The President's Message – 6 September 2024
Dear members,
This month, I want to introduce you to our new College Chief Executive Officer, Steffen Faurby, who has been with the College since April this year. At first, he was Interim CEO, and the Board was pleased to confirm him in the permanent CEO role in July.
The role of CEO is critical to the day to day running of the RACP, and delivery of our medium and long-term strategic plans. I spoke with Steffen about the experience he brings to the position, and his views on some of our immediate challenges.
I was also at the Australia Pacific Association of Medical Journal Editors (APAME) conference in Newcastle recently, with Co-joint Professor Ju Lee Oei, Editor in Chief of our College’s Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, and Professor Jeff Szer, Editor of our Internal Medicine Journal.
Pictured (left to right): Professor Ju Lee Oei; Professor Jeff Szer; Megan Howe, former Editor of the Public Health Research & Practice Journal; Professor Jennifer Martin, RACP President.
I asked Jeff about the current challenges medical journals are facing.
I have been in Western Australia for our Perth Convocation and met with our highly motivated Western Australian Committee.
Pictured (left to right): Professor Jennifer Martin, RACP President; Ms Jennifer Bennett, Senior Executive Officer, RACP Western Australia Office; Dr Bianca Cheong; Dr Kevin Tan, Western Australian AFOEM Chair; Dr Helen Van Gessel, Western Australian Committee Chair; Professor Graeme Maguire, AMD President; Dr Tony Mylius, Western Australian Committee Deputy Chair; Dr Mayank Dhamija.
Convocation was quite the event, with the new Director General of WA Health, Infectious Diseases Physician, Professor Shirley Bowen FRACP in attendance.
Pictured (left to right): Ms Debra Letica, Dr Tony Mylius, Dr Graeme Maguire, Dr Helen Van Gessel, Dr Roshni Sonawane, Professor Jennifer Martin, Dr Kevin Tan, Professor Shirley Bowen, Dr Kevin O’Connor, Dr Simon Dimmitt.
We also conferred the rare privilege of Honorary Fellowship on Health Consumer Advocate Debra Letica, recognising her many years of service to the College representing healthcare consumer and patient interests.
Convocations are always joyous experiences for our New Fellows and their loved ones, and uplifting for our senior Fellows as they watch ongoing renewal of the membership.
Please join me in welcoming our 63 new RACP physicians to Fellowship.
Kind regards,
Professor Jennifer Martin
RACP President
Your voice is important to shaping the current and future workforce
The RACP Your Workforce, Your Say Survey is now open and is your chance to make a real impact on the future of our workforce strategy. We encourage trainees and Fellows currently working in Australia to participate. This is your opportunity to share your valuable insights, influence key decisions, and guide advocacy for issues that matter most to you.
By sharing your ideas with us, you will help drive systematic change, support meaningful workforce initiatives, and ensure that the issues you care about are at the forefront of our advocacy efforts. Your participation will directly impact the creation of a comprehensive advocacy plan, tailored to the needs and perspectives of your profession.
Please complete the RACP Your Workforce, Your Say Survey by Sunday, 15 September 2024 at 11.59pm AEST. The survey is confidential and should take 15-20 minutes. If you have any questions, please contact the RACP Policy and Advocacy team.
Have your say
Professor Nitin Kapur, President of RACP's Paediatric and Child Health Division, has been recognised by a panel of his peers as the Health Hero of the Decade. This is a special award in 2024 to commemorate the Queensland Children’s Hospital’s 10th birthday.
Professor Nitin Kapur is a respiratory and sleep consultant at the Queensland Children's Hospital, who has led transformative change in paediatric training in Queensland. In his role as Director of Paediatric and Clinical Training, Professor Kapur has advocated for Queensland to have the best paediatric education in the country, as well as flexibility in employment and training for junior doctors and enduring equity and diversity.
Read more
The RACP and The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) have supported an outright ban on all forms of gambling advertising in our new joint position statement, Prevention and Treatment of Gambling-Related Harm.
The newly-released statement highlights the urgent need for legislative action to address gambling-related harm in Australia, emphasising the impact it can have on individuals, families, and support networks, including carers.
The RACP and RANZCP are also calling on the Commonwealth and state and territory governments to remove barriers that prevent people from seeking treatment for addiction, stressing the importance of assessing, diagnosing, and addressing harmful gambling behaviour.
