Media release

Seven new members of AMA Roll of Fellows

 

The AMA has inducted seven new members into the AMA Roll of Fellows, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to both the medical profession and the AMA.

The new inductees are:

  • immunologist and past AMA NSW President, Professor Brad Frankum OAM;
  • distinguished neuroradiologist and past Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) President, Professor Mark Khangure AM;
  • orthopaedic surgeon and AMA WA President, Dr Omar Khorshid;
  • anaesthetist and past AMA SA President, Dr Andrew Lavender;
  • past AMA ACT President and dermatologist, Associate Professor Andrew Miller AM;
  • consultant surgeon and ex-Army officer, Associate Professor Susan Neuhaus; and
  • dermatologist and past AMA NSW President, Clinical Associate Professor Dr Saxon Smith.

AMA President, Dr Tony Bartone, announced their addition to the Roll at the AMA National Conference in Brisbane today.

“These seven outstanding doctors have excelled not just in their medical specialties, but in their roles as advocates for the profession,” Dr Bartone said.

“They have made real contributions at the State and Federal level to improve working conditions for doctors, to improve safety for patients, to train the next generations of medical practitioners, and to make the Australian health system work more effectively for patients and communities.

“I commend them for their service.”

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

 

Professor Brad Frankum OAM

Professor Brad Frankum is a prominent consultant physician specialising in immunology and allergy, who divides his time between Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals and his private specialist practice, and an immunology and allergy clinic at the Tharawal Aboriginal Medical Service in Campbelltown.

Prof Frankum has extensive experience in the university, public hospital, and Medical College sectors. He has held academic posts with the Universities of Sydney and Western Sydney, and has been involved in the teaching and training of thousands of medical students and young doctors.

He served as President of AMA(NSW) from 2016 to 2018, and Vice President for two years previous to that. In addition, he served on the AMA Federal Council for two years.

Prof Frankum was a central figure during the Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals crisis. When the hospital was accused of poor standards of care and a litany of other failings in the early 2000s, the State Government and the media at the time were only too keen to scapegoat the clinicians in order to deflect from the chronic neglect the whole of the south west of Sydney had suffered from successive governments and the bureaucracy. People’s careers were in tatters, and doctors demanding due and fair process were subject to serious intimidation. With the support of the AMA, Prof Frankum was able to lead the clinicians to stand up to what amounted to the tyranny of the government at the time.

Out of the mess, and against the odds, south-west Sydney now has the biggest hospital in NSW at Liverpool, a $632 million upgrade occurring at Campbelltown to grow to a 900-bed facility over the next 10 years. Campbelltown/Camden is now the second busiest Emergency Department in NSW, and a very successful medical school in its 12th year, producing very fine medical graduates.

Prof Frankum has dedicated much time and effort to raising the profile of the AMA, and has had a profound influence on Campbelltown and Camden hospitals, and medical teaching over several decades. His contributions to the profession, and to the welfare of his patients and colleagues, are exemplary.

 

Professor Mark Khangure AM

Professor Mark Khangure has served the AMA, medicine, and public health for more than four decades in a range of leadership positions.

He has done this while making significant contributions to medical education, government policy, and other professional bodies and developing an international reputation as a neuroradiologist.

Prof Khangure graduated from the Newcastle Upon Tyne University Medical School in the UK in 1971 and undertook training as a junior doctor at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, the teaching hospital of Newcastle University.

Prof Khangure joined the British Medical Association in 1970 and, after moving to Western Australia in 1976, continued his membership as a member of the AMA WA.

For more than 40 years, he has been an active and valued member who has contributed to medicine, public health, research, and the AMA in a wide range of roles.

In 2017, Prof Khangure was recognised with an Order of Australia (AM) for his contribution to Medicine in the field of Neuroradiology, to education and to the Medical Associations.

Prof Khangure's leadership was best demonstrated in 2006 when he demonstrated his willingness to make a stand and resigned as Head of Royal Perth Hospital’s Radiology Department over poor clinical leadership.

AMA WA is both proud and privileged to have Prof Khangure as a long-standing member, who has made an exceptional contribution to medicine and the AMA, both in WA and on the Federal stage.

 

Dr Omar Khorshid

Dr Omar Khorshid is the current President of AMA WA, and is one of the youngest Presidents in the Association’s history.

For almost two decades, Dr Khorshid has been a prominent AMA voice, both within Western Australia and nationally.

As State President, Dr Khorshid has focussed strongly on advocacy for better clinician engagement in public hospitals. He has also forcefully advocated on a range of key public health issues, including obesity, vaccination, and alcohol and drug abuse.

