We're a bit late this week!

These ebulletins are best viewed in html. Simply click on the item of interest (left) and you will be taken straight to that item. Please note that the previous editions of the eNewsletter are archived on the Faculty website.

As always, if you would like to contribute an item to the next eNewsletter please email a paragraph to afoem@racp.edu.au.

Although AFOEM takes all reasonable steps to ensure this email does not contain malicious software, AFOEM does not accept responsibility for the consequences if any person's computer inadvertently suffers any disruption to services, loss of information, harm or is infected with a virus, other malicious computer program or code that may occur as a consequence of receiving this email.

Unless stated otherwise, this email represents only the views of the sender and not the views of AFOEM.

Find A Consultant

Thank you to all who have responded with the requested details. The Find A Consultant webpage will be updated by the end of Monday 9, February 2009.

Should you wish to have a photo displayed along with your details, kindly forward an appropriate file (jpeg, bmp, png) to the Faculty email.

Upcoming Events & Meetings

Detailed calendar can be viewed via the Faculty website.

NSW Regional Committee Teleconference

• Friday 6, February 2009
• 5:30PM AEST
• Via Teleconference
• RE: RACP Questionnaire

NSW Trainee Meeting

• Monday 9, February 2009
• RPAH, Camperdown
• 5:30PM AEST
• All Sydney-based trainees welcome to attend

A&C Committee of AFOEM Face to Face Meeting

• Friday 13, February 2009
• 9:30AM-3:30PM AEST
• Lv7, 52 Phillips St, Sydney

AFOEM Council Teleconference

• Friday 13, February 2009
• 9:00AM-12PM AEST

P&A Committee of AFOEM Meeting

• Tuesday 17, February 2009
• 5:00PM-6:00PM AEST

Remote Area Trainee Teleconference

• Thursday 19, February 2009
• 1:00PM-2:30PM AEST

Hunter Region Scientific Meeting

• Thursday 26, February 2009
• 6:00PM AEST
• 5/500 High St, Maitland NSW
• RE: Cardiac fitness
• Further details: Maurice Harden

WOMIG 2009 Workshop

• Friday 27, February - Sunday 1, March 2009
• Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand

Infectious Diseases Workshop

• Saturday 21, March 2009
• Mirvac Quay West Hotel, Brisbane
• Topics include: travel medicine, TB, zoonoses
• Further details: Dr Therese McGrath or on (07) 3404 8162

WHO Millennium Development Goals Seminar

• Monday 9, March 2009
• 1:30-3:30PM AEST
• RACP, Education Centre, Lv8, 52 Phillip Street, Sydney
• RE: WHO Millennium Development Goals for Child & Adolescent Health and WHO regional priorities for Asia Pacific

Dates For Your Diary

For a more detailed AFOEM calendar, please visit the Faculty website.

Trainee Annual Subscription (Early Bird) Deadline

• Tuesday 31, March 2009
• Forms available from Documents & Forms

CPD/MOPS for 2008 Submission Deadline

• Thursday 30, March 2009
• Online submission of points from MyCPD
• Access requires online login/password (contact the Faculty if you do not have member's access to the Faculty website)

AFOEM 2009 ATM

• Saturday 16 - Sunday 17, May 2009
• James Packer Auditorium, RPA Hospital, Camperdown, NSW
• Full details of program schedule and fees released shortly

AFOEM 2009 ASM

• Tuesday 19 - Wednesday 20 May, 2009
• Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, NSW
• Full details of program schedule and fees released shortly

Invitation From The Dean (RACP)

Dear all,

On Monday 9 March 2009, the World Health Organisation (WHO), Director, Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development, Dr Elizabeth Mason and Marianna Trias, WHO Regional Advisor Western Pacific Region, will hold a seminar at the College. This seminar will focus on WHO Millennium Development Goals for Child & Adolescent Health and WHO regional priorities for Asia Pacific. We will also discuss linkages with WHO.

All Fellows are welcome to attend. There is no fee payable to attend this seminar.

Details are as follows:

• Date: Monday 9 March 2009
• Time: 1.30pm 3.30pm
• Venue: Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Education Centre, Level 8, 52 Phillip Street, Sydney

If you would like to attend please RSVP by Friday 20 February 2009 to Simone Chetcuti, Telephone 02 8247 6236.

Professor Kevin Forsyth
Dean
Royal Australasian College of Physicians

Thank You From Dr Rowe

As some of you may have been aware, an email was circulated earlier this week from Dr James Rowe requesting the kind assistance from Fellows of AFOEM. Dr Rowe would like to thank all those who replied so promptly and provide an update on the situation.

Dr Rowe has decided to decline the referral on the basis that he does not believe the urine sample is a just request.

Nominees: Australian Prescriber

The purpose of the Advisory Editorial Panel is to provide a channel by which comments, views and suggestions and needs of RACP can reach the Editorial Executive Committee. Representatives may be asked to referee or to comment on a matter within their expertise.

• The appointment is for an unspecified time
• The names of the Panel members appear on the back cover of Australian Prescriber
• The first meeting is planned for 19 or 20 March, 2009 in Sydney

Please send nominees to Mary Osborn by Friday 13, Feburary 2009.