The RACP has accepted an invitation to join the Australian Government’s Climate and Health Expert Advisory Group (CHEAG) to provide expert input into the implementation of the Australian National Health and Climate Strategy. This follows our successful advocacy and engagement on the development of the National Strategy, including through our key submission and Healthy Climate Future Campaign. We were pleased to see many of our recommendations reflected in the National Strategy, including around whole-of-government and Health in All Policies approaches.
The CHEAG was established by the Department of Health and Aged Care’s interim Australian Centre for Disease Control (interim CDC). The Hon Ged Kearney MP, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, is the Chair of CHEAG and Professor Paul Kelly, Chief Medical Officer and Head of the interim CDC is the Deputy Chair.
The first CHEAG meeting was held earlier this month and provided an overview of the Government’s implementation plans for the National Strategy. We will continue to advocate for National Strategy implementation to be guided by First Nations knowledge and leadership, foster healthy and climate resilient communities, and equitably de-carbonise healthcare through CHEAG and our broader advocacy.
Ahead of the Northern Territory Election, the RACP Northern Territory Committee developed an election statement and secured valuable responses from both major parties. RACP Northern Territory Interim Chair, Dr Kirsty Neal, published an op-ed in Croakey Health Media.
The op-ed focused on three important reforms we seek from the new government, to improve the drivers of good health, support the healthcare workforce to meet growing healthcare needs, and foster a culture of health and wellbeing in the health workforce.
The Northern Territory Committee has maintained productive and effective relations with health ministers and other senior government and health leaders going back many years.
We will be engaging with the new Chief Minister and Health Minister to build a relationship and reinforce the RACP as a key source of knowledge and expertise for the new government. We will also campaign for policy objectives in support of better health for all Territorians, along with key challenges and opportunities raised by the broader RACP membership in the Territory.
Read the op-ed l More RACP media coverage
Members of the RACP Tasmanian Committee met the Tasmanian Health Minister in his Launceston office last week. Led by Interim Chair, Dr Theresa Naidoo, Associate Professor Heinrich Weber, Associate Professor Zhen Lim, and Dr Kristof Wing conveyed the challenges and opportunities raised by the broader Tasmanian membership.
They discussed workforce shortages, urgent recruitment to junior medical officer positions, the need for greater preventive health focus across state government policymaking, and effective measures to support physician and trainee wellbeing.
The RACP representatives secured:
- a commitment from the Minister to annual face-to-face meetings with the RACP Tasmanian Committee Chair
- ministerial attendance at a forthcoming meeting of the Tasmanian Committee
- a senior departmental executive to be nominated by the minister for ongoing contact/liaison
- undertaking to look into certain workplace matters that would benefit from ministerial scrutiny
- a confidential advance briefing about a forthcoming government discussion paper.
This engagement builds on a year of conscientious engagement by the Tasmanian Committee under its previous chair, Dr Matt Lee-Archer, including development of multiple submissions and an election statement earlier in 2024.
The Tasmanian Committee strives to represent the interests and concerns of the membership in Tasmania, and will next meet ahead of the Tasmanian Conference in November. Please contact us if you would like to speak with its secretariat or Chair.
Now is the time to nominate a colleague who is deserving of recognition for outstanding contributions and achievements.
Nominations close on Monday, 30 September 2024 for the following College Meritorious Awards and Medals for 2025:
Applications for scholarships in 2025 open 1 October 2024
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.
We are updating our educational approach to have a renewed focus on competency-based medical education (CBME). The redesign aims to have learning, teaching and assessment activities organised around achievable outcomes, aligned with patient, community and health system expectations.
Our dedicated Curriculum Review Groups are seeking consultation on the initial drafts of 17 curricula. Key documents by specialty are now available for member and public review and consideration. Consultation closes on Wednesday, 2 October 2024 at 9am AEST for most specialties (check the specialty web pages for details).
With your help, we aim to develop modern curricula that remain agile enough to embrace future innovations. Your input is vital to this process.
Member and public feedback can be provided through four key channels:
- online feedback form
- written response by email (to curriculum@racp.edu.au)
- group online feedback session (via Zoom and separate sessions by specialty)
- provide comment and insights over the phone by calling +61 2 8076 6390.
