CDT Chair update - September
Committee of Doctors in Training Chair Dr Elise Witter says it’s been an incredibly busy few months for the CDT as they progress with a number of projects.
The Resident Hospital Health Check is now complete, and we are looking forward to collating this data and using it to inform our advocacy – a huge thanks to everyone who has completed this survey and congratulations to the lucky winners of our vouchers: Drs Jaspreet Bhambra and Grace McFie. All your voices are essential in identifying key issues for doctors-in-training and support us in working to respond to these challenges. The report will be distributed in October.
We have also been collaborating with the Federal Council of Doctors-in-training to advance our position statement following the ward call survey the CDT completed last year. This position statement is now in its final stages of editing and is calling for innovative care models in the after-hours space as well as the establishment of minimum ratios for overnight care. The research will also be presented at the BMJ International Forum of Healthcare Quality and Safety in November in Brisbane. These outcomes are a great example of surveys being used to inform advocacy and educate the public and we look forward to seeing further progress and research in this space.
I was also fortunate to recently attend the Sustainable Healthcare Leadership Summit in my capacity as Chair of the Climate Change and Sustainability Working Group. This summit was the result of advocacy by the working group and involved a collaboration with Queensland Health and their Office of Hospital Sustainability. With healthcare accounting for seven per cent of all carbon emissions, we all have a responsibility to increase sustainability in our practices. A number of great suggestions and strategies were outlined, including recycling blister packs through pharma-cycle, reducing numbers of bins needing replacement plastic liners every day, recirculating dialysis water, minimising glove use, divesting from nitrous oxide, implementing solar and LED lighting and phasing out single-use plastics such as surgical trays and packaging. With sustainability being a key interest of many doctors-in-training, it’s an important reminder to reflect on what changes we can make at our own health services and in our own lives.
Contact CDT by email: cdt@amaq.com.au or call 07 3872 2222.
Note: Drs Elise Witter and Rob Thomas, both Queensland-based, are the new Deputy Co-Chairs on the Federal Council of Doctors in Training. Congratulations!