Occupational Physician Needed

The Faculty has received a request for an occupational physician within the Port Macquarie, Hunter, or Sydney region. The client/patient requires a physician with a toxicology specialty (RE: an acute environmental toxic episode). Should you be interested in offering your services, please contact the Faculty Office on 02 9256 9603.

Monash Certificate in Clinical Occupational Medicine

June 22-26, 2009 | Melbourne, VIC

The Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health (MonCOEH) offers a five day course for occupational medicine trainees, GPs, and other medical practitioners who assess and manage patients with work-related problems.

The aim and objective of MonCOEH are to provide medical pratitioners with the knowledge and skills to:

• Diagnose and manage common occupational injuries and diseases
• Document and investigate complex and less common problems in occupational medicine
• Perform a medical assessment, including history and examination, aimed at pre-placement, medical surveillance or return to work
• Write a medico-legal report

Enrolments will be capped at 30. The deadline for registrations is Friday 22, May 2009.

Visit the MonCOEH website for further information and registration details, or download the flyer and registration form.

Office of Postgraduate Medical Education

University of Sydney

The Master of Medical Education is aimed at those who have an interest in medical teaching and learning or have an interest in educational research. It has been designed to meet the needs of working healthcare professionals within a professional community.

Download the Flyer

CPD Grant Available For Remote Specialists

The Support Scheme for Rural Specialists (SSRS) is now calling for applications for CPD grants of up to $5,000. These grants are available to support individual medcial specialists access to education and professional learning opportunities, who are living and working in towns and regions classified as Rural Zone 2-3 or Remote Zone 1-2, according to the "Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Areas Classification" (RRMA).

For further information, please visit the SSRS website.

AFOEM Trainee Survey

We have extended the closing date of the trainee survey titled: An Evaluation of AFOEM Training Program.

Our intentions are to seek feedback and comments on what is working and identifying areas of improvement. The survey is of course voluntary. We respect your wish to decline but highly value your responses. Please be aware that the survey is anonymous and any potential identifying information will be treated in strict confidence and de-identified for final results and reports (to be presented at 2009 ATM).

The survey should take 15-25 minutes to complete and it does not have to be done all at once. You may exit and return back to the survey at any time.

Many trainees have already completed the survey and we would like to thank you for your time and effort.

Click here to begin the survey.

Case Studies Needed

The My Medical Career website would like to profile various doctors, junior doctors, registrars and medical students on our website as case studies. We believe real life profiles have a significant impact on the career decision making process.

We would appreciate if you could assist us with the provision of three profiles we could include on the website. An example of how this will be presented on the site can be seen here.

Should you be interested in helping out, fill out the Questionnaire and forward it to Chris Edwards at chris.edwards@metisinternet.com.

ACHS Council

Australian Council on Healthcare Standards

The ACHS has a vacancy on their Council for a Fellow of the Faculty. This important role requires members whose skills include:

• a contemporary knowledge of the quality agenda in health; and
• higher level skills in a health industry related area including, but not limited to, policy development and review, planning, management, clinical care or consumer representation.

If you are interested in further details or nominating for the role, please e-mail the College’s Policy and Advocacy Department at: melinda.keresztes@racp.edu.au 

Other details about the ACHS are available through their website: www.achs.org.au

Closing date: Monday 16 February 2009.

Call For Abstracts

Physicians Week

• Deadline for Physicians Week abstract submission has been extended till Feburary 13, 2009

Senate Select Committee On Men's Health

The Senate has established a Select Committee on Men's Health to inquire into general issues related to the availability and effectiveness of education, supports and services for men’s health. The College has been invited to make a submission to the inquiry.

In particular, the committee will investigate the:

• level of Commonwealth, state and other funding addressing men’s health, particularly prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and depression,
• adequacy of existing education and awareness campaigns regarding men’s health for both men and the wider community,
• prevailing attitudes of men towards their own health and sense of wellbeing and how these are affecting men’s health in general, and
• extent, funding and adequacy for treatment services and general support programs for men’s health in metropolitan, rural, regional and remote areas.

We would greatly appreciate your comments and advice on any aspect of these terms of reference to assist in the formulation of a comprehensive submission on behalf of the College that includes input from the broad range of specialties.

Please forward any comments on these issues to Karen Steadman by February 9th.

National Primary Health Care Strategy Discussion Paper

Towards a National Primary Health Care Strategy.

In June 2008 the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon Nicola Roxon, MP, announced that the Rudd Government would develop a National Primary Health Care Strategy to better tackle the health challenges of the 21st century and make sure that families can get the health care they need.

The Strategy will form a roadmap for the future direction of primary health care in Australia. The development of the Strategy is being undertaken by the Department of Health and Ageing with the assistance of an External Reference Group chaired by Dr Tony Hobbs.

As a first step in developing the Strategy, the Minister launched a Discussion Paper entitled 'Towards a National Primary Health Care Strategy: A Discussion Paper from the Australian Government' which sets out a range of issues for stakeholder consultation, including:

• access issues;
• patient centred care;
• a greater focus on prevention;
• safety and quality;
• information management;
• workforce shortages; and
• fiscal sustainability.

Download the full paper

You will note that each chapter closes with questions for consideration. If you would like to comment on these, or other issues regarding the strategy, please submit your suggestions to Karen Steadman by 18th February, 2009.

Other details regarding the process can be found at health.gov.au/primaryhealthstrategy.