Queensland Medical Women's Society

August Dinner Meeting: Domestic Violence - the tip of the iceberg
2022-08-25 18:50 - 21:00 (Australia/Brisbane) | Queensland
QMWS warmly invites you to our August Dinner Event. Please note this has been changed to an online-only event.
We are delighted that Associate Professor Alka Kothari will present ‘Domestic Violence – the tip of the iceberg’.
About our speaker
Assoc Prof Alka Kothari Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
MBBS MD FRANZCOG DDU Grad Cert EBP (Monash), PhD Candidate
Associate Professor Alka Kothari is a Senior Staff Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and a Conjoint Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland.
Assoc Prof Kothari is currently completing a PhD on ‘Forgotten Fathers in pregnancy and childbirth’ and won the ‘Best Oral presentation’ for this work at the World Congress in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, London, 2019. She has also won various research excellence, leadership and teaching awards in Metro North Hospital and Health Service as well as University of Queensland. She has published multiple research papers in international and national journals. She is regularly invited to speak at international and national conferences for various specialist colleges including the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal Australian College of Anaesthetists, and The Society of Obstetric Medicine of Australia. She is passionate about encouraging multi-disciplinary research, especially in Perinatal mental health, Women’s imaging, Medical education and Mental health and well-being.
Assoc Prof Kothari is an active member of the Prince Charles Human Research and Ethics Committee and provides research supervision and guidance to higher degree candidates and medical, nursing, allied health trainees. She also provides guidance as a Board member and Clinical Advisory and Governance Committee member to several non-government organisations. Assoc Prof Kothari has also recently been elected as the Greater Brisbane Area Representative for the Australian Medical Association of Queensland.
Download the flyer here.

May Dinner Meeting - Leading from the Front with Dr Kim Hansen
2022-05-19 18:30 - 21:00 (Australia/Brisbane) | United Service Club, 183 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, Queensland, Australia
QMWS invites you to our May Dinner Event.
We are delighted that Dr Kim Hansen will present ‘Leading from the Front – An emergency physician’s journey through COVID-19. working in the front line and advocating for patients and doctors.
Please be aware that regulations at United Service Club require all in-person attendees be immunised against COVID-19.
About our speaker – Dr Kim Hansen MBBS (Hons I) MBA FACEM GAICD FRACMA
Dr Kim Hansen is the Director of Virtual Emergency Department in Metro North and the Director of Critical Care, Women’s and Children’s Health at Redcliffe Hospital. She was previously the Director of St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital Emergency Department as well as holding a public role at The Prince Charles Hospital. Born and bred in Brisbane, Kim is a UQ graduate who has worked in a variety of settings throughout Queensland, Victoria, England and Chile.
Kim is passionate about high quality care being accessible for patients and streamlined for clinicians. She is Chair of AMAQ’s Ramping Roundtable, Chair of the Board of Emergency Medicine Foundation, ACEM’s Queensland Faculty Chair and is the inaugural Chair of Advancing Women in Emergency. Kim has published and presented on a broad range of topics including Incident Reporting, ED Crowding, Cognitive Bias and Gender Equity and enjoys discussing this work over a cup of tea or glass of New Zealand wine.
Other than work, Kim is a Mum to 3 school-aged girls and a Cobberdog. She has recently resurrected a long lost dream of a career in sport, so currently plays or coaches basketball most days.

"The Best of our Committee" & 2022 AGM - February Meeting
2022-02-22 18:50 - 21:00 (Australia/Brisbane) | Queensland
QMWS warmly invite you to join us for our first dinner event for 2022!
Due to timing coinciding with the anticipated COVID-19 Omicron peak case numbers in Brisbane, the event will be held online only.
An exciting line-up of guest speakers includes past and present QMWS Committee members. Members are welcome to stay on for the Annual General Meeting to follow.
We are delighted to present as our speakers:

Dr Dana Phang – Podcast founder: Junior Doctor’s Corner
Dr Natasha Abeysekera – AMAQ Council of Doctors in Training
Dr Jessica Witherspoon – Melanoma in youth
Serena Chern – Advocacy to the Queensland Government Office for Women

Join us at 6.50pm for 7pm start.

