Let us be exceptional and courageous

I would like to once again welcome members and non-members to the annual non-member issue of The NSW Doctor. The non-member edition gives us the chance to showcase the work of the AMA to all doctors and to provide a sense of the value we offer.

The non-member issue also gives us a chance to reflect on what it is to be the AMA. I have worked for the AMA for nearly 20 years and over this period I have had plenty of time to reflect on what the AMA does and what the AMA stands for.

The first obvious reflection is that the AMA is an organisation that matters – matters to doctors, matters to politicians and matters to the media. We have exceptional brand recognition, whether we are saying something good – or occasionally when we say something stupid – it’s still news. There is no other organisation that can claim the same reach and profile.

The next thing is that the AMA is an organisation that stands up for what it believes in. In this edition, we remind all doctors of the important battle waged about medical indemnity over a decade ago. This battle was the work of hundreds, and in the end thousands of doctors stood up for the profession, and more importantly for patients. At the time of the medical indemnity battle, the AMA was accused of self-interest. It was all too easy to say that the issues related to well-paid doctors who should have been able to absorb the costs of increased indemnity. However, the solution negotiated by the AMA has delivered lasting benefits to the health system as a whole, not just for doctors.

The benefit has been long-term, lasting stability. An obstetrician managing a complex high risk pregnancy or the paediatric neurosurgeon operating on a newborn can have a sense of certainty about the protections that will be available if he or she needs them in 25 years. It is easy to say that changing the system now will just be a natural evolution to reflect a changing market. While that may be a fair observation, when it comes to medical indemnity, my fear will always be the slow pulling of the thread – it is not the quiet moments where the changes start, but the potential that those small changes could take us back to the instability of the past. We know medical indemnity is one of the most important parts of medical practice and this is accordingly a risk we will manage with the greatest of caution.

The AMA also stands for patients. I believe the AMA can be the most effective voice for protecting the health of all Australians. We speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, whether that is children who have suffered the horrors of child abuse or asylum seekers. We fight for progressive climate policies and safer and healthier cities. We are seeking to hold the Government to account to address the leading health crisis of our time – obesity. We are at our best when we do these things.

Finally, the AMA stands for doctors. We stand for making it easier to run a practice – we know the things that keep doctors awake in the middle of the night (aside from patients) and we are there to help. We offer wonderful commercial benefits, all directed at making life easier.

The AMA is a truly exceptional organisation, representing an exceptional profession. We are brave and we stand up even when it is hard, because that’s what doctors do.