A message from your President

Dear colleagues

G’day and kia ora

Given this is my first Adult Medicine Division (AMD) President’s post it is reasonable to introduce myself and, over the coming months, the other members of the AMD Executive team. I am a general physician who initially trained in respiratory medicine. Originally from Victoria, Australia, I’ve worked across northern and central Australia as a community and hospital-based physician and researcher, as well as the city as a general medicine head of unit. I am now involved with medical student education while continuing to regularly work out in the bush. I am particularly interested in the issues of regional health, medical workforce development and distribution, and clinician research. And, unfortunately for my family, a struggling guitarist.

While I am probably not alone in sometimes being frustrated by our College, I am proud to be an RACP Fellow and believe the College is a constructive and important contributor to the ongoing development of our profession and the health of the residents of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Adult Medicine Division (AMD) of the RACP is your voice.

AMD represents around 18,000 Fellows and trainees, the largest group in the College. As such in commencing my term as President, I am aware that AMD via both its Council and Executive Committee is an important mechanism for all of us, as current and future physicians, to have a say in what our profession is now and what it aspires to be in the future.

As highly trained and experienced clinicians we have a range of professional affiliations — whether to our broader profession as physicians, to our specialist societies as sub-specialists, as employees of health services, or to our colleagues. During my term as President I aim to ensure that you feel an affiliation to, and value in, being a physician and member of the RACP. Love it or hate it, the RACP and AMD is your voice and I want to make sure your voice is part of the conversation shaping our profession as physicians.

We are unlikely to all ever agree but together we can, via respect, negotiation and compromise, work together to ensure the voice of adult physicians and AMD is heard within the College and in the larger community and policy discourse.

Thanks Don!

Before outlining our plans for the future, I would like to take a moment to thank and extend my gratitude to Professor Donald Campbell (or Don as many of you know him), for his tireless work and advocacy over the past two years. Don led AMD through a tumultuous two years of the COVID-19 pandemic with a defined workplan and vision. During his term, Don was working as a busy clinician in outer metropolitan Melbourne in his position as Medical Director, Hospital Without Walls and Staying Well Program, Northern Health and Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Professor (Research) in the Faculty of Art Design and Architecture at Monash University, among many other significant responsibilities such as his involvement and contribution to the Clinical Expert Advisory Group (COVID-19 Response) for the Department of Health and Human Services, Victoria.

Don has always exemplified what I see as being the core attributes of a physician, advocate, clinician, teacher and innovator. Thanks mate!

Focus for the future

Over the last two years AMD has realised that if we want to have an impact we need to concentrate on areas that may, arguably, be seen as the highest priority and where we can have the greatest impact. As such, the strategic workplace for AMD has focused its workplan on four key areas which align with the College’s strategic goals. These include:

• increasing equity, fairness, and transparency in advanced training
• improving capacity to identify workforce composition and areas of need
• supporting and growing the ‘Physician Leader’
• articulating the rationale for AMD, as the principal point of engagement with the specialty societies.

During my tenure, I will be collaborating with the President-elect, Executive Committee and Council Members to continue to progress and build upon our workplan. We will be delivering a leadership workshop later this year and finessing other activities to contribute to the success of our trainees and Fellows.

I would like to acknowledge the AMD Fellows and trainees who were recently awarded medals and prizes at RACP Congress 2022. Your dedication and hard work are commendable, particularly with the added pressure of the last two years. A full list of the recipients and award categories are included below.

If you would like to discuss any of the above, I encourage you to reach out to me via the AMD secretariat at adult.med@racp.edu.au or on the ROC.

I look forward to working with you all.

Best wishes

Professor Graeme Maguire
Adult Medicine Division President

AChSHM President’s Post

Kia ora koutou

I am very excited and honoured to start in the role of President of the AChSHM Committee. I came to the sexual health field from infectious diseases and HIV medicine, as I trained in Italy in the 1990s at the peak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. After moving to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2009, I completed sexual health training in Auckland from 2013 to 15 and I am now practising mainly as a sexual health physician — with a little topping of general infectious diseases — in Tauranga and Rotorua, in the upper part of Te Ika-a-Manui.

I have been a member of the AChSHM Committee since 2018, initially as an Aotearoa New Zealand Representative, and then as President-elect.