Sponsored by Avant Mutual

Tickets available via Humanitix using this link or scan the QR code:

Raffle tickets are on sale NOW and support the QMWS Student Bursary program.
Tickets available here or scan the QR code:

Meet our speakers
Dr Dana Phang

Dr Dana Phang is currently a GP Fellow on the Sunshine Coast. She graduated from Griffith University Medical School in 2016. Dana founded Junior Doctor’s Corner podcast in 2018 whilst she was a junior house officer in Brisbane. The podcast was created in response to the lack of support medical students and junior doctors received in the workplace. Now over 50 episodes in, Junior Doctor’s Corner has listeners from all over the world and has helped many junior doctors feel less alone in their workplace struggles/challenges.
Dr Natasha Abeysekera

Dr Abeysekera was the 2021 AMA QLD CDT Co-Chair, President of the RBWH RMO Society, and in 2022 will be working at the RBWH as a General Surgery PHO. Natasha is also completing her Masters of Public Health at the University of Queensland. Last year she had many accomplishments including pioneering the first ever Self-Care September event. Tash has a passion for improving DiT mental health, self-care, and medical sustainability.
Dr Jessica Witherspoon

The QMWS Secretary, Jessica, trained at Griffith University. She is a General Practitioner and an aspiring Dermatologist, starting on the dermatology training program in April. Jessica has worked as an honorary registrar and Mohs surgical assistant in dermatology. Her research in dermatology includes multiple clinical trials as a Sub-Investigator at Veracity Clinical Research. She is currently coordinating a large Perineural Invasion Skin Cancer Registry research project to develop guidelines for the management of this condition. She has presented at a number of conferences nationally and internationally. She enjoys participating in research, community service and teaching roles. In General practice she has varied experience in private, bulk-billing and indigenous health care.
Jessica has an undergraduate degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering. She has experience as an executive on various committees including the Griffith University Medical Society, Australian Medical Students Association and Ipswich Hospital Junior Doctors Society. She enjoys the collegiality and support of these societies and is excited to be a part of QMWS.
Serena Chern

Serena is a second-year medical student and Griffith University Representative for QMWS. She is actively involved in research and humanitarian projects and strives to contribute to the community at university and beyond. In 2020, she represented Australia at the 2nd Peace Summit for Emerging Leaders at the United Nations Conference Centre in Thailand. Serena aspires to help achieve human rights, and contribute to gender and rural health equity. In 2021, she was honored to attend the Queensland Government Youth Forum as part of our consultation for a new Queensland Women’s Strategy with the Queensland Government Office for Women.

2021 Christmas Party
2021-11-28 16:00 - 19:00 (Australia/Brisbane) | Medley Cafe, 61 Wharf St, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, Queensland, 4169, Australia
Join us on November 28 to reflect on 2021 and ‘look to the future’ at the beautiful riverside Medley Cafe at Kangaroo Point.
Don’t miss out! Get your ticket via Humanitix (use the QR code).
https://qld.afmw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/09/Looking-to-the-Future-video-1.mp4
Guest speaker is Dr Jennifer Schafer, Medical Director of the Queensland Doctors’ Health Programme.