In particular, Dr Khorshid has played a major role in driving the public debate over end-of-life care and proposed legislation relating to euthanasia and palliative care, determined to ensure the AMA had its view strongly known.

Demonstrating tireless energy, Dr Khorshid advocated and drove the AMA WA Symposium on End-of-Life-Care, one of the most successful and pivotal events held by AMA WA in recent years and has made appearing before Parliamentary Committees and Inquiries a key part of the AMA’s contribution to public debate.

On a national basis, Dr Khorshid has had impacts in areas such as medical training, corporate governance, constitutional change and specialist representation.

He has consistently taken a robust stand on behalf of the medical profession and public health as a whole. He has strongly argued that health in Australia is something worth paying for, to reflect our standing as a first-world economy and a caring community.

The AMA is privileged to have Dr Omar Khorshid as a long-standing member, who has made an exceptional contribution to medicine both in WA and on the national stage.

 

Dr Andrew Lavender

Dr Andrew Lavender has given outstanding service to the AMA over many years, as the AMA SA Council salaried medical officers representative, as Treasurer, Vice President, and then President in 2009 and 2010, and as a Federal Councillor.

With a particular interest in the role of public hospitals and primary care, he is a strong advocate for public sector doctors and the patients they care for.

Dr Lavender was AMA SA President at a particularly challenging time, which included debate over the establishment of the Royal Adelaide Hospital, at a time when the views of the profession, community and political arena were divided.

Dr Lavender has made an extraordinary commitment of time, energy, and attention to many and significant issues for the AMA and its members, in addition to his busy clinical life and responsibilities as a public hospital anaesthetist.

Dr Lavender’s advocacy work on behalf of the profession included undertaking significant media engagements during which he advanced AMA State and Federal advocacy and policies.

He has given many hours of his time, as well as his energy, insight, and capacity to break down problems into workable solutions. He has done so with humour, modesty, perception, and goodwill – he has been a great colleague, and the AMA and the profession have a lot to thank him for.

 

Associate Professor Andrew Miller AM

Associate Professor Andrew Miller has served his colleagues through his leadership and involvement with the AMA, AMA ACT, and the Australasian College of Dermatologists (ACD). A/Prof Miller first joined the AMA as an intern in 1981 and has served, and continues to serve, in a variety of elected positions and voluntary roles, diligently and selflessly undertaking work on behalf of AMA members. 

Born in Sydney, A/Prof Miller completed his undergraduate medical studies at the University of New South Wales and then, after having undertaken a stint in general practice, trained in Dermatology. At various stages of his training, A/Prof Miller had practised in Canberra and surrounding regions, and commenced specialist practice in Canberra in 1993.

A/Prof Miller undertakes private practice in Canberra with outreach clinics in Young and Moruya. In addition, he has visiting medical officer appointments to both the Canberra Hospital and Calvary Public Hospital.

A/Prof Miller is currently ACD President, and was elected President of AMA ACT in 2012 for a two-year term.  During his term, he was appointed to the AMA Federal Council and continues to serve on Federal Council.  A/Prof Miller has also served on the Health Financing and Economics Committee, and the Audit and Risk Committee.

A/Prof Miller currently chairs the AMA Medical Practice Committee and has, over an extended period, been involved in a range of matters on behalf of AMA members, including in relation to the review of Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers and compliance issues. A/Prof Miller’s contributions to the work of the AMA have been thoughtful and consistent; he has willingly contributed his time, experience and expertise and, being based in Canberra, has often been called upon to assist in person with the work of the AMA. 

At all times, A/Prof Miller has provided outstanding leadership for AMA ACT, whether as a public advocate, office bearer or committee member. His tireless, thoughtful, and selfless contributions to the work of the AMA and AMA ACT are greatly admired.

 

Associate Professor Susan Neuhaus

Associate Professor Susan Neuhaus is a long-standing member of the AMA, a highly respected senior surgeon, distinguished ex-Army officer, and an experienced Board Director and Chair.

She is a Consultant Surgeon in private surgical practice, holds a Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), and academic positions with the Department of Surgery and Faculty of Medicine, University of Adelaide.  She is appointed to the RACS Court of Examiners. A/Prof Neuhaus contributes to the highest levels of her profession as a clinician, academic and researcher with sub-specialty expertise in management of melanoma and sarcoma.

