Success of State and Territory AMAs recognised

State and Territory AMAs have been recognised for their exceptional work in advocacy and communications over the past year.

AMA President, Professor Brian Owler, tonight presented awards acknowledging the outstanding work of State and Territory AMAs in a range of categories including Best Lobby Campaign, Best Public Health Campaign, Best State Publication, National Advocacy and Most Innovative Use of Website or New Media. 

This year’s winners are:

Best Lobby Campaign 2016 – AMA New South Wales
‘Clinician Engagement - A Long-Term Lobbying Campaign’

AMA New South Wales began this long-term project after the Garling Inquiry in 2008 identified the breakdown of good working relations between clinicians and managers in the public hospital system as an impediment to good, safe care for patients.

In February 2015, AMA New South Wales, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation NSW (ASMOF), and NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner signed a world-first agreement to embed clinician engagement in the culture of the public hospital system, and to measure how well doctors are engaged in the decision-making processes of Local Health Districts.

The judges commended AMA New South Wales for its persistence, saying the progress in addressing this longstanding issue was a significant achievement in both health policy and the government/profession relationship.

Best Public Health Campaign 2016 – AMA New South Wales
‘Sunscreen Use’

AMA New South Wales has been running an educational campaign on sunscreen use and storage for the past year.

With a clear message that heat damages sunscreen, the campaign drew on new research showing that many Australians do not realise that sunscreen can lose up to 40 per cent of its effectiveness if exposed to temperatures exceeding 25 degrees Celsius.

The campaign received extra traction with the surprising results of the medical student survey, which found that one-third of medical students still sunbake to tan despite knowing the skin cancer risk.

The judges said while all entries were of a particularly high standard, the AMA New South Wales campaign sent a timely reminder to all Australians of the need to be sun smart.

Best State Publication 2016 – AMA Western Australia
‘Medicus’

AMA Western Australia has won the highly competitive Best State Publication award for Medicus, which has undergone further editorial enhancements over the past 12 months to improve its look and feel.

New columns such as Q&A, Technology, Family Law, and Framed sit beside popular regular offerings including Industrial Snapshots, Immunisation, Clinical Edge, Profile, and Research.

The 80-pages publication provides a mix of special features, clinical commentaries,

cover articles and opinion pieces that reflects the concerns and interests of WA’s

medical community and beyond.

The judges said that with its eye-catching covers, Medicus made an immediate impact on readers.

National Advocacy Award 2016 – AMA Victoria
‘Bullying, Discrimination and Harassment in Medicine’

AMA Victoria has been rewarded for its courage and tenacity in tackling bullying, discrimination and harassment within the profession with the National Advocacy Award.

AMA Victoria held several events to allow members to voice their concerns, dissatisfaction with current processes, and identify necessary changes, and made submissions to both the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons’ inquiry and the Victorian Auditor-General’s audit of bullying, discrimination and harassment in state public hospitals.

The AMA Victoria Summit in November brought the medical profession together to identify a strategy for change. The Setting the Standard strategy has 13 key steps that are being rolled out to lead to lasting change.

The judges said that tackling a challenge within your own profession was a particularly difficult task, particularly in the glare of public scrutiny, making the AMA Victoria campaign a standout.

Most Innovative Use of Website or New Media 2016 – AMA Western Australia
‘Buildit – Research Portal for Doctors in Training’

AMA Western Australia’s Buildit portal takes the DNA of a dating app and applies it to the functional research requirements of Doctors in Training.

By matching and connecting research projects and research supervisors with trainee doctors, the portal allows for opportunities that might not have been obvious without engagement through the site.

The judges said such engagement could provide long-term benefits to AMA Western Australia’s message and shows the general public how the use of new media tools are further developing the education of medical practitioners.

27 May 2016
 
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