Dr Schafer’s clinical career spans almost 40 years, including more than 30 years as a general practitioner, as well as roles in medical education (UQ Faculty of Medicine), clinical research (Wesley Medical Research), and medical reporting (Channel 9). Dr Schafer continues to serve as Patron of the University of Queensland Medical Society. Dr Schafer also has a special interest in leadership and management, emerging from post-graduate study at UQ and QUT Business Schools, and experience working as the Academic Lead for the UQ Medical Leadership Program. She is currently Deputy Chair of the Board for Brisbane North Primary Health Network, and is a member of the Governance Committee. She has been a Director on the Board of Arthritis Queensland since 2016, and serves as Chair of the Community Advisory Group.
Raffle supporting 2022 QMWS Student Bursaries
More than $1000 worth in prizes up for grabs so don’t miss out! Get your tickets here: https://rafflelink.com.au/qmwschristmas2021

1st Prize: Libertine Parfumerie Masterclass voucher valued at $588
2nd Prize: Voucher for Deep Grey Photography valued at $250
3rd Prize: Skincare gift pack and consultation valued at $100
4th Prize: $50 voucher for Medley Cafe at Kangaroo Point
5th Prize: $50 voucher for Medley Cafe at Kangaroo Point

Re:Set Online Masterclass Self Compassion
2021-11-20 15:00 - 18:00 (Australia/Brisbane) | Queensland
Burnt Out? Suffering from Compassion fatigue?
Re:Set
Re:Cover
Re:Build
Re:Start
Working with Self-Compassion during and after Covid-19.
So far Australia has managed to avoid the worst of the Covid pandemic. However, the pressure on our healthcare system keeps increasing. There is much uncertainty, especially with the new Covid variants and lockdowns. This is increasing burnout among doctors and many of us are feeling compassion fatigued.
In this 3-hour online Masterclass Re:Set you will learn the tools to:

Help you Recover. What difficult things are you currently encountering? What is draining your energy? What still needs your attention?
Help you Rebuild. What have you learned from the past year? What is really important to you? What do you absolutely need for yourself?
And Start Change. What do you want to keep? What do you want to change? And how do you get it right?

Self-Compassion is a ‘source of wisdom’. Self-Compassion means treating yourself as you would treat a good friend. Research has shown that Self-Compassion decreases stress, anxiety, depression, Burnout and Compassion Fatigue, and improves resilience, self-care, engagement, wellbeing and quality of care in doctors and other healthcare workers.
Together with a group of likeminded women doctors you will be working on your personal Re:Set in a positive, warm and inspiring way so that you can continue to work with calm strength and meaningful energy and enjoy life!
Facilitated by Dr Marga Gooren. Marga has worked as a General Practitioner in The Netherlands and China for ten years. She switched careers in 2010 and now helps (female) doctors to live a balanced, satisfying and meaningful life through her individual coaching, training and writing. She has published two books in Dutch: ‘Heart for the Doctor, working with Self-Compassion’ (2020) and ‘Resilience for female physicians’ (2021), which are in the process of being translated into English.
Proudly sponsored by Avant Mutual.
Avant has a proud heritage of protecting the medical profession and is Australia’s leading medical defence organisation, representing over 75,000 healthcare practitioners and students across every state and territory.
We remain a mutual organisation, serving members, not shareholders, ensuring they are always at the heart of everything we do.
https://www.avant.org.au/
Tickets on sale via Humanitix: https://events.humanitix.com/re-set-online-masterclass-self-compassion

AMA Women in Medicine Breakfast 2021
2021-10-07 07:00 - 09:00 (Australia/Brisbane) | Victoria Park Golf Club, 309 Herston Rd, Herston, Qld, Australia
Join QMWS at the 2021 AMA Women in Medicine Breakfast.
The morning will be chaired by Dr Mellissa Naidoo who will be joined by panelists Associate Professor Rhea Liang and Dr Alex Markwell.
More information on the event, chair and panelists is available here.
Contact the QMWS Secretary, Dr Jessica Witherspoon, at secretary[dot]qmws[at]gmail[dot]com to join the QMWS table.