Find out more
Listen now
This podcast follows the case of a 58-year-old man who presented to the haematology department at Flinders Medical Centre with intravascular coagulation and leukocytosis. He was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia and treated on standard cytarabine and daunorubicin combination therapy. Nine days after initiation, the patient developed painless diplopia and ptosis, and the story is picked up with a referral to the neurology department.
Thank you to our guests; Associate Professor Stephen Bacchi, Lyell McEwin Hospital, University of Adelaide and Dr James Triplett FRACP, Flinders Medical Centre, consultant neurologist.
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.
All trainees are invited to an informative flexible training webinar on Wednesday, 25 September 2024, hosted by the RACP NSW/ACT Trainees' Committee. It will cover topics related to flexible and part-time training, featuring three speakers who will each present for 20 minutes, followed by a Q&A session.
The event aims to offer advice from experienced trainees on flexible training and job-sharing. These integral and often stressful aspects of a trainee's life will be addressed through discussions on available options, balancing work priorities, and setting reasonable expectations. Attendees will be better equipped for success and feel less alone in their journey.
Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and support for your training journey.
Register now
If you are a current RACP trainee or Overseas Trained Physician currently undertaking the specialist assessment pathway in Australia, do not miss the opportunity to have your voice heard by providing your feedback in the Medical Board of Australia’s 2024 Medical Training Survey (MTS). Your experiences will be used to enhance education and training experiences for you and other trainees.
The MTS is open until early October. All doctors-in-training in Australia, including RACP trainees and Overseas Trained Physicians currently undertaking the specialist assessment pathway, are eligible and encouraged to participate. This year’s survey will build on results from past years and help our College monitor trends in training experiences over time and, for the first time this year, between Basic and Advanced Trainees. Results from last year’s MTS revealed overall satisfaction with workplace training experiences, but concerns remain in regard to high workloads, troubling workplace culture, and inadequate access to flexible working arrangements.
The RACP will use the 2024 survey findings to:
- guide improvements in training settings by identifying settings with results that raise potential concerns. Where potential concerns are identified, we collaborate with and support local leaders to explore and utilise the data to advocate for support for training
- recognise high-performing training settings by identifying those with results that indicate excellence in areas such as the quality of clinical supervision or overall satisfaction
- inform systemic change by using results in the development of strategic approaches to improve physician training, our services and the culture of medicine.
How to access the survey
A survey link is provided to trainees once they renew their medical registration with Ahpra. 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
You’ve told us that you need your College to be more responsive and supportive. We’ve listened to your feedback and we’re establishing a new Member Support Centre to help you navigate your College, improve enquiry response and resolution times and better support your needs.
Thank you for your feedback – it helps us improve.
Support for Rural Specialists in Australia (SRSA) helps rural specialists stay skilled and engaged so they can provide the best care to their communities. Eligible applicants are invited to apply for a grant of up to $12,000 to complete CPD activities like conferences, workshops, clinical attachments, and peer review. The application deadline is Tuesday, 15 October 2024. Visit the SRSA website for more information and to submit an application.
Eligibility
To apply for an SRSA grant, you must work rurally (Modified Monash Model categories 2-7) as either:
- a (non-GP) specialist
- an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander specialist trainee
- a specialist international medical graduate under assessment
If you received a grant in our previous funding round, you are not eligible to apply in this round. If you were unsuccessful in the past, we encourage you to apply again. SRSA is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care and managed by the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges.
Find out more l Download the flyer
Are you a member of an RACP Faculty or Chapter with an interest in how decisions are made? Can you contribute to our established working group, tasked to implement the future education governance model of the RACP? The Education Governance Working Group is seeking two new members, and we encourage interested and suitably qualified members to apply.
For details regarding the roles and functions of the Working Group, please visit the educational governance review webpage of the RACP website. Submissions of interest are being accepted until Friday, 13 September 2024. Questions and applications can be emailed to EGM.ELA@racp.edu.au.
Find out more
The Australian Government has published the Intellectual Disability Health Capability Framework (the Framework). It has been developed to ensure our future healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide quality healthcare to people with intellectual disability. It aims to help future healthcare professionals learn how to provide good healthcare for people with intellectual disability.
The Framework can also be used to help speak up for better quality healthcare. You can watch a video to see why the Framework is important to people with intellectual disability, and use the easy read activity to help you think about the type of care you want from your own healthcare team.
If you would like more information, please contact the Department of Health and Aged Care.
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
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