Apart from being passionate about infections related to human (including sexual) behaviour, and sexual and rainbow health in general, my interests include travelling (at least before COVID-19 hit), cooking (risotto alla milanese being my signature dish, from my town of birth), gardening, and the Romance/neo-Latin languages and literatures (Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy being the top of my literary chart). So now you know how to start a conversation with me if we bump into each other.

I live in Tauranga with my husband Andrea (yes, it is a boy’s name in Italian) and our cat Loki.

With the start of the new College governance cycle, the Chapter Committee has welcomed Clinical Professor Louise Owen as President-elect and Dr Stephanie Bond as the AChSHM Trainee Representative.

The new committee members bring a wealth of valuable experience and I sincerely look forward to working with them and the other continuing members over the next two years to progress the work of the Chapter.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Professor Kit Fairley for his service to the Chapter as President over the last two years — two years that have been particularly challenging for all of us. I would also like to acknowledge other Committee members who have finished their terms: Associate Professor Lewis Marshal and Dr Sama Balasubramanian.

I would like to draw your attention to the following award and scholarship:

• Award for Best Postgraduate Thesis in Sexual Health Medicine — opens 1 June 2022 and closes on 31 August 2022.
• Research Entry Scholarship — closing on 18 July 2022.

I encourage you to apply for these prizes, or, if you can think of someone who would be eligible, please send them the link or nominate them.

Lastly, there are currently two vacant positions for the Training Committee in Sexual Health Medicine (TCSHM) available to AChSHM Fellows.

Our next AChSHM Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, 22 June 2022. If there are any items you would like to raise with the Committee, or if you have any feedback for us, please feel free to contact us through our secretariat at shmed@racp.edu.au.

Ka kite anō au i a koutou!

Dr Massimo Giola
Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine President

AChPM President’s Post

Following the changeover in office bearers at the College’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in May, I have taken over the role of AChPM President from Dr Michelle Gold. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Michelle for her significant contribution to the work of Chapter over the past two years.

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome two new members to the Chapter Committee: Dr Vanessa Tung and Dr Patrick Elliott.

Continuing members include Dr Philip Good, Dr Gauri Gogna (President-elect), Dr Emily Chang, Dr Debbie Barham, Dr Christine Mott, and Dr Sadie Dunn. For more information on the Chapter Committee, please visit the RACP website. I look forward to working with all new and continuing members over the coming two years.

During my term I hope to focus on matters important to our members and a number of topics I am passionate about. These include improved access to MBS items for sustaining and developing new palliative care services, access to specialist palliative medicine in the aged care setting, improved geriatric oncology with integrated palliative care, specialist palliative support for non-malignant chronic conditions, and equitable access to palliative care for the vulnerable including our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Māori and CALD populations. Together with the Chapter and our Committee I hope to be able to address some of these issues during my term.

I would like to bring your attention to AChPM awards that are currently open and closing imminently on 30 June 2022:

• AChPM Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Discipline of Palliative Medicine in recognition of the outstanding contribution made by a palliative medicine Fellow to the discipline.
• AChPM Best Trainee Research Project Award, awarded for the best research project submitted for assessment for Advanced Training in Palliative Medicine each year.

The next Chapter Committee meeting will take place on Tuesday, 27 September 2022 via videoconference.

Do you have a question for your Chapter committee? We welcome any feedback or comments, so please feel free to contact us through the Chapter secretariat at PallMed@racp.edu.au.

Associate Professor Peter Poon
Australasian Chapter of Palliative Medicine President

AChAM President’s Post

I feel very honoured to be the next President of the Chapter of Addiction Medicine. I would like to thank our outgoing President, Professor Nick Lintzeris, for his tireless efforts for the Chapter over the last two years, and welcome Dr John Saunders as out next President-elect.

We have come a long way in 20 years – but clearly there is still lots of work to be done. Key issues for the coming two years include specialist AChAM recognition in Aotearoa New Zealand and working with the College to make it more possible for potential trainees to join the training program and ensuring we progress diversity in the addiction medicine field.