Re:Set Online Masterclass Self Compassion
2021-09-11 15:00 - 18:00 (Australia/Brisbane) | Queensland
Burnt Out? Suffering from Compassion fatigue?
Re:Set
Re:Cover
Re:Build
Re:Start
Working with Self-Compassion during and after Covid-19.
So far Australia has managed to avoid the worst of the Covid pandemic. However, the pressure on our healthcare system keeps increasing. There is much uncertainty, especially with the new Covid variants and lockdowns. This is increasing burnout among doctors and many of us are feeling compassion fatigued.
In this 3-hour online Masterclass Re:Set you will learn the tools to:

Help you Recover. What difficult things are you currently encountering? What is draining your energy? What still needs your attention?
Help you Rebuild. What have you learned from the past year? What is really important to you? What do you absolutely need for yourself?
And Start Change. What do you want to keep? What do you want to change? And how do you get it right?

Self-Compassion is a ‘source of wisdom’. Self-Compassion means treating yourself as you would treat a good friend. Research has shown that Self-Compassion decreases stress, anxiety, depression, Burnout and Compassion Fatigue, and improves resilience, self-care, engagement, wellbeing and quality of care in doctors and other healthcare workers.
Together with a group of likeminded women doctors you will be working on your personal Re:Set in a positive, warm and inspiring way so that you can continue to work with calm strength and meaningful energy and enjoy life!
Facilitated by Dr Marga Gooren. Marga has worked as a General Practitioner in The Netherlands and China for ten years. She switched careers in 2010 and now helps (female) doctors to live a balanced, satisfying and meaningful life through her individual coaching, training and writing. She has published two books in Dutch: ‘Heart for the Doctor, working with Self-Compassion’ (2020) and ‘Resilience for female physicians’ (2021), which are in the process of being translated into English.
Proudly sponsored by Avant Mutual.
Avant has a proud heritage of protecting the medical profession and is Australia’s leading medical defence organisation, representing over 75,000 healthcare practitioners and students across every state and territory.
We remain a mutual organisation, serving members, not shareholders, ensuring they are always at the heart of everything we do.
https://www.avant.org.au/

Time for Reform of the Mental Health System
2021-08-19 18:30 - 21:30 (Australia/Brisbane) | United Services Club, 183 Wickham Terrace, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Please join QMWS for our August Dinner Meeting.
The event will feature guest speaker Prof Christel Middeldorp, Child and Youth Psychiatrist and is sponsored by Eve Health, providers of excellence in women’s healthcare since 2007.
More information available below.
Tickets available now via Humanitix. RSVP by August 5 for early bird tickets.
Date/time: 6.30pm for 7pm, August 19.
Location: United Services Club, 183 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill. Parking available onsite.

May Dinner Meeting - Celebrating United Nations
2021-05-27 19:00 - 21:30 (Australia/Brisbane) | United Services Club, 183 Wickham Terrace, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
The theme for our May dinner meeting is “Celebrating United Nations”. We are so excited to have three special guest speakers for the night – Jillann Farmer, Brendan Rook & Dr Helena Franco.
Thursday 27th May 2021
7:00pm
United Services Club
183 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill QLD 4000
Members $45
Non-members $65
Students $25
Zoom $5
Tickets on sale now at https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/145960392463
RSVP before May 13 – don’t miss out!
Download the flyer here.

2021 AGM + Dinner Meeting "Post Traumatic Growth"
2021-02-18 19:00 - 22:00 (Australia/Brisbane) | United Services Club, 183 Wickham Terrace, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Join us on Thursday, Feb 18, for our 2021 AGM and first Dinner Meeting for the new year.
Download the event flyer here.
Date/time: Feb 18, 7pm start.
Location: United Services Club, 183 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill.
Tickets: Members $45, Non-members $65, Students $25.
RSVP by Friday, 12th February 2021
Dress: Smart Casual.
RSVP here
Please feel free to bring a medical colleague/ friend at member’s price!
Our evening will be on the topic “Post Traumatic Growth” and will feature guest speaker David Roland. Mr Roland has a PhD in clinical psychology and an honorary associate with the University Centre for Rural Health at the University of Sydney. He is a founding member of Compassionate Mind Australia and author of “The Power of Suffering”. Copies of the book will be available on the evening, along with book signing by Mr Roland.
Our Annual General Meeting will be conducted towards the end of the evening, featuring:
– President’s report: Dr Ira van der Steenstraten
– Secretary’s report: Dr Catherine Choi
– Treasurer’s report: Dr Natasha Abeysekera
– Nomination and election of committee positions
We always welcome new committee members and encourage nomination of people who are enthusiastic and willing to be involved. If you would like any further details regarding any of the positions or the nomination form, please contact us via email using this link.
To join QMWS now as a member, click here.
In the event COVID-19 restrictions prevent us meeting in person, the meeting will proceed as an online event using Zoom.
For more information, please feel free to email Dr Catherine Choi (QMWS Secretary) using this link.