A/Prof Neuhaus has also completed an Army career spanning more than 20 years, in both the Regular Army and Army Reserve. She is a graduate of Australian Command and Staff College (Res). She has served in Cambodia, Bougainville, and Afghanistan, and held unit command of the 3rd Health Support Battalion from 2007-2009; one of three deployable military hospitals to support the Army’s Land Forces. Her military service was recognised with the award of the Conspicuous Service Cross in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2009.

She is a longstanding AMA member and was awarded the Australian Medical Association Award (SA) for Service to Medicine in 2011.  In 2014, she was elected to the AMA Federal Council as the specialty representative for Surgeons and served in this role until 2018. During that time, she contributed her expertise as a member of the Defence Health Working Group, and was a member and then Chair of the Health Financing and Economics Committee (2016-2018). She was an active contributor to discussions and policy development at AMA Federal Council and AMA National Conference. At National Conference in 2017, excerpts of a play Hallowed Ground: Women Doctors at War, by The Shift Theatre, adapted from her book Not for Glory: a century of service by medical women to the Australian Army and its Allies were performed to acclaim.

Since leaving the army, A/Prof Neuhaus has retained a strong commitment to the Defence and Veteran sector. She is Co-Patron of the RSL Virtual War Memorial and was appointed to the Council of the Australian War Memorial in 2018.

A/Prof Neuhaus has provided exemplary and faithful service to the AMA and has brought credit to the Association through her strong leadership in the practice of medicine.  She is a role model for Australia’s doctors and most deserving of the award of Fellow, Australian Medical Association (FAMA).

 

Clinical Associate Professor Saxon Smith

Associate Professor Saxon Smith is an Australian-trained dermatologist who has worked in various clinical roles in public and private hospitals across NSW, with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, and as a clinical researcher. In addition to running his clinical practice, A/Prof Smith is a staff specialist dermatologist at Royal North Shore Hospital and a clinical associate professor at the University of Sydney.

A/Prof Smith served as AMA NSW President from 2014 to 2016, during which time he worked tirelessly to represent doctors and patients. A/Prof Smith’s presidency coincided with the Federal Government’s disastrous 2014 Health Budget, which included the ill-fated proposed co-payment. Coupled with the co-payment policy disaster was the Federal Government’s decision to radically change the structure of health funding beyond 2017. A/Prof Smith was a key spokesman for the profession, chairing a successful GP Forum in NSW to fight the proposed changes.

A/Prof Smith was also a prominent spokesperson for AMA NSW’s sun protection public health campaign. His ground-breaking research on sunscreen was pivotal in educating consumers about proper sunscreen usage. Despite widespread sun smart campaigns, Australia, along with New Zealand, has the highest incidence rate of melanoma.

A/Prof Smith’s research looked at how Australians were using sunscreen and found many people were not aware that sunscreen has an expiry date; that it deteriorates when stored above 25 degrees Celsius; that it needs to be reapplied after two hours; and that you need two tablespoons to cover the whole body.

A/Prof Smith has had a profound influence on dermatology over a decade. His contributions to the profession, the welfare of his patients and colleagues are exemplary. A/Prof Smith would be an extremely worthy addition to the AMA Roll of Fellows.


24 May 2019

CONTACT:        John Flannery                     02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761

                            Maria Hawthorne               02 6270 5478 / 0427 209 753

 

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AMA ROLL OF FELLOWS FULL CITATIONS

PROFESSOR BRAD FRANKUM

OAM, BMed (Hons), FRACP

Professor Brad Frankum graduated medicine from the University of Newcastle in 1988 (Awarded Honours) and received an academic prize for Most outstanding student in the medical course in the areas of Doctor – Patient Relations, Population Medicine and Professional Characteristics. He earned his Fellowship of Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 1996.

Prof Frankum is a prominent consultant physician specialising in immunology and allergy, who divides his time between a fractional staff specialist role at Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals and his private specialist practice at Narellan NSW. In addition, he runs an immunology and allergy clinic at the Tharawal Aboriginal Medical Service in Campbelltown. He also serves as the Executive Clinical Director of Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals.

Prof Frankum has extensive experience in the university, public hospital, and Medical College sectors, and was a board member of the Southwest Sydney LHD from its establishment until end 2018. He also chairs the SWS PHN Clinical Council, a Committee designed to bring the primary health and hospital and specialist sectors closer together. He was Chair of the SWS LHD Teaching and Research Committee 2011-2018 and sat on the LHD Aboriginal Health Committee.

He held academic posts with the Universities of Sydney and Western Sydney, having been the Foundation Clinical Dean at Western Sydney and the third Professor appointed to the medical school, with responsibility for developing and instituting the curriculum for Years 3 to 5 of the course. He served as Deputy Dean until deciding to leave the University in 2015 to concentrate on clinical and advocacy work, but remains a conjoint appointee and heavily involved in teaching and research. He has been involved in the teaching and training of thousands of medical students and young doctors.

