New South Wales / Australian Capital Territory - December 2022
A message from your Regional Committee Chair
It has been a busy few months for the new NSW/ACT Regional Committee with the addition of new members with diverse backgrounds and interests. The Committee has recently met and finalised the Committee workplan for the 2022 to 2025 Committee term. There was lots of discussion around what activities to prioritise in this workplan. Key areas are sustainability in healthcare in a changing climate, advocating for trainees, and gender workforce reform.
Conversations with the Board was held face-to-face in September at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney. There was a good representation of the membership. Topics discussed included College communication, member engagement, and difficulties with paediatric regional training.
The Sydney convocation ceremonies were held in September and November, and they were both a great success. It was so nice to see so many members gaining their Fellowship in person after such a prolonged break. The National New Fellows Online Forum, held in October, was a great opportunity for these members to receive information from other members about what New Fellows need, as well as hearing from other recent Fellows about the areas they found difficult or which they knew about when they were a New Fellow. There was also a presentation on the medico-legal changes as you become a Fellow, and an opportunity to meet Dr Kudzai Kanhutu, the new College Dean.
I was recently invited to a dinner with Dr Nick Watts, the Chief Sustainability Officer for the NHS in the UK. It was interesting to hear from him about how the NHS is collaborating with stakeholders and networks with a goal of a net zero approach by 2045. Governments are providing grants to smaller groups that have ideas on how they want to achieve sustainably so that they can continue to serve patients as the climate changes.
We have just held the annual NSW/ACT Trainee Research Awards evening. Three finalists from each Division were judged on their eight-minute oral presentations. The standard of this year’s submissions impressed the judges.
Members of this Committee are representatives on the College Council, College Policy and Advocacy Council, College Trainees’ Committee, and others. Please write to us at RACPNSW@racp.edu.au if you have a particular area of interest or concern that we can help to address.
We would like to wish you a restful and happy holiday period.
Dr Sayontonee Ghosh
New South Wales / Australian Capital Territory Regional Committee Chair
An update from your Regional Trainees' Committee
As we approach the end of the year, we wanted to provide a brief update on the activities of the NSW/ACT Trainees’ Committee over the last few months.
Firstly, we are very happy to share that we have filled the Faculties position on the Committee, and we give a very warm welcome to Dr Emma Sheaves. This now completes all our Committee positions, and we are excited to see the potential of our full Committee in continuing to be a voice for trainees.
We are in the midst of planning an event focusing on work-life balance to be held in the near future, and we look forward to meeting and interacting with trainees who attend. Furthermore, we are in support of the Advanced Trainee Paediatric Wellbeing Workshop that will be happening in the coming year. Early in 2023, we also look forward to bringing an event geared towards Basic Trainees. Please watch this space as communications will go out to register for this.
Members of the NSW/ACT Committee were present at the Sydney Conversations with the Board event held at the Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick on Thursday, 15 September. This provided an opportunity for trainee issues and queries to be raised to the Board that needed to be heard.
As 2022 Committee meetings come to a close, the NSW/ACT Trainees' Committee is continuing to work towards ensuring College accessibility to support, the prioritisation of trainee engagement, and advocacy for all our trainees in 2023. In addition, we are working towards future events for education and networking opportunities for trainees throughout 2023.
As always, if there are any issues concerning trainees, suggestions or feedback, please reach out to us at NSWACT.Trainees@racp.edu.au.
Warm regards, and happy holidays!
Dr Rachel Debono and Dr Vanessa Wong
New South Wales / Australian Capital Territory Trainees' Committee Co-Chairs
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