC) has now been formed and held their first meeting on 7 December 2022.

RACP Congress

• Unfortunately, we are postponing Congress 2023 as planned for May in Brisbane due to the impact of a concurrent major sporting event on travel and accommodation availability and other logistics.
• The Fellowship Committee will be discussing potential alternative approaches to Congress 2023 at its next meeting in February 2023.

Recognition of member contributions to the College

• We are pleased to have developed a policy that will provide guidelines on how we recognise member contributions to the College. This policy has been approved by the Board at their December 2022 meeting.

RACP 85-Year Anniversary Celebration

• The College will be celebrating its 85th Anniversary in 2023 and the Fellowship Committee along with the Library, Collections and Cultural Heritage Committee will be developing a proposal to commemorate this occasion through a publication that celebrates our members’ stories and diversity.

Sponsorship of Crazy Socks 4 Docs Event

• The Fellowship Committee approved the College to work with Doctors Health Northern Territory (NT) to sponsor and establish events in 2023 to commemorate Crazy Socks 4 Docs day across six public hospitals in the NT.
• This is the first event of this kind in the Northern Territory which aims to raise awareness of the mental health of all doctors and health practitioners. 

Get to know your College

Charlie Burrell is our Executive Officer in the Fellowship Relations team who assists in supporting the Fellowship Committee, College Trainees’ Committee, as well as the Library, Collections, and Cultural Heritage Committee. Charlie helps with organising our meetings to facilitate important discussions and decision making.

Charlie is relatively new with the College since starting in July 2022 but is already an invested team member and appreciates the role the Fellowship Committee plays in influencing member experiences.

Happy New Year from the Fellowship Committee

I would like to wish everyone a happy new year and thank you all for your invaluable contribution during 2022 to continually build and improve our College. I hope you were able to take a well-deserved break and enjoy the holidays with your family and friends.

Dr Sharmila Ramessur Chandran
Chair, Fellowship Committee
January 2023

September 2022

The following Communiqué highlights the recent activities of the Fellowship Committee as well as discussions from the 03-2022 Committee meeting, held on Friday 9 September 2022.

Gender Equity in Medicine

We're pleased to have commenced the appointment of members to the Gender Equity in Medicine Committee and look forward to the Committee’s first meeting.

Recognition of member contributions to the College

• The Fellowship Committee is working on a policy to provide guidelines on recognising member contributions in conjunction with the College’s Gift Giving Policy and Procedure.
• The Fellowship Committee hope to have the policy finalised by the end of the year.

RACP Congress

• We discussed Congress 2022 and how to evolve the College’s strategy to enhance future Congress events for our members.
• The Congress Program Committee have been hard at work to develop the program for Congress 2023 with most shared session topics confirmed.
• Congress 2023 will be held in Brisbane with its theme being ‘Equitable healthcare: taking action’.

RACP Online Community (ROC)

• The ROC will be celebrating its one-year anniversary in ROCtober so please join me in congratulating the College.
• We received an evaluation of the ROC and look forward to the update to the user interface later this year.

Transformational Change

• We received an update on the College’s transformation change activity to achieve our 2022 to 2026 strategy.
• The College has commenced stakeholder engagement and scoping activity to identify focus areas for change and develop a plan to address them.

Get to know your College

My name is Dr Sharmila R Chandran and I'm the current Chair of the Fellowship Committee. My other roles within the college include:

• Member Director on the Board
• Chair of the Member Health and Wellbeing Committee
• Congress Lead Fellow
• member of the Adult Medicine Division Executive Committee and the College Education Committee

I'm a renal physician based in Melbourne.

Originally from Mauritius, I completed medical school in Melbourne before moving to the UK for basic physician training. I then migrated back to Melbourne to undertake renal training and a PhD. At the end, I undertook a clinical fellowship in Toronto. For the last few years, I've focused on upskilling myself in leadership skills. I'm passionate about positive change and a strong advocate for transparent, fair and efficient processes.