Prof Frankum is the immediate past Chair of the Clinical Examination Committee of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), having previously been the Deputy, with oversight of the national exam and the 100plus National examining panel.

Prof Frankum served as President of AMA NSW from 2016 to 2018, and Vice President for two years previous to that. In addition, he served on the AMA Federal Council for two years.

Prof Frankum was a central figure during the Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals crisis. When the hospital was accused of poor standards of care and a litany of other failings in the early 2000s, the State Government and the media at the time were only too keen to scapegoat the clinicians in order to deflect from the chronic neglect the whole of the south west of Sydney had suffered from successive governments and the bureaucracy. People’s careers were in tatters, and doctors demanding due and fair process were subject to serious intimidation. With the support of the AMA, Prof Frankum was able to lead the clinicians to stand up to what amounted to the tyranny of the government at the time.

Out of the mess, and really against the odds, south-west Sydney now has the biggest hospital in NSW at Liverpool, a $632 million upgrade occurring at Campbelltown to grow to a 900-bed facility over the next 10 years. Campbelltown/Camden is now the second busiest Emergency Department in New South Wales, and a very successful medical school in its 12th year, producing very fine medical graduates.

Prof Frankum has dedicated much time and effort to raising the profile of the AMA, and has had a profound influence on Campbelltown and Camden hospitals, and medical teaching over several decades. His contributions to the profession, the welfare of his patients and colleagues is exemplary. Prof Frankum would be an extremely worthy addition to the AMA Roll of Fellows.

 

DR OMAR KHORSHID

MBBS FRACS FAOrthA AdvDipMgt GAICD

Dr Omar Khorshid is the current President of AMA WA, elected to the position in 2017, and is one of the youngest Presidents in the Association’s history.

For almost two decades, Dr Khorshid has been a prominent AMA voice both within Western Australia and nationally.

During his tenure as State President, Dr Khorshid has focussed strongly on advocacy for better clinician engagement in public hospitals. He has also forcefully advocated on a range of key public health issues, including obesity, vaccination, and alcohol and drug abuse.

In particular, Dr Khorshid has played a major role in driving the public debate over end-of-life care and proposed legislation relating to euthanasia and palliative care, determined to ensure the AMA had its view strongly known.

Demonstrating tireless energy, Dr Khorshid advocated and drove the AMA WA Symposium on End-of-Life-Care, one of the most successful and pivotal events held by the AMA in recent years, and has made appearing before Parliamentary Committees and Inquiries a key part of the AMA’s contribution to public debate.

On a national basis, Dr Khorshid has had impacts in areas such as medical training, corporate governance, constitutional change and specialist representation.

He has consistently taken a robust stand on behalf of the medical profession and public health as a whole. He has strongly argued that health in Australia is something worth paying for, to reflect our standing as a first-world economy and a caring community.

Dr Khorshid graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1998 and joined the AMA WA in the same year. By that time, he had already earned a substantial reputation as a fearless campaigner for doctors’ rights. In 1996, as a WA Medical Student Society Office Bearer, Dr Khorshid was instrumental in organising a protest against the reduction in the number of doctors able to obtain Medicare Provider Numbers and was later part of the team that met Federal Health Minister Dr Michael Wooldridge.

Two years later, Dr Khorshid again showed leadership when, with the help of the AMA, he took on the State Government (on behalf of the whole graduating class) and won, when they tried to bully Interns into individual contracts in breach of the AMA agreement.

After finishing orthopaedic training in Perth, in 2008 Dr Khorshid undertook Fellowship training at North Sydney Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic and, in the same year attended the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, where he completed his Arthroplasty Fellowship. Dr Khorshid specialises in hip and knee surgery, including primary and revision joint replacement and arthroscopic and reconstructive knee surgery.

Dr Khorshid holds a number of key positions including Head of Department of Orthopaedics at Fremantle Hospital, and lead surgeon at Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospital Group. He has also established a group private practice and an outer metropolitan public hospital department, and served as a Medical Co-Director since commencing practice as an orthopaedic surgeon.

Dr Khorshid has a longstanding interest in surgical education and has developing interests in clinical outcome measurement and research. In 2016, he was appointed to the Curtin University Medical School as an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor.

