The President's Message – 4 October 2024
Dear members,
This month I speak to some of our Board members, both member Directors and Independent Appointed Directors. We cover a huge range of topics. We also spoke in detail about the skillsets required to be a Director, and to fulfil the role of Chair.
First, Professor Deborah Yates is a Member Director and Respiratory Physician.
Dr Hamish McCay is our Aotearoa New Zealand President, a Member Director and a General Paediatrician.
Professor Nada Hamad is a Member Director and Haematologist.
Louise Cox is a very experienced Independent Appointed Director, a qualified lawyer and qualified accountant.
Norm Cockerell is an Independent Appointed Director and brings extensive international experience in financial services and member-based organisations to the Board.
Last month you may remember I spoke with Professor Jeff Szer, our longstanding Editor in Chief of the RACP’s Internal Medicine Journal. This month I caught up with Co-Joint Professor JuLee Oei, Editor in Chief of our second scientific journal, the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health (JPCH).
On behalf of the College, I want to thank JuLee for the incredible work she’s done over the last 12 months strengthening the JPCH and reducing a significant backlog of submitted articles.
Kind regards,
Professor Jennifer Martin
RACP President
I’m very grateful to the many members who have presented and continue to present at the ongoing NSW Special Commission Inquiry into Healthcare Funding. A wide range of you contributed, from the Chief Health Officer through to individual physicians representing their specialties.
For many of you, particularly those in government roles, presenting to a Commission like this is familiar territory. However, we know that for other members, the experience of being questioned in a highly public forum on a contentious topic like this has been confronting.
I want to thank everyone involved and emphasise that our College values your input into these important ongoing public healthcare discussions.
Kind regards,
Professor Jennifer Martin,
RACP President
We are calling on Australian governments to engage in comprehensive consultation with physicians before considering any introduction of physician assistants into the healthcare system. This role is already in place in the United States, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It is designed to support doctors and healthcare teams by alleviating daily pressures.
RACP President, Professor Jennifer Martin, emphasises that any changes must prioritise patient safety, proper supervision, and integration with existing training and certification processes. Professor Martin highlighted that the introduction of these roles could impact medical training for students and junior doctors and should be approached with caution to avoid disruptions.
The RACP urges governments to seek expert advice to ensure that any implementation is carefully planned and aligned with the needs of the healthcare system. We recently conducted the Your Workforce, Your Say survey, which asked for your views on physician assistants. What you have provided will be important to guiding the College’s approach to this issue, including work with governments, regulators and other stakeholders.
Read our statement
We are pleased to announce that the recent Your Workforce, Your Say Survey obtained over 720 responses from a demographically diverse subset of Australian members. Thank you to those who gave their valuable time and shared their insights by completing this survey.
Your responses have provided valuable data on a range of workforce issues including addressing physician workforce supply, First Nations medical workforce, physician/trainee wellbeing, rural and remote practice and more. Other emerging and significant issues including expanding scopes of practice in primary care, the role of artificial intelligence in healthcare, supervisor supports, protected teaching time and physician assistants were also commented on. Your responses provide a valuable opportunity for the College to learn more about the issues that impact you individually, in your working lives and how we may be able to advocate.
We look forward to incorporating your ideas into our future advocacy work. The survey results will, together with other workforce feedback and scoping activities, inform a new advocacy direction for the College in the future. To remain up-to-date with our advocacy work, please read the College's media releases and follow us on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn.
Introduction to Chief Wellness Officers webinar
We’re pleased to present this special online event on Thursday, 17 October 2024 from 4pm to 5pm AEDT, where Chief Wellness Officers (CWOs) examine the importance of investing in the health and wellbeing of healthcare professionals.
We will delve into the roles and responsibilities of CWOs and discuss the significance of having paid and supported positions in this field. Gain valuable insights into effective wellness practices, hear inspiring stories including the challenges faced along the way, and see the positive results that can be achieved.
Register now
Wellbeing resources and services
It is essential for doctors to take care of their own health, for their benefit and for the benefit of their families, patients and the healthcare system. We are here to support you and would like to remind you of the resources and services that are available to you, as an RACP member.
The RACP Support Program is free, confidential support available to you 24/7. If you would like someone to talk to, make an appointment with a consultant on 13000 687 (Australia) or 0800 666 367 (Aotearoa New Zealand).
We also offer a range of useful information on the wellbeing pages on our website. This includes useful information for trainees on our support, policies and procedures to help keep you on track during training. You can also access online learning courses on self-care, wellbeing and creating a safe workplace, as well as flyers, external resources, strategies for self-care, and more.
Access wellbeing resources
Applications for scholarships in 2025 are now open
The RACP appreciates the value and experience that First Nations doctors can provide to the health sector and communities in treating Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori health issues.
The RACP Indigenous Health Scholarship Program is about making a difference. Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori doctors remain significantly under-represented in the healthcare sector. As a leading Australasian medical college, it’s important we play a strong role in growing the Indigenous medical workforce.
These scholarships provide funded pathways through physician training, including scholarships for Faculty and Chapter training.
Listen now
Dr Karan Singh loves his job as a registrar in nuclear medicine but he thinks there isn’t enough exposure to the specialty during medical school and basic training.