I really enjoy being involved with the College and encourage trainees and Fellows to engage with our College to ensure we as members help shape its future.

Dr Sharmila Ramessur Chandran
Chair, Fellowship Committee
September 2022

June 2022

The following Communiqué highlights the recent activities of the Fellowship Committee as well as discussions from the 02-2022 Committee meeting, held on Thursday 9 June 2022.

Gender Equity in Medicine

• We're pleased to have launched the GEMWG report via webinar on 21 June 2022.
• The Fellowship Committee congratulate the GEMWG and thank our President, Dr Jacqueline Small and all the presenters at the webinar for a successful event.
• A recording of the webinar and the GEMWG report is available on the College's Gender Equity in Medicine page.
• Establishment of the Gender Equity in Medicine Committee (GEMC) has commenced, and we look forward to working with the GEMC to implement the recommendations from the GEMWG report.

Recognition of member contributions to the College

• The College is brainstorming ways to recognise member contributions to the College.
• We'd like to express our gratitude to members who volunteer their time and expertise to progress our College's activities.

Member benefits

• The College is partnered with Member Advantage to deliver our members with a range of lifestyle benefits in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand and is undertaking an evaluation of the member benefits program to improve its value to members.
• Members can access these benefits via the Member Advantage website.

RACP Online Community (ROC)

• The Fellowship Committee endorsed the recommendations in the ROC evaluation report.
• The College will be commencing the implementation of the recommendations in the report and continue to evaluate the performance of the ROC.
• We encourage members to visit the ROC to network and discuss topics of interest with your fellow members.

Behind These Doors Macquarie Street building video tour

We're pleased to have launched the Behind These Doors video tour of our College’s Macquarie Street building at Congress 2022.

Explore our College’s Macquarie Street home in Sydney and discover our fascinating treasures and history.

Get to know your College

Jay Jacinto is our Senior Executive Officer in the Fellowship Relations team that manages the day-to-day operations of the Business unit and is responsible for leading, managing and supporting the operations of the Fellowship Committee as well as the:

• College Trainees' Committee
• Gender Equity in Medicine Working Group
• Library, Collections, and Cultural Heritage Committee

Jay helps us navigate the College and assists the Fellowship Committee to progress our work and activities. Jay has been with the College since 2017 and values the importance of working together to improve our member experience.

Dr Sharmila Ramessur Chandran
Chair, Fellowship Committee
July 2022

February 2022

The following Communiqué highlights the recent activities of the Fellowship Committee as well as discussions from the 01-2022 Committee meeting, held on Thursday 10 February 2022.

Gender Equity in Medicine

The Gender Equity in Medicine Working Group (GEMWG) report and recommendations were approved by the Board at their December 2021 meeting. The Fellowship Committee is currently reviewing a draft Terms of Reference to establish a Gender Equity in Medicine Committee that will be tasked with developing an action plan to implement the recommendations from the report.

The College is also planning a campaign to launch the GEMWG report in the upcoming months and anticipates to utilise this opportunity to promote and invite members to join the new Gender Equity in Medicine Committee.

Congress 2022 progress update

The Fellowship Committee were pleased to see new representatives joining the Congress Program Committee and received an update on the Congress 2022 program and speakers. We discussed and provided advice on planning for Congress 2022 and following our meeting, the Board approved a hybrid model for Congress, which will be held in person at Melbourne and Auckland as well as online between Thursday 12 and Saturday 14 May.

The Fellowship Committee would like to encourage you to participate by registering for Congress 2022 

Review of Fellowship Committee Awards criteria

The Fellowship Committee recently reviewed the criteria for several of the Colleges Awards and Medals and agreed to include additional criteria to recognise altruistic endeavours by our members when reviewing nominations for these awards.

Please join us in congratulating and acknowledging all the nominees and recipients of the 2021 College Awards and Medals. We were impressed at the quality of nominations received for our awards and would like to encourage our members to continue with all your outstanding work.