Since 2015, Dr Khorshid has served as Chair, Education and Training at Australian Orthopaedic Association (AOA), where he steered the development and implementation of the new national AOA training program.  In that time, Dr Khorshid has also served on the Board of Surgical Education and Training at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS).

Dr Khorshid has consistently given back to the AMA, with 20 years’ experience in representative roles and has served on Federal Council as Doctors in Training, Western Australian, and Orthopaedic representative over these years. 

He has also held positions on various State and Federal committees over many years, including the AMA Council of Doctors in Training and the Health Finance and Economics Committee, and has represented AMA on AMC and government committees.

In 2015, Dr Khorshid chaired the working group established to recommend constitutional change, which resulted in the creation of the AMA Council of Rural Doctors and AMA Council of Private Specialist Practice, along with significant changes to National Conference delegate structure.

Dr Khorshid has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the Award for Leadership, Australian Orthopaedic Association; the UWA Graduates Association Prize and an Australian Students Prize.

The AMA is privileged to have Dr Omar Khorshid as a long-standing member, who has made an exceptional contribution to medicine both in WA and on the national stage.

We strongly recommend the Admission of Dr Omar Khorshid to the AMA’s Roll of Fellows.

 

PROF MAKHAN (MARK) SINGH KHANGURE AM

FRANZCR FRCR MBBS MRCP

Professor Mark Khangure has served the AMA, medicine, and public health for more than four decades in a range of leadership positions.

He has done this while making significant contributions to medical education, government policy, and other professional bodies, and developing an international reputation as a neuroradiologist.

Prof Khangure graduated from the Newcastle Upon Tyne University Medical School in the United Kingdom in 1971 and undertook training as a junior doctor at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, the teaching hospital of Newcastle University.

Prof Khangure joined the British Medical Association in 1970 and, after moving to Western Australia in 1976, continued his membership as a member of the AMA WA.

For more than 40 years, he has been an active and valued member who has contributed to medicine, public health, research, and the AMA in a wide range of roles.

He has served as the Radiology Craft Group Representative/AMA WA Councillor since 1988 - (a record) and has since 2010 been the Radiology representative on the Federal AMA Council.

In 2017, Prof Khangure was recognised with an Order of Australia (AM) for his contribution to Medicine in the field of Neuroradiology, to education and to the Medical Associations.

In addition to Prof Khangure's clinical commitment, he has played a very active role in academic radiology research, as well as education and Council commitments with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR).  In his role as President of the College and Craft Group Representative of the AMA, Prof Khangure has been able to combine his strong involvement by bringing both entities closer together.

The many committees and Councils (both AMA and Government) on which Prof Khangure now serves demonstrate his outstanding national and international reputation.

Prof Khangure commenced work in Western Australia as a Radiology Registrar at Royal Perth, a Clinical Assistant at Princess Margaret Hospital, and a part-time Clinical Lecturer at the University of Western Australia.  During this time, Prof Khangure was jointly responsible for the introduction of the micro-balloon catheter technique of embolisation of brain AVMs and Dural AVMs. Currently a neuroradiologist with SKG Radiology, Prof Khangure served as Head, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at Royal Perth Hospital.

From 1987 to 1993, Prof Khangure was Staff Radiologist and Director of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging centre at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, and was responsible for organising the delivery of the MRI services for the State, including resourcing and developing protocols for the imaging requirements of various disease processes.  From 1995, Prof Khangure continued his unwavering commitment to medicine, working at Royal Perth Hospital for 12 years in the positions of Director - Interventional Neuroradiology Unit, Head of Department - Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, and Director of Imaging Services.

His unfailing hard work has seen Prof Khangure play a key role in introducing a joint Neuroradiology/Neurology carotid disease clinic, expanding the work of the interventional neuroradiology unit, and implementing a single neuroradiology service, including on-call arrangements between Royal Perth and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospitals.

He played a major role in developing WA's participation in the International Subarachnoid Haemorrhage trial which showcased the Interventional Neuroradiology Unit in WA as a world class, internationally recognised centre, and established the current fellowship training program at the Interventional Neuroradiology Unit.

Prof Khangure's leadership was best demonstrated in 2006 when he demonstrated his willingness to make a stand and resigned as Head of Royal Perth Hospital’s Radiology Department over poor clinical leadership.

He has served on and contributed to a range of Australian Government Department of Health committees in relation to radiology ranging from MRI and interventional neuroradiology, many in his capacity as the AMA radiology representative.

Other Academic Bodies and Societies Prof Khangure has been involved in include the Royal College of Physicians (UK); Radiological Society of Neuroradiology; the American Society of Neuroradiology; the Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine; and the Asian Australasian Society of Interventional Neuroradiology.

