AMACDT mourns the loss of Dr Camille Michener

We have been saddened by the passing of one of our dearest colleagues, Dr Camille Michener, who died in a motor vehicle accident on 24 July 2009. Camille was a dedicated doctor, training in obstetrics & gynaecology at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Western Australia. She was also a passionate advocate for junior doctors, including in her role as a past Chair of the AMA Doctors in Training Committee (WA) and as its representative on the AMACDT in 2007. Camille will be sadly missed by her colleagues.

AMACDT meets in Brisbane

AMACDT in Brisbane

The AMACDT met on 11-12 July at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. Issues discussed at the meeting included doctors’ health, infrastructure and resources for clinical training, vocational training in public health medicine and the new national health workforce agency.

Ms Debbie Paltridge, the national project coordinator for the Australian Curriculum Framework for Junior Doctors addressed the Council on current activities with the roll-out of the framework.

AMA online survey of junior doctor training, education and supervision

The survey closed on 19 July 2009. We would like to thank the 920 junior doctors who completed the survey. The AMA is collating the survey data and we shall keep you posted on the results.

Launch of NHHRC final report

The AMA has welcomed the final report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission that was released on 27 July. AMA Federal President, Dr Andrew Pesce, commended the report saying it sets some ‘very, very’ ambitious targets. He said that the report, at 292 pages with 123 recommendations, was very comprehensive and will take some time to consider fully.

The AMA’s objective is to ensure the emphasis on the needs of patients is reflected in the final policy. In particular, we want to make sure any extra funding goes to the bedside, the clinic and the surgery – not into more bureaucracy.  Read more

Dr Pesce at the National Press Club

Dr Pesce addressed the National Press Club in Canberra on 22 July. Dr Pesce set out some of the priorities he will pursue as AMA President and discussed a variety of issues including: health reform;  training;  indigenous health; AMA-government relations; GP-led care; rural health; e-health and a proposed long-term care scheme for the catastrophically injured. Read Dr Pesce’s speech here.

AMA win on Health Workforce Agency Bill

The Health Workforce Agency Bill has been passed by the Federal Parliament. Included in the Bill was enabling legislation for Health Workforce Australia (HWA), which will have a number of functions of significance to medical students and junior doctors.

Concerns raised by the AMA to the Senate Community Affairs Committee that inquired into the Bill (June edition of E_dit) have been addressed to some extent. In particular, HWA will be excluded from any role or responsibility for accrediting clinical education and training, such as the accreditation of individual health professional courses.

Concerns about the level of consultation that HWA will undertake with the medical profession remain; however, Government officials assured the Senate inquiry that it will work closely with all of the health professions.

AMA submission to ACCC on selection to graduate entry medical schools

The consortium of 11 graduate medical schools is seeking the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s permission to continue its policies and practices for selecting applicants to graduate medical schools. These include the preference policy where applicants submit a single application to the Graduate Australian Medical Schools Admission Centre, and the one interview policy whereby applicants receive only one offer for an interview.

In its submission the AMA has said that, on balance, the public benefits from authorising the graduate medical school consortium to continue these polices and practices outweighs any potential drawbacks;  however, the AMA has noted that where a graduate medical school uses the interview process to look for certain qualities in an applicant, there is the potential for the interview process to disadvantage the applicant in some circumstances. The AMA has encouraged the ACCC to address these issues in the “authorisation” process.  Read the AMA’s submission

AMA online fatigue risk assessment tool

Feeling like your roster is wearing you out?

The AMA offers all doctors a unique web-based tool that enables them to evaluate the safety of their roster, and help make hospitals safer for patients and doctors. The AMA's fatigue risk assessment website enables doctors to track their work, on-call, recreational and sleeping hours over a week, and determine whether their work arrangements are placing them at risk of serious fatigue. Find out more

6th National Doctors Health Conference

The 6th National Doctors Health Conference – “Healthy Doctors Better Medicine” will be held in Adelaide on 3-5 September 2009. AMA South Australia is a major supporter of the conference. Medical students and doctors at any stage of their career are invited to attend. A sub-theme of the program is the health of medical students and junior doctors. Find out more

CONTACT US

Either via our Facebook Group AMA Doctors-in-Training Network or via email to ditnetwork@ama.com.au or by phone 02 6270 5400.
You can unsubscribe from E_dit by emailing the Federal AMA at ditnetwork@ama.com.au

The AMACDT is established as a Committee of the Federal Council of the AMA and reports directly to Federal Council on issues of importance to junior doctors. Junior doctors who want to contact their State/Territory AMACDT representative can do so via the above contact details.

MJA Job Share

MJA Job Share is a free noticeboard facility for doctors who would like to arrange shared working arrangements with other doctors. You can notify specific job share opportunities or register your interest in job sharing so that like-minded doctors or employers can contact you.

This service is sponsored by the Australian Medical Association.  Go to http://www.mja.com.au/classifieds/jobshare.cgi