See more information about the College Awards and Medals and the 2021 recipients, see College and Congress prizes.

145 Macquarie Street Video Tour

The College has undertaken a project to develop a video tour of its 145 Macquarie Street building to showcase the rich history of the College. Filming for the video tour has recently been completed and recording of the narration for the video is currently being organized with the Chair of the Library Collections and Cultural heritage Committee. The College’s 145 Macquarie Street video tour will be launched during Congress 2022.

Dr Sharmila Ramessur Chandran
Chair, Fellowship Committee
March 2022

December 2021

The following Communiqué highlights the recent activities of the Fellowship Committee as well as discussions from the 04-2021 Committee meeting, held on Thursday 25 November 2021.

College Awards and Medals

I am pleased to announce that the Fellowship Committee have endorsed the recipients of the following 2022 Fellowship Committee awards and medals and look forward to their announcement in the new year.

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

The Fellowship Committee also reviewed and endorsed a nomination for The College Medal which has been referred to the Board for approval.

We continue to be impressed by the calibre of our Fellows and trainees nominated for these prestigious which acknowledge the outstanding achievements and contributions of our members.

Find out more about applying/nominating for our College awards, medals and prizes.

GEMWG Update

The Gender Equity in Medicine Working Group (GEMWG) recently concluded their twelve-month term and submitted a report with six recommendations on the role and actions to be taken by the College to better support gender equity in medicine for the Fellowship Committee’s consideration.

The Fellowship Committee reviewed and endorsed the GEMWG report and recommendations and have referred it to the Board for approval. It is anticipated that a version of the report will be made available to members once approved by the Board.

The Fellowship Committee congratulates the GEMWG for their hard work over their twelve-month term and look forward to supporting gender equity in medicine and within the College.

Congress Update

The College will survey membership early next year to determine a plan for a sustainable future for Congress, and will look at issues such as the values and significance of Congress for professional development; current needs for networking, education and connection to the College; and the best format and delivery of educational content.

The Fellowship Committee approved the locations for Congress 2023 (Sofitel, Brisbane) and Congress 2024 (International Convention Centre, Sydney) and are pleased to advise that Congress will continue to be delivered as a hybrid format, with both in-person and online, virtual content.

Dr Sharmila Ramessur Chandran
Chair, Fellowship Committee
December 2021

September 2021

The following Communiqué highlights the recent activities of the Fellowship Committee as well as discussions from the 03-2021 Committee meeting, held on Tuesday 7 September 2021.

Skill & Experience Register

Every member of the Fellowship Committee has now completed the Skill & Experience form that will contribute to the Skill & Experience Register for all RACP Board Committees. This Register responds to the Effective Governance recommendations which aim to improve the governance of the College.

Congress 2022

Preparations are now underway for Congress 2022, and the Fellowship Committee has approved recommendations including theme (“A Climate for Change”); the hybrid format (both face-to-face and online content); duration of post-even online access to content; and Congress’s pricing structure. The Committee also approved Brisbane and Sydney for the Congress locations for 2023 and 2024 respectively and discussed the longer-term strategy for Congress. I would like to thank the Congress Program Committee, including the Fellowship Committee’s 2022 Lead Fellow Dr Niro Kennedy, for all their hard work and planning for Congress during a time of great disruption.

Membership Diversity Advisory Group

I am very pleased to confirm that Fellowship Committee member A/Prof Michael Gabbett volunteered his valuable time and expertise to be the Committee member needed for the Membership Diversity Advisory Group. This Board-appointed Group aims to help the College foster a respectful culture within the organisation by acknowledging, promoting and gaining a clearer picture of the diversity of both its membership and its staff. Find out more about the Membership Diversity Advisory Group 

GEMWG update

The Fellowship Committee was updated on the current activities of the Gender Equity in Medicine Working Group (GEMWG) which was established in 2020 and has developed recommendations on the role and actions to be taken by the College to better support gender equity in medicine. Four key pieces of current work include a definition of what gender equity means for the College; understanding gender equity experiences; reviewing college policies and processes; and partnering in the Advancing Women in Healthcare Leadership program.