In addition to his extensive involvement in a number of professional bodies, Prof Khangure has an extensive body of research to his name, in addition to a large number of academic papers.

AMA WA is both proud and privileged to have Prof Mark Khangure as a long-standing member, who has made an exceptional contribution to medicine and the AMA, both in WA and on the Federal stage.

We strongly recommend his Admission to the AMA Roll of Fellows.

 

DR ANDREW LAVENDERr

MBBS FRCA FFARACS

Dr Andrew Lavender has given outstanding service to the AMA over many years.

He joined the AMA SA Council as the representative for salaried medical officers in 2000, a role he held until assuming the role of treasurer in 2005. He then went on to become the AMA SA Vice President for two years, before being elected president in May 2009 and re-elected in 2010.

With a particular interest in the role of public hospitals and primary care, he is a strong advocate for public sector doctors and the patients they care for.

He has been the President of the AMA SA and has represented South Australian members and the medical profession more broadly at the Federal level through Federal AMA.

Dr Lavender was AMA SA President at a particularly challenging time, which included debate over the establishment of the (new) Royal Adelaide Hospital, at a time when the views of the profession, community and political arena were divided. His presidency also included a time during which the AMA SA made a transition between CEOs, and, as President he took on additional responsibilities during this period.

Dr Lavender held the role of Area Representative for SA/NT on Federal AMA Council from May 2008 to 2013.

Dr Lavender’s Federal AMA Council and committee roles have included:

  • Member – AMA Federal Council (2008 ­ 2013)
  • Member - AMA Coordinating Committee of Salaried Doctors/Council of Salaried Doctors (2007 - 2012)
  • Member - AMA Finance Committee (2008 - 2013)
  • Member – AMA Child and Youth Health Committee/Public Health and Child and Youth Health Committee (2008 - 2009;
  • Member – AMA Economics and Workforce Committee (2009 – 2010)
  • Member – AMA Audit Committee (2010 ­ 2011)
  • Member - AMA Hospital Pricing Reference Group (2012)

 

This is an extraordinary commitment of time, energy, and attention to many and significant issues for the AMA and its members, particularly considering that this was in addition to Dr Lavender’s busy clinical life and responsibilities as a public hospital anaesthetist, including in leadership roles, and family commitments, as well as his major contributions to the AMA SA on a State level.

Dr Lavender’s advocacy work on behalf of the profession included undertaking significant media engagements during which he advanced AMA State and Federal advocacy and policies.

As was noted by Dr Patricia Montanaro, who was AMA SA President at the time of his retirement from the role of Area Representative for SA/NT on Federal AMA Council, Dr Lavender has done much for the AMA and the profession over many years through his work at the AMA. He has given many hours of his time, as well as his energy, insight and capacity to break down problems into workable solutions. He has done so with humour, modesty, perception, and goodwill – he has been a great colleague, and the AMA and the profession have a lot to thank him for.

 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ANDREW CHARLES MILLER AM

BSc (Med) (Hons II) 1979, MB BS (Hons II), 1981 FACD 1992

The Board of AMA(ACT) Limited nominates Associate Professor Andrew Charles Miller for admission to the AMA Roll of Fellows.  AMA ACT considers that A/Prof Miller is deserving of the highest honour the AMA can bestow upon a member, having fulfilled the criteria of ‘providing conspicuous, excellent service to the Association’.

A/Prof Miller has served his colleagues through his leadership and involvement with the AMA, AMA ACT, and the Australasian College of Dermatologists. A/Prof Associate Professor Miller first joined the AMA as an intern in 1981 and has served, and continues to serve, in a variety of elected positions and voluntary roles, diligently and selflessly undertaking work on behalf of AMA members. 

Born in Sydney, A/Prof Miller completed his undergraduate medical studies at the University of New South Wales and then, after having undertaken a stint in general practice, trained in Dermatology. A/Prof Miller was granted his fellowship from the Australasian College of Dermatologists in 1992.  At various stages of his training, A/Prof Miller had practised in Canberra and surrounding regions and took the opportunity, on gaining his fellowship, to commence in specialist practice in Canberra in 1993.

A/Prof Associate Professor Miller undertakes private practice in Canberra with outreach clinics in Young and Moruya. In addition, he has VMO appointments to both the Canberra Hospital and Calvary Public Hospital.

A/Prof Miller is currently President of the Australasian College of Dermatologists (ACD) having previously held a series of educational and administrative positions, including as a clinical supervisor, chairman of the NSW Faculty Education Sub-committee, and a Director of the ACD. A/Prof Miller has also previously served as an ACD Observer at the AMA Federal Council.