My experience in addiction medicine has been as Director and Senior Staff Specialist for Drug & Alcohol Clinical Services at Hunter New England LHD – a regional/rural health district in NSW – and a multidisciplinary team of approximately 145 FTE colleagues. The team cover a large geographical area and treat people in acute hospital settings and community services. We are an active training site for addiction medicine trainees. Previously I worked in the NGO and public sector in Victoria at the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, and in the last days of the Drug Services Victoria going back to the early/mid 1990s.

My interests span the drug and alcohol field, including clinical research, opioids, amphetamine, alcohol, cannabis and tobacco areas and treatment of drug use in pregnancy and in rural populations. 

I am pleased to advise that the Chapter has recently partnered with the International Society of Addiction Medicine, (ISAM). Some benefits of this partnership include:

• reduced fees for the ISAM Certification Examination
• discounted rates for the international textbook
• ·opportunities to join the topical Interest Groups and ISAM Committees
• ·opportunities to participate in ISAM webinars and other educational events
• participation in global surveys and publications.

If you have any questions, please contact ISAM management on admin@isamweb.org.

I would encourage you to apply for the AChAM awards and prizes. The AChAM Nghi Phung Research Project Prize is awarded annually to the best Advanced Training research project on addiction medicine. The award includes a cash prize of $1,000 and a certificate formally presented at the APSAD conference. Applications are now open and close on 19 July 2022. Visit the RACP website for more information.

Lastly, I encourage you to log on to the RACP Online Community (ROC) to connect with other members and remain up to date with key issues for the College. The ROC is a fantastic platform to connect with other members and remain abreast of news and what is happening at the College.

I look forward to working with the new Committee and continuing Committee members over the coming three years.

The AChAM Committee will next meet on Friday, 22 July 2022. If you have any feedback, questions, or comments for me or the Committee, please get in touch through our secretariat at AddictionMed@racp.edu.au.

Professor Adrian Dunlop
Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine President

AMD Fellow and trainee award recipients

Congratulations to the following AMD Fellows and trainees who have been awarded a variety of prizes and awards.

It’s not too late to apply for the RACP Foundation Research Awards

Applications are open now for the 2023 RACP Foundation Research Awards. RACP Fellows and Advanced Trainees in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are eligible to apply for many of the awards in the following categories:

• Career Development Fellowships for mid-career researchers.
• Research Establishment Fellowships for those establishing their research careers.
• Research Entry Scholarships providing stipend support for those at the beginning their research careers.
• Travel Grants to support short periods of research.

Applications for Education Development (Study) Grants – Round Two will open on Monday, 20 June 2022, including:

• Skilled Medical Scholarship for Advancement of Indigenous Health – the award is for up to A$5,000 to assist and encourage the advancement of Indigenous Health in Australia and/or Aotearoa New Zealand.

Closing dates and full details for all these opportunities are available on the RACP Foundation Research Awards webpage.

See all RACP Foundation Research Awards

Chapter awards, scholarships and prizes

AChSHM

AChSHM Award for Best Postgraduate Thesis in Sexual Health Medicine — recognising the importance of training its workforce in research. Recognise an AChSHM Fellow or trainee for their outstanding postgraduate work. The recipient will be formally acknowledged at the AChSHM annual scientific meeting. Self-nominations are accepted. Please see the website for more information. Nominations close 31 August 2022.

AChPM

AChPM Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Discipline of Palliative Medicine — nominate a Fellow for their outstanding contribution to palliative medicine. The award includes a cash prize of $500 and a certificate formally presented at the ANZSPM Conference. Please see the website for further details. Nominations close 30 June 2022.

AChPM Best Trainee Research Project Award — awarded for the best research project submitted for assessment for Advanced Training in palliative medicine each year. The award includes a cash prize of $1,000 and a certificate formally presented at the ANZSPM Conference. Applications close 30 June 2022. See the website for more details.

AChAM

AChAM Nghi Phung Research Project Prize — awarded annually to the best Advanced Training Research Project in addiction medicine. The award includes a cash prize of $1000 and a certificate formally presented at the APSAD Conference. Applications close 31 July 2022. See the website for more information.

RACP supports Cancer Council Victoria’s campaign on unhealthy food advertising to children

The RACP has endorsed Cancer Council Victoria’s state-wide advocacy campaign which aims to reduce children’s exposure to unhealthy food and drink advertising as they commute, learn and play.

