AMA National Conference 2015 - AMA Roll of Fellows

The AMA has inducted three new members into the AMA Roll of Fellows.

Internationally renowned researcher and practitioner Associate Professor Robyn Langham, South Australian GP and aged care and e-health expert Dr Chris Moy, and leading ophthalmologist Dr Iain Dunlop have been added to the Roll of Fellows in recognition of the outstanding contribution each has made to both the AMA and the medical profession.

AMA President, Associate Professor Brian Owler, announced the additions at the AMA National Conference 2015 in Brisbane.

A/Prof Owler said that the three new Fellows were distinguished representatives of the profession.

“The new Fellows have all excelled in their medical careers, across many specialties,” A/Prof Owler said.

“At the same time, they have dedicated themselves to working to improve conditions for doctors, and to make the Australian health system work more effectively for patients and communities.”

Each new AMA Fellow carries an impressive record of achievement, as excerpts from their citations show:

Associate Professor Robyn Langham
Ever since graduating from Monash University in 1987, A/Professor Langham’s first priority, concern and skill has always been the care of her patients and their wellbeing. She has led a number of innovative clinical initiatives, one recently recognised by a Victorian Government Award for Innovation in Patient Centred Care - the establishment of a Nocturnal In-centre Haemodialysis Program. A/ Prof Langham was also closely involved in the team that undertook Australia’s first hand transplant.

Since completing a PhD in 2001, in which she investigated fibrogenic growth factors of human renal disease, research has remained a passion for A/Prof Langham, and she has continued her work as a physician researcher, contributing to basic, translational and clinical renal research in her role as Principal Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne.

A/Prof Langham’s devotion to the profession extends firmly into teaching and training. Her vast experience makes her a highly sought after speaker at domestic and international conferences. She is involved in curriculum design and redesign, and regularly examines at the University of Melbourne and the RACP. She is widely appreciated as a mentor to future physicians, especially those pursuing nephrology, and is a passionate advocate for the role of women in the profession and helping them to understand the barriers they face, and developing strategies to overcome them.

Dr Christopher Moy
Dr Moy joined the AMA a year after graduating from the University of Adelaide in 1991. His work at an inner Adelaide practice, where he had responsibility for a large number of patients in residential aged care facilities.

This gave him a strong grasp of the problems besetting this sector, particularly poor communication and a lack of co-ordination between the various health care professionals and groups involved in providing care, a shortcoming that often led to unnecessary hopsitalisation, often against patient wishes. It was clear to him that inconsistency in end of life decision-making and care contributed to this problem and, in typical Chris Moy fashion, he decided to do something about it.

In 2005 he began work on the Aged Care Panel of the Adelaide NE Division of General Practice, where his early work included the development of a widely-used guide for GPs to complete a medical summary of patients in aged care facilities to improve the communication of medical information when transferring patients between settings and in emergency situations.

Recognition of the importance of allowing patients to document their wishes in advance led Dr Moy to join the Expert Advisory Group of the SA Advance Directives review in 2006, and the deep understanding he developed of the complex legislative, ethical and clinical issues inherent in this area meant he was able to make an important contribution to the medical profession’s negotiations with the South Australian Government regarding its Advance Care Directives Act 2013.

More recently, he has been involved in advising on the design and adoption of e-health systems, and his work identifying critical problems with the design and implementation of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record was vital to the AMA’s success in advocating for the system’s overhaul.

Dr Iain Dunlop
Over several decades, Dr Dunlop - a privately practising ophthalmologist in Canberra and Sydney - has worked tirelessly to care for patients, advance medical practice, serve the profession and promote wellbeing, both in Australia and internationally.

The significance and breadth of his contribution has been recognised in numerous awards, both national and international, including for his work in encouraging relationships among Asia Pacific ophthalmic societies and his contribution to ensuring ophthalmology is at the forefront in terms of advocacy, training support and development work with partner countries.

Through organisations such as Vision 2020 and the Sight for Life Foundation, where he serves as a director, Dr Dunlop has been a strong proponent of improved eye health internationally, promoting advocacy, training, support and development work with partner countries to prevent blindness. His commitment to his field of medicine has extended to advancing the boundaries of knowledge, as attested to by the papers he had published in national and international specialist medical publications.

Dr Dunlop has served his colleagues through his leadership and involvement with the AMA, AMA (ACT) Limited and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists, as well as through other related organisations, over many years.

29 May 2014

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