PRESIDENT'S WORD Perfect timing Investment in healthcare should always be a top priority – even more so as we look at the long-term impacts of COVID-19, which include delayed patient presentations and opportunities to change the way we practice. Some might view taking leadership of a medical organisation during a once in a century global [...]

FROM THE CEO The Q_ad_uple Aim What’s missing? U R. Creating policies without input from medical practitioners misses out on a very important piece of healthcare puzzle. OVER RECENT months, COVID has given the world an appreciation of the vulnerability of humans. People all over the planet are also acknowledging the role of medical professionals [...]

SPOTLIGHT Supporting you with Workplace Relations Our experienced Workplace Relations Team provides comprehensive assistance to doctors-in-training, VMOs, staff specialists, private practice doctors, GP and non-GP specialists. We equip members with knowledge, resources, and support in a range of areas, including employment and workplace relations, practice management, and medico-legal issues. We engage in industrial action and [...]

DOCTORS-IN-TRAINING Health & Wellbeing on Rotation Working away from established supports can affect your health and wellbeing and heighten risks at work. MANY YEARS of working with doctors and assisting them through employment and Medical Council processes highlights for me the importance of making, looking after, and maintaining professional and personal connections during a doctor’s [...]

DOCTORS-IN-TRAINING Navigating Training and Employment Navigating employment arrangements can be difficult at any time, but when you add the requirements of a vocational training program it becomes even more complex. THE FOLLOWING is an overview of some of the policies you should be aware of during your training. Please remember each training program has its [...]

DOCTORS-IN-TRAINING DITs Fight the Wage Freeze While many are doing it tough, NSW DITs already face some of the poorest working conditions in the country, writes DITC  Co-Chair, Dr James Lawler. THIS YEAR I had decided to start working part-time so I could spend more time with my two-year-old daughter and to support my partner, [...]

VISITING MEDICAL OFFICERS Public Patient Surgery in Private Hospitals In situations where elective surgery can be outsourced to private hospitals, VMOs should be provided with the opportunity to negotiate arrangements that ensure appropriate indemnity arrangements are in place and there is appropriate cover and resourcing available to them and their patients. AS COVID-19 patient numbers [...]

PRIVATE PRACTICE Post Job Keeper: What Happens Next? Private practice owners face further uncertainty as the September deadline to pull back on temporary subsidies draws near. AT THE TIME of writing, we are just over halfway along the JobKeeper timeline. Introduced 30 March 2020, the temporary subsidy of $1,500 a fortnight per worker for eligible [...]

PRIVATE PRACTICE Good Telemedicine We have an opportunity to make telemedicine a permanent fixture of quality healthcare in Australia, and welcome new restrictions to ensure it isn’t abused. THE AMA has successfully lobbied the Federal Government to tighten rules around telemedicine in a bid to prevent ‘pop-up’ telehealth services, including those linked to pharmacies, from [...]

GENERAL PRACTICE Vaccine Supply and Distribution Concerns The supply and distribution of flu vaccines this year has been significantly challenging for general practitioners. COVID-19 complexities have exacerbated known challenges, highlighted deficiencies in systems, and created more difficulties than experienced in previous years. AMA (NSW) is working with NSW Health to address vaccine supply and distribution [...]

FEATURE Off the Beaten Path What started with a dozen people looking for like-minded individuals to discuss the road less travelled in medicine has ballooned into a community of thousands of medical professionals who share one common goal – the creation of a rewarding and fulfilling career. JUST TWO YEARS in and Creative Careers in [...]

COLUMN Racism in Health Improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait people must start with combating racism and racial discrimination, writes Dr Gabrielle O’Kane, CEO of the National Rural Health Alliance. BLACK LIVES MATTER protests in the United States have shone a spotlight on racial inequality across the world, and Australia is no exception. [...]

COLUMN Engaging with Media Looking to create awareness about a particular health issue or advocacy campaign? Media Mentor’s Director, Heidi Buchanan, shares insider tips on how to talk so journalists listen. THE MORE we know about how the media think, operate, and what we can do to meet their needs, the better the outcome we [...]

CLASSIFIEDS Classifieds - July / August 2020 FRENCHS FOREST - MEDICAL PRECINCT  BUS AT DOOR, 4 CAR SPACES “Forest Central” Building 5, Suite 3&4 49 Frenchs Forest Road, Frenchs Forest 247 SQM of Prestigious office area –Close to Northern Beaches Hospital We are prepared to do an attractive deal for the right tenant. Please contact [...]

NEWS AMA (NSW) Board of Directors AMA (NSW) announced the Board of Directors for 2020 - 2021 and welcomes its third-female President and two new members – Dr Kathryn Austin and Dr Sanjay Hettige. NOMINATIONS to the AMA (NSW) Board and Office Bearers closed in May. Dr Danielle McMullen was elected, uncontested, as President of [...]

GOLF EVENTS A long & rich history Large golf gatherings have been on hold during COVID, but the long and rich history of the AMA (NSW) Golf Society suggests golf events will be back. THE AMA (NSW) Golf Society had its beginnings early in 1989 following the election of Dr Bruce Shepherd as AMA (NSW) [...]

CUTCHER & NEALE Financial Paracetamol Welcome to the July edition of Financial Paracetamol. In this issue: The way forward... The health industry has gone through significant disruption over the last few months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth Can it be a permanent way of delivering healthcare in the future? Has the JobKeeper [...]