RACP Foundation Update

An update was provided regarding the various College Awards, Medals and Honorary Fellowships available to College members by way of nomination from other members. No nominations have been received to date. All Division, Faculty and Chapter Presidents, as well as Specialty Society Presidents, have been directly contacted to encourage discussion and to nominate their members. The Committee made the suggestions that the closing date for nominations could be extended, and that Regional Committee Chairs could be approached. These suggestions were accepted and have now been actioned. Further information on College Awards, Medals and Honorary Fellowships.

ATSM Service Update

The Fellowship Committee was advised that the consultation process with key stakeholders has now been completed. The Committee was involved in this consultation at their June 2021 meeting. This service provides support to participating specialty groups in their advanced trainee recruitment activities. Find out more about the AT selection and matching process.

Member Engagement Plan Update

Since the Fellowship Committee first endorsed the Member Engagement Plan (MEP) for 2020-2025 at its February 2020 meeting, the College has continued work under each of the MEP objectives and continues to report its progress at each Committee meeting. At this meeting the Committee received updates on the RACP Online Community (ROC) which will launch on 30 September; the Member Satisfaction Survey which closed on 30 August; and the RACP Website update, which included a full content audit, and the selection of an expert digital vendor to carry out a review and provide recommendations.

Dr Sharmila Ramessur Chandran
Chair, Fellowship Committee
September 2021

June 2021

Read the highlights of recent Committee activities and key issues discussed at the 02-2021 meeting held on 17 June 2021.

I am pleased to have been appointed as a new member on the Board and the new Chair of the Fellowship Committee. I would also like to thank Dr Greg Stewart for the invaluable work and leadership he has provided to the Committee over the past eight months.

Conversations with the Board

Since 2018, our Board has hosted several Conversations with the Board events to provide an opportunity for members to engage with the Board, provide feedback, raise issues, and receive updates on College activities. On 29 June, we held our third virtual event this year with members in South Australia and will be holding similar virtual events in the Northern Territory on 18 August, New South Wales on 15 September, Victoria on 6 October and Queensland on 20 October. Invitations to these events will be sent to members in these regions closer to the date so I encourage those of you in these states to register and attend these valuable events.

Member Health & Wellbeing

The Board recently approved the terms of reference and establishment of a Member Health and Wellbeing Committee to represent the views of members and promote the health and wellbeing of physicians and trainees. Get involved and express your interest.

Gender Equity in Medicine

I am pleased to advise that our College’s Gender Equity in Medicine Working Group (GEMWG) is undertaking some great work in this space. The Fellowship Committee approved the College gender equity principles developed by the GEMWG and received updates on the GEMWG’s work including the development of a gender equity glossary, review of our College’s policies, the Advancing Women in Healthcare Leadership Program and Advancing Women in Healthcare Congress session which is still available online for those that registered for Congress 2021.

RACP Congress 2021 Interim Report

I would like to congratulate our College for all the hard work that went into organising RACP Congress 2021 which was delivered as a hybrid virtual and face to face event spanning six cities in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand over a two-week period. The recorded content will be accessible online for registered delegates until 29 October 2021.

ATSM Service Update

The Fellowship Committee discussed the longer-term delivery of the Advanced Trainee Selection and Matching (ATSM) service which provides support to participating specialty groups in their advanced trainee recruitment activities. I welcome the ongoing feedback from members on this initiative to assist developments in this area. More information on the ATSM.

Member Advantage Program Update

Our College is currently undertaking work to review its Member Advantage Program to determine its value and identify other benefits that members would value. Find out more and how to access our College Member Advantage Program. 

