We are now in the final quarter of the 2018-2020 triennium.
At the end of this triennium, the new triennium’s council will be elected at the virtual ‘face to face’ Triennial General Meeting of AFMW to be held on November 7. Keep an eye out for the official AGM notification and call for council position nominations in the coming weeks. These will come to you via email and will be available on the website (qld.afmw.org.au).
AFMW is now conducting weekly Saturday afternoon ‘Open Forums’. These provide opportunities for members to discuss matters that are current and affecting medical women and communities we serve. Recent topics have included:
– New concepts in PPE featuring guest speaker Professor Raina MacIntyre from the University of New South Wales
– “The Care Economy” and working group preparation of the AFMW COVID-19 Statements 1 and 2.
– COVID-19 and General Practice. At this event we heard breathtaking first-hand accounts of the creative and inspiring ways colleagues are supporting communities across the country.
– ‘Black Lives Matter’. As a result of this meeting, AFMW have taken out membership of the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association. We encourage all individuals to do the same. AFMW is currently working on a ‘Reflect’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
– ‘Indigenous Engagement’ with guest speaker Professor Bronwyn Fredericks, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland. Professor Fredericks provided excellent input into our RAP.
– An introduction to Young AFMW.
– Flexible and part-time training. Guest speaker Dr Elysia Robb, VMWS member and GP Registrar, spoke about starting the VMWS Job Share Database (vic.afmw.org.au/part-time-training). Dr Casey Nottage, Deputy Director of BendigoHealth, spoke about her flexible training pathway which included a 6 month internship at the World Health Organisation.
AFMW is also reviewing our governance procedures. This includes a revision of the constitution to ensure it meets our needs and legal obligations. We will present this to all members in the coming weeks for your input. In addition, AFMW voted at the August Council meeting to PinkSparrow (www.pinksparrow.com.au), an Australian charity, to conduct a governance evaluation pro bono. We look forward to reporting back on progress of this at the AGM.
The Western Pacific Region of MWIA was to hold a meeting in South Korea in October. Due to pandemic restrictions, this will now be a virtual meeting held on October 10th . All AFMW members are. The event will include both the Business Meeting and COVID-19 Scientific Symposium. The region has started a Young Western Pacific Region of MWIA special interest group (Young WPR MWIA) open to medical students and doctors younger than 40 yrs of age. For more information please email Marissa at [email protected].
Upcoming events:
– October 10: Western Pacific Regional meeting of MWIA. This will be a virtual
meeting to which all are invited as observers.
– November 7: AFMW virtual Council meeting, AGM and Triennial General Meeting
For more information:
– Check out the AFMW website or contact AFMW Secretary Dr Marjorie Cross OAM
– Check out the QMWS website or contact QMWS Secretary Dr Catherine Choi
Author: Dr Marissa Daniels