The campaign calls on the Victorian Government to restrict unhealthy food advertising on public transport assets, public transport infrastructure and within five hundred metres of schools. It supports the Victorian Cancer Plan and is aligned with the Victorian Government’s Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures action plan which includes a priority action of “exploring legislative options to create healthier environments for children and young people”.

The campaign is in line with the College obesity statement’s recommendation to “introduce regulations to restrict the marketing of unhealthy diets to children and young people”, which is also one of the key asks in our ongoing Kids Covid Catch Up (KCCU) campaign. In related news, the KCCU campaign has been endorsed by the Obesity Policy Coalition, signalling the strong synergies between these advocacy activities.

RACP members who are interested in backing this campaign are welcome to sign up in an individual capacity via the campaign website. We will be doing more advocacy in this space in the run-up to the Victorian election in November 2022.

Expressions of Interest (EOIs)

• Represent on the Adult Medicine Division Council
• Gastroenterology project markers needed
• Advanced Training Research Project markers needed in Cardiology
• Rheumatology project markers needed
• Calling all AChSHM Fellows
• Represent on the AChPM Committee
• Represent on the AChAM Committee

All Expressions of Interest

2022 Specialty Society Webinar Series

We are pleased to announce that the 2022 Specialty Society Webinar Series will be commencing on Wednesday, 22 June. This year seven specialty societies will be participating in the series. The upcoming June webinars will be:

• Motor Neuron Disease by Dr Lauren Giles, Australian & New Zealand Association of Neurologists, on Wednesday, 22 June at 6pm AEST / 8pm NZST.
• Dissonance in the Views Between Parents and Clinicians with Serious Illness: How can we Bridge the Gap by Dr Naomi Katz, Australian & New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine, on Tuesday, 28 June at 6pm AEST / 8pm NZST.

Further details, including registration information will be available soon.

Online learning and resources: Physician Advocacy Online Course and the Digital Health CPD Primer

The Physician Advocacy online course aims to provide you with the skills to advocate on important health issues and to make a real difference when it comes to broader systemic change. The course will help you develop your working knowledge of government and parliamentary processes, policy and media, stakeholder analysis, and framing messages. Furthermore, its flexible design means you can dip in and out, or just complete the parts that are relevant to you.

Start the Physician Advocacy course now

The Primer of CPD Activities in Digital Health provides a range of digital health activities and CPD requirement examples across the three CPD categories. The Primer has been developed by the RACP Digital Health Advisory Group to help you gain knowledge and CPD credits within digital health and clinical informatics.

Kickstart your digital health CPD activities

Don’t forget to claim CPD credits for time spent on RACP Online Learning.

Internal Medicine Journal –  May 2022 edition now available

The May 2022 issue of the Internal Medicine Journal is now live.

Key highlights from the issue include:

• rheumatoid arthritis is preventable: 11 steps
• understanding vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia
• COVID-19: frailty and mortality
• nitrous oxide-induced neurological disorders
• screening for Strongyloides stercoralis prior to immunosuppression
• are we under-utilising computer tomography colonography in Australia?

View the latest issue

Launch of the AMACDT x AMSA Mental Health Support Traffic Light Guide

The past few years have been difficult. With the impacts of the pandemic, disruptions to training, and increased workloads on the health and wellbeing of medical students and junior doctors, there is no question about that.

So to help you to navigate support services, the Australian Medical Association Council of Doctors in Training (AMACDT) and the Australian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA) have partnered to answer the question: where can I go for mental health support?

Together they have created a traffic light mental health support flyer which provides a list of recommended support services to access depending upon your levels of stress, mental illness, or the acute needs you are facing. Save the flyer to your phone so you can easily access it when you or your colleagues need support.

Read more

'Behind These Doors’ video tour of RACP Macquarie Street, Sydney

The College is pleased to launch the ‘Behind These Doors’ video tour of the RACP building at 145 Macquarie Street Sydney, narrated by Honorary Associate Professor Catherine Storey OAM, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Sydney. We invite you to join us on a virtual journey to explore the College’s Macquarie Street home and discover its fascinating treasures and history.