Online Community Project Update

I am pleased to share that the ROC (RACP Online Community) pilot is successfully underway with just under 300 members participating. A full evaluation report on the ROC is in development for the Fellowship Committee’s consideration with recommendations for the continuation of the ROC preceding its pilot. Subject to a successful pilot and endorsement of the ROC, a full roll out to members can be anticipated by the end of the year.

Dr Sharmila Ramessur Chandran
Chair, Fellowship Committee
June 2021

February 2021

Read the highlights of recent Committee activities and key issues discussed at the 01-2021 meeting, held on 12 February 2021.

Update from the Fellowship Committee (FC) Chair

I would like to acknowledge how difficult and trying 2020 has been for us all and congratulate everyone on the resilience and adaptability shown by both members and the College alike. We have all proven that in difficult times, we can rise to the occasion and thrive.

I welcome our new trainee representative Dr Hashim Abdeen and new Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (AFPHM) representative Professor Elizabeth Sullivan to the Fellowship Committee. We look forward to working with you both and are very pleased to have you on the Committee.

Conversations with the Board

We are pleased to have had the opportunity to continue to host our Conversations with the Board events virtually this year. Our first two events were held with Tasmanian members on 11 February and with members from the Hunter New England/Newcastle area on 24 February.

The Board and I would like to thank the members who joined us for an open and constructive discussion and encourage you all to continue to attend these events and provide feedback to our College to ensure we continually improve the way we support our members. For more see Board Communiqués and Conversations with the Board (page bottom).

Gender equity in medicine update

The Gender Equity in Medicine Working Group (GEMWG) have developed a work plan that was endorsed by the Fellowship Committee which they will be working towards over the course of 2021. The working group is also planning for an ‘Advancing Women in Healthcare’ session for Congress 2021 which will be held on 5 May from 4.05 to 4.50pm in Melbourne. We encourage members to register to attend this session virtually or in person through the event website.

Recruitment is also underway for members interested in participating in the Gender Equity in Medicine Reference Group (GEMRG). To apply refer to the GEMRG expression of interest.

Library Collections and Cultural Heritage Committee (LCCHC)

The Fellowship Committee approved the LCCHC’s work plan which will guide their work over the next 2 years. The LCCHC are doing some exciting work which includes a video tour of our College’s 145 Macquarie street building and the digitisation of our library archives.The College has published Our heritage on the website. It includes the College roll, College timeline and History of Medicine Library. I encourage you all to visit the Our Heritage page to find out more about the vast history of our College. Work is also underway to develop videos for Congress 2021 which will highlight the introduction of insulin use within Australia in recognition of the 100th year since the discovery of insulin.

Leadership resources

The Fellowship Committee has compiled a list of leadership resources developed by the College with the aim of providing a library for members seeking leadership development. The Fellowship Committee is currently looking to work with other College bodies and members who have experience and expertise in leadership to review these resources to ensure they are relevant and of value to members. If you are interested in being involved in this initiative and reviewing our College’s leadership resources, please contact us on Fellowship.Committee@racp.edu.au

Congress update

I would like to congratulate our College for delivering a successful RACP Online Congress Series in 2020. The Congress 2020 Online Series content was offered free or charge and made available via the RACP eLearning Online Congress Series webpage over a six-month period. It is remarkable to think that our College was able to provide 43.5 hours of content including 27 pre-recorded videos, 25 live webinars and 13 podcasts with such short notice and time to prepare. Equally as impressive is that we had 6,864 unique participants who accessed the RACP Online Congress Series in 2020.

Congress 2021 update

The organisation of Congress 2021 is well underway which will include a comprehensive virtual program complemented by 6 one-day face-to-face gatherings over a two-week period which will also be live streamed to online delegates. All content will be recorded, and the program will be made accessible to all delegates online for up to 6 months. I encourage you all to visit our Congress 2021 website to register and view the program as well as direct any queries to racpcongress@racp.edu.au.

Dr Greg Stewart
Chair, Fellowship Committee
March 2021