In this podcast, we spend a day in his department at Prince of Wales Hospital Sydney and get a taste of the many different referrals that come his way. This includes a bone scan for a young man experiencing leg spasms after recovering from a car crash, myocardial perfusion imaging for an elderly gentleman with coronary artery disease, staging for prostate and breast cancer, and radiation therapy for a toxic multinodular goiter. The reality audio format gives a good sense of the daily tasks and responsibilities involved in this career pathway.
Credits:
- Dr Karan Singh
- Staff and patients at Prince of Wales Nuclear Medicine and PET Department
Please visit the Pomegranate Health webpage for a transcript and supporting references. Log in to MyCPD to record listening and reading as a prefilled learning activity. Subscribe to new episode email alerts or search for ‘Pomegranate Health’ in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox or any podcasting app.
Would you like to help improve the health, safety and wellbeing of healthcare workers? Submit your expression of interest to join this cross-College working group.
Members from public health, respiratory medicine, adult medicine, and those with rural and remote healthcare experience are encouraged to apply. Find out more on this webpage and please submit the expression of interest form and your CV (maximum three pages) to AFOEM@racp.edu.au by Monday, 14 October 2024.
Find out more
Haven't shared your views on our final consultation round of the Advanced Training Curricula Renewal project? There is still time, as a few of our specialty programs are currently entering the final stages of our curricula renewal process.
This is your last chance to share your input on the following programs:
Please visit our website to find out how you can review the draft curricula and provide feedback.
If you are recording CPD hours for 2024, you can claim Category 2 hours for the time spent both reviewing the curriculum and providing feedback, and you can provide feedback on more than one program.
Six specialty programs have implemented their new curriculum with first-year trainees in 2024. The specialty development pages on the RACP website provide updates on the programs that have now had their new curriculum confirmed by the College Education Committee.
Thank you to all Fellows, trainees and stakeholders who have provided feedback as part of our Advanced Training Curricula Renewal project - your views will enable the RACP to offer revitalised and flexible pathways to Fellowship using the principles of competency-based medical education.
You are invited to the RACP South Australian Annual Scientific Meeting (SA ASM), which will be held on Saturday, 2 November at the National Wine Centre of Australia in Adelaide. Held under the theme, 'Innovation in healthcare: back to the future', the ASM is more than just educational, it is an opportunity to connect with your colleagues. All RACP members are welcome, not just those from South Australia.
Discover the opportunities and challenges when using animal venom in medical treatments after hearing from our keynote speakers, Professor Glenn King presenting Toxins to treatments and Associate Professor Julian White AM on the Negative sides of toxins; medical implications.
Explore the full-day program for more sessions on artificial intelligence, wellbeing, immunisation, and the judging of the prestigious South Australian RACP Trainee Research Awards. You will also wind down with an evening of engaging conversation with your colleagues and a spectacular performance presented by State Opera South Australia at the ASM Dinner. Please contact us to find out more.
We would like to extend our thanks to Dr Cindy Towns FRACP as she steps down from the RACP Ethics Committee. We thank her for her time with the Committee, and recognise her dedication to the committee since 2018, and as Chair from February 2023. Dr Towns played a key role in finalising the Guidelines for ethical relationships between physicians and industry, encouraging Aotearoa New Zealand inclusion, raising awareness of the rainbow community's needs, and advocating for patients and medical practice. Dr Town’s contributions have significantly enriched the committee and its conversations.
We are very pleased to welcome Dr Sarah Baldwin FRACP as the new incoming Chair of the Ethics Committee. Dr Baldwin is a geriatrician who brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to ethical practice. We look forward to her leadership as we navigate relevant ethical challenges and the activities of the committee.
The Medical Board of Australia’s Medical Training Survey (MTS) closes on Tuesday, 8 October. Eligible participants are all doctors-in-training in Australia, including RACP trainees and Overseas Trained Physicians currently undertaking the specialist assessment pathway, in Australia.
To access the survey, look for the link provided after renewing your medical registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra). If you miss it, you will find it in your Ahpra confirmation of registration email.
The MTS provides an important source of robust data to see what is working well and what needs addressing, so do not miss your opportunity to complete this survey. This a safe and meaningful opportunity to provide valuable feedback. Take the opportunity now to make your voice heard.
About the Medical Training Survey
The MTS is a national survey of all doctors-in-training in Australia. Results provide a snapshot of the quality and experience of medical training in Australia.
The survey is independently administered by research company EY Sweeney. The MTS is anonymous, and your answers will be handled in line with the privacy policies of the Medical Board of Australia, Ahpra and EY Sweeney. Only de-identified survey data will be provided to Ahpra and the Medical Board of Australia.
Further details can be found by visiting the Medical Training Survey website. If you have questions regarding the MTS, please email MTS@ahpra.gov.au.
More you may be interested in
As healthcare workers who dedicate our lives to helping others, it’s important to take the time to care for ourselves. We would like to remind everyone that it's okay to not be okay. If you need someone to talk to, you can reach out to the RACP Support Program. It's a free, 24/7 and completely confidential support service that is delivered externally through Converge International.
Whether you have something worrying on your mind, are finding getting out of bed to be a struggle, or just feel like talking to someone for helpful, judgement-free advice, this free support service may be just what you need.
Find out more
Stay informed
Read other RACP eBulletins and access current news on the RACP Online Community (the ROC):