Watch the ‘Behind These Doors’ video tour

The ROC Member Directory

The ROC is your secure online forum where RACP Fellows and trainees can post topics, questions and start discussions with other members. Did you know that the ROC also features a ‘Member Directory’ designed to help you find and connect with your colleagues?  The easy-to-use directory allows you to search by name, location, Division, Faculty, Chapter and/or specialty and is the perfect way to chat directly with other members and expand your network of contacts across the membership.

Access the Member Directory and find your colleagues today.

Log into the ROC

HSANZ PhD Scholarships and Clinical Fellowships now open

The Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand (HSANZ) and its charity partners offers a range of HSANZ funded or co-funded PhD Scholarships, Clinical Fellowships, grants, and awards annually, biennially and triennially. HSANZ also presents annual awards and grants associated with the Annual Scientific Meeting – Blood.

In 2022, it is offering:

• three (3) x HSANZ / Leukemia Foundation PhD scholarships
• one (1) x HSANZ / Maddie's Vision PhD Scholarship
• up to two (2) x HSANZ Clinical Fellowships
• Albert Baikie Memorial Medal and Award
• HSANZ / Snowdome Foundation Mid-Career Blood Cancer Research Grant

For more information, visit the HSANZ and Blood websites.

Australian Government: Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC)

Appraisal by the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) – 28 to 29 July 2022. Scheduled agenda items for the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) meeting:

Application 1408.1 - A prognostic RT-qPCR test run locally for ER+ve /HER2-ve breast cancer that determines the risk of early and late metastasis in node negative and positive cancer under endocrine treatment

Application 1637 – Expanded Reproductive Carrier Screening of couples for joint carrier status of genes associated with autosomal recessive and X-linked conditions

Application 1658 – Testing of tumour tissue to determine a positive homologous recombination deficiency status in women newly diagnosed with advanced (FIGO stage III-IV) high grade epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer for access to PBS olaparib

Application 1665 – Radiofrequency echographic multi spectrometry for bone density measurement and determination of osteopenia/osteoporosis

Application 1668 – Whole body magnetic resonance imaging for detection of cancer in individuals with germline pathogenic TP53 variants

Application 1671 - Targeted carrier testing for severe monogenic conditions

Application 1672  – Procedures for the insertion or removal of a leadless permanent pacemaker for the treatment of bradyarrhythmia

Application 1686 –177Lutetium PSMA i&t for metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer

Application 1689 – Quantification of NT-proBNP in patients with systemic sclerosis, and in patients with diagnosed pulmonary arterial hypertension

Application 1690 – Ciltacabtagene autoleucel, a B-cell maturation antigen-directed chimeric antigen receptor T cell to treat refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma

Application 1697 - Review of the different minimally invasive therapeutic approaches for the management of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia

Application 1698 – Chronic Pain MedsCheck Trial

Consultation input

MSAC values consultation input from individuals and organisations with an interest in an application that it is considering, including experience of the medical conditions, services or technologies being addressed by the application.   

It is anticipated that the above-mentioned applications will proceed to MSAC in July 2022. Consultation input must be received by no later than Friday, 10 June 2022 for it to be considered by MSAC. A Consultation Survey Form is available on the relevant application webpage.

Further information on MSAC’s consultation process is also available on the MSAC website. 

Member Advantage — Your EOFY savings are here!

The end of financial year (EOFY) is fast approaching and so are great deals and discounts on a range of products and services. During the month of June, your Member Advantage program brings you exclusive savings at your favourite retailers, great deals on cars, savings on health insurance, whitegoods, electronics and so much more…

Login today and start saving. Available online 24/7. That’s your Member Advantage!

*Terms and conditions apply. 

Australian member access    Aotearoa New Zealand member access

Other news and events

News

• Graphic visual scribe recordings: RACP Congress 2022
• The Australian federal election outcome
• Fellows: you are invited to complete the Digital Health Learning Needs Analysis survey
• Pomegranate Health podcast — Ep80: Healthcare in a Volatile Climate
• Closing the Gap Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Co-payment Program — Registration Grace Period Reminder

Events

• Webinar: Using My Health Record — privacy, security, and medico-legal implications — 16 June at 7pm AEST
• Webinar: Trauma and therapy in doctor’s health: the role of a Professional Support Unit — 14 June at 7pm AEST

Career opportunities 

View career opportunities on the RACP website.