While A/Prof Miller’s other achievements are significant, it is for his outstanding service and contribution to the AMA that we nominate him for Fellowship.

A/Prof Miller was elected President of AMA ACT in 2012 for a two-year term.  During his term, he was appointed to the AMA Federal Council as the nominee of AMA ACT and continues to serve on Federal Council.  A/Prof Miller’s contributions to Federal Council have also seen him serve on the Health Financing and Economics Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee.

A/Prof Miller currently chairs the AMA Medical Practice Committee and has, over an extended period, been involved in a range of matters on behalf of AMA members, including in relation to the review of MBS item numbers and compliance issues. A/Prof Miller’s contributions to the work of the AMA have been thoughtful and consistent; he has willingly contributed his time, experience and expertise and, being based in Canberra, has often been called upon to assist in person with the work of the AMA. 

A/Prof Miller’s Federal AMA Council and committee roles have included:

  • Member – AMA Federal Council (2012 – current)
  • Chair – AMA Medical Practice Committee (2018 – current)
  • Member – AMA Health Financing and Economics Committee (2014 - current)
  • Member – AMA Economics and Workforce Committee (2012 – 2014)
  • Member – AMA Group Audit and Risk Committee (2013 – 2014)
  • Member – AMA Group Audit Committee (2012 - 2013)
  • Member – AMA Skin Advisory Group (2005 – 2010)
  • Member – AMA MBCC Skin Advisory Group (2005 – 2009)

A/Prof Miller has demonstrated his support of the AMA through active involvement for many years, including as Director and then President of AMA ACT, in addition to his AMA duties.  Even now, A/Prof Miller continues as Treasurer of AMA ACT, and a lead negotiator for the VMO Committee in contract negotiations. 

At all times, A/Prof Miller has provided outstanding leadership for AMA ACT, whether as a public advocate, office bearer or committee member. His tireless, thoughtful, and selfless contributions to the work of the AMA and AMA ACT are greatly admired.

AMA ACT is pleased to nominate A/Prof Miller for Fellowship of the AMA.


 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SUSAN NEUHAUS

CSC MBBS PhD FRACS FAICD

Associate Professor Susan Neuhaus is a long-standing member of the AMA, a highly respected senior surgeon, distinguished ex-Army officer and an experienced Board Director and Chairman.

A/Prof Neuhaus is a Consultant Surgeon in private surgical practice, holds a Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), and academic positions with the Department of Surgery and Faculty of Medicine, University of Adelaide.  She is appointed to the RACS Court of Examiners. A/Prof Neuhaus contributes to the highest levels of her profession as a clinician, academic and researcher with sub-specialty expertise in management of melanoma and sarcoma.

A/Prof Neuhaus has also completed an Army career spanning more than 20 years, in both the Regular Army and Army Reserve. She is a graduate of Australian Command and Staff College (Res). A/Prof Neuhaus has served in Cambodia, Bougainville and Afghanistan. A/Prof Neuhaus held unit command of the 3rd Health Support Battalion from 2007-2009; one of three deployable military hospitals to support the Army’s Land Forces. Her military service was recognised with the award of the Conspicuous Service Cross in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2009.

She is a longstanding AMA member and was awarded the Australian Medical Association Award SA for Service to Medicine in 2011.  In 2014, she was elected to AMA Federal Council as the specialty representative for Surgeons and served in this role until 2018. During that time, she contributed her expertise as a member of the Defence Health Working Group, and was a member and then Chair of the Health Financing and Economics Committee (2016-2018). She was an active contributor to discussions and policy development at AMA Federal Council and AMA National Conference. At National Conference in 2017, excerpts of a play Hallowed Ground: Women Doctors at War, by The Shift Theatre, adapted from her book Not for Glory: a century of service by medical women to the Australian Army and its Allies were performed to acclaim.

Since leaving the army, A/Prof Neuhaus has retained a strong commitment to the Defence and Veteran sector. As the inaugural Associate (adjunct) Professor Conflict Medicine, A/Prof Neuhaus leads a developing national research collaborative investigating the gender specific effects of military service and deployment. This has included the landmark study Mothers in the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO) -The health impacts of maternal deployment. A/Prof Neuhaus has provided advice at state and national levels including to the House of Representatives, Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and in 2015 was Co-chair of the South Australian Ministerial Advisory Panel for the Veteran PTSD Centre of Excellence. A/Prof Neuhaus is Co-Patron of the RSL Virtual War Memorial and was appointed to the Council of the Australian War Memorial in 2018.