2019 Christmas Party
2019-12-01 17:00 - 20:00 UTC | Medley Cafe, 61 Wharf St, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, Queensland, 4169, Australia
Celebrate a fantastic 2019 at Medley Cafe!
Join us for canapes and a drink overlooking the Brisbane River and Story Bridge.
Members: $20.00
Students: $20.00
Non-members: $40.00

Music and Medicine QMWS Dinner
2019-10-29 18:30 - 21:30 UTC | United Services Club, 183 Wickham Terrace, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Music and Medicine
Register now
Please join QMWS for our fourth and final dinner meeting for 2019, on the topic ‘Music meets Medicine’.
Special guests include Drs Di Khursandi, Lily Vrtik, and Esther Andrews.

AMAQ Women in Medicine Breakfast
2019-10-17 07:00 - 09:00 UTC | Victoria Park Golf Club, 309 Herston Rd, Herston, Qld, Australia
Please register your interest to join the QMWS Table at this event with the QMWS secretary using this email link so we can start collecting names for the AMA Breakfast.

Celebrate QMWS' 90th Anniversary at the NCWQ Bursary High Tea
2019-10-10 09:45 - 14:00 UTC | Tattersall’s Club, 215 Queen Street, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Join QMWS committee and members at the National Council of Women Queensland’s annual Bursaries Fund-raising Morning Tea and Fashion Parade. This year will recognise the 90th Anniversary of the Queensland Medical Women’s Society.
Please come along, hear from bursary recipients and enable us to continue the program – to enable, educate and empower women.
Further programme details for the NCWQ Bursary High Tea – to celebrate Queensland Medical Women and the 90th Anniversary of QMWS – will be forthcoming soon.
In the mean time, QMWS welcomes and encourages any contributions (photos, vignettes, suggestions and stories about Queensland medical women) for the for the programme.
Please forward these to QMWS Secretary by email using this link.
RSVP using this NCWQ High Tea Response Form.

Doctors' Wellness Retreat Weekend at Mission Beach
2019-09-28 - 2019-09-29 | Sanctuary Retreat, Mission Beach, 72 Holt Rd, Garners Beach, MISSION BEACH, Queensland, 4870, Australia
Join us on September 28 and 29 at Mission beach for the Far North Queensland Lady Doctors’ Association’s annual conference. With a “Wellness” theme this year, it will be a weekend of eco-immersive escape.
Wellness comes in many forms, so the conference aims to be holistic – with talks, intelligent conversations, debate, laughter and levity, and the time and space to connect with colleagues and with nature. There will be opportunity for individual pursuits – to greet the sunrise over adjacent Brookes Beach, or relax, or explore the rainforest walking trails and wildlife. A qualified Yoga Therapist will conduct a session on Sunday.
For the a copy of the conference program and more information on the accommodation, click here.
To book your spot, click here.

Brisbane Women's Club Movie Fundraiser
2019-09-19 17:30 - 20:30 UTC | Palace Barracks Cinema, 61 Petrie Terrace, Paddington, Queensland, Australia

Queensland Doctors' Health Programme Inaugural Art Exhibition - Connectedness
2019-09-11 - 2019-09-21 | Aspire Gallery, 53 Kennedy Terrace, Paddington, Queensland, Australia