A/Prof Neuhaus has been a non-executive Director and Board Chairman of the Repat Foundation, now the ‘Road Home’. In this role, she oversaw its rebranding and transition to a specific veteran health research subsidiary of the Hospital Research Foundation. She has also served as a member of the Veterans Health Advisory Council South Australia, Ambassador for the Defence Reserve Support Council South Australia, and patron of the Virtual War Memorial Australia. A/Prof Neuhaus is a member of the Council of the Australian War Memorial.

A/Prof Neuhaus’s other board roles include non-executive Director of the Cancer Council SA, and she is the current President and Board Chairman of Minda Inc, South Australia’s largest Not-for Profit service provider. Minda is at the forefront of the disability sector, offering support and opportunity to more than 1,500 South Australians including accommodation, supported employment, lifestyle services, and respite.

A/Prof Neuhaus has demonstrated strong advocacy and leadership across a range of sectors. She developed the first stand-alone part-time training position in general surgery and initiated inaugural Wiki based Australian national sarcoma guidelines. She is actively involved in research and is widely published. A/Prof Neuhaus is passionate about sharing the stories of Australia’s pioneering medical women and has authored multiple papers. In 2014, her book Not for Glory was launched at the Australian War Memorial. In 2012, A/Prof Neuhaus was a South Australian finalist for Australian of the Year.

A/Prof Neuhaus has provided exemplary and faithful service to the AMA and has brought credit to the Association through her strong leadership in the practice of medicine.  She is a role model for Australia’s doctors and most deserving of the award of Fellow, Australian Medical Association (FAMA).

 

CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR SAXON SMITH

MBChB, MHL, PhD, GAICD, FACD

Associate Professor Saxon Smith is an Australian-trained dermatologist and holds a Fellowship with the Australasian College of Dermatologists. He graduated medicine in 2000 from the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, earned a Masters Degree in Health Law from the University of Sydney in 2006, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. His Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) through the University of Sydney explored the Assessment of treatment confounders and interventions to reduce treatment non-adherence in paediatric atopic dermatitis. He has worked in various clinical roles in public and private hospitals across NSW, with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, and as a clinical researcher. In addition to running his clinical practice, A/Prof Smith is a staff specialist dermatologist at Royal North Shore Hospital and a clinical associate professor at the University of Sydney.

A/Prof Smith served as AMA NSW President from 2014 to 2016, during which time he worked tirelessly to represent doctors and patients. A/Prof Smith’s presidency coincided with the Federal Government’s disastrous 2014 Health Budget, which included the ill-fated proposed co-payment. Coupled with the co-payment policy disaster was the Federal Government’s decision to radically change the structure of health funding beyond 2017. A/Prof Smith was a key spokesman for the profession, chairing a successful GP Forum in NSW to fight the proposed changes.

A/Prof Smith was also a prominent spokesperson for AMA NSW’s sun protection public health campaign. His ground-breaking research on sunscreen was pivotal in educating consumers about proper sunscreen usage. Despite widespread sun smart campaigns, Australia, along with New Zealand, has the highest incidence rate of melanoma. A/Prof Smith’s research looked at how Australians were using sunscreen and found many people were not aware that sunscreen has an expiry date; that it deteriorates when stored above 25 degrees Celsius; that it needs to be reapplied after two hours; and that you need two tablespoons to cover the whole body.

A/Prof Smith’s Federal AMA Council and committee roles have included:

  • Member – AMA Federal Council (2014 – current)
  • AMA Medical Workforce Committee (2014 – current)
  • AMA Council of Private Specialist Practice (2016 – current)
  • Chair, AMA Federal Firearms Working Group Chairperson (2016 – 2017
  • Chair, AMA Tobacco and E-Cigarette Working Group (2015 – 2016)
  • Member – AMA E-Cigarette policy working group (2014 – 2016)
  • Alternate – AMA Federal Council Alternate (2014)
  • Federal Council Delegate – AMA National Conference (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018)
  • Dermatology Delegate – AMA National Conference (2014)
  • NSW Delegate – AMA National Conference (2007, 2009, 2010, 2013)
  • Salaried Doctors Delegate – AMA National Conference (2008)
  • Doctors in Training Delegate – AMA National Conference (2005, 2006)

A/Prof Smith has had a profound influence on dermatology over a decade. His contributions to the profession, the welfare of his patients and colleagues are exemplary. A/Prof Smith would be an extremely worthy addition to the AMA Roll of Fellows.

 

 

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