ANZCA Council meeting update - February 2023

17 March 2023

Read a report of the ANZCA Council meeting held from 17-18 February in Melbourne.

Information about ANZCA Council and its committees can be found here.

Council welcomed the New Zealand National Committee chair Dr Graham Roper, Queensland Regional Committee chair Associate Professor Paul Lee-Archer, and ANZCA Trainee Committee Co-chair Dr Alec Beresford to its internal and open sessions.   

Council was also pleased to welcome and hear updates from the following specialist medical colleges and societies. The New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists President, Dr Morgan Edwards, the Australian Society of Anaesthetists President, Dr Andrew Miller, and the Society for Paediatric Anaesthesia Vice president, Dr Tanya Farrell.

 

Corporate services

Council noted the following:

  • November and December 2022 financial reports.
  • Risk register report.
  • Operational Plan 2022.
  • Strategic Plan 2023-2025.

Education and training

CPD
Changes to continuing professional development (CPD) begin this year. Congratulations to CPD Chair Dr Debra Devonshire and her team for managing this transition so well.

Council was asked to note the launch of the 2023 ANZCA and FPM CPD Program and the recent work of the CPD-RPG.

Diplomas
The Diploma of Rural Generalist Anaesthesia (DipRGA) will commence its first intake of trainees in February with the inaugural state support officers recently appointed by council.

The Diploma of Perioperative Medicine (DipPOM) is due to begin in late 2023 with topic areas 1 and 2 now in development. More than 150 applicants have applied for grandparenting via the recognition pathway and are being processed.
Once approved, this cohort will form the inaugural leaders of the POM diploma.

There is also a lot of activity in developing the professional documents, regulations, economic/value propositions, clinical attachments, and advocacy strategies.

Lifelong Learning
Implementation of the new ePortfolio with Risr is under way for the pain medicine training program and the DipRGA.

Council was asked to note the project progress and continue to provide strategic oversight.
 
PESC/FESC
Council was asked to note the appointment of examiners and advisory members to the primary and final exam subcommittees.

AMC and MCNZ Reaccreditation
In 2022, the college underwent full Australian Medical Council (AMC) and Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) reaccreditation.

Completed once every 10 years, full reaccreditation involves development of a written submission addressing the 10 AMC and MCNZ accreditation standards and stakeholder consultation by the reaccreditation assessment panel. 

As a result of this process, the college has been reaccredited for the maximum period of six years. The panel delivered a draft accreditation report assessing the college against the standards, which included commendations, conditions, and recommendations. The final report will be made public in March 2023.

Next steps for the college include planning to address the conditions and submitting monitoring reports to the AMC. 
 

Professional Affairs

The directors of professional affairs (DPA) assessors have cleared all fellowship and exam applications received over January, as well as assessing and advising on applications for grandparenting for DipPOM and DipRGA.

Orton Medal
Council congratulated Dr Amanda Baric as the 2022 Robert Orton Medal recipient. Dr Baric will be awarded this medal at the 2023 ANZCA Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) in Sydney.

Councill discussed and noted the work being undertaken for the 2023 and 2024 ASM and approved the appointment of Professor Daniel Martin OBE as the 2024 ANZCA ASM visitor.

Purpose statement
Councillors approved the ANZCA purpose statement (to replace the mission statement) to “Our purpose is to serve our communities by leading high quality care in anaesthesia, perioperative and pain medicine, optimising health and reducing the burden of pain.”
 

Regulation Amendments

Regulation 3 - Regional Committees of ANZCA Council and terms of reference

Council discussed and approved the updates to regulation 3, regional committees of ANZCA and the terms of reference.  The changes are intended to encourage greater participation in the regional committees, ensuring that smaller regions can adapt to and meet the challenges of engaging with smaller fellow and trainee cohorts and allow for flexibility in managing workloads and activities at a regional level.

Regulation 2 – SIMG Committee membership

Council approved the amendments to regulation 2 and noted they are required because of changes to FPM roles. With the increase in the number of FPM SIMGs, there is a need to increase the minimum number of FPM fellow members on the SIMG Committee.
 

Honours, appointments and higher degrees

Councillors noted the following FANZCA:

Dr Geoffrey Dobb, who is also a fellow of the College of Intensive Care Medicine, was recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to intensive care medicine and professional associations. Dr Dobb is head of the intensive care unit at Royal Perth Hospital and a board member of the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards and the WA Child and Adolescent Health Service.

Dr Vernon Moo, who has been honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to medicine as an anaesthetist is based in Brisbane. He works as a senior visiting specialist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and privately through Gabba Anaesthesia. He has practised in Australia, the UK and Antarctica and has volunteered for more than 50 missions with Interplast Australia and New Zealand, Operation Smile and other charities. He has also served in the Royal Australian Navy on peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. 

Councillors also congratulated Associate Professor Forbes McGain on being appointed Associate Dean (Healthcare Sustainability) in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne.  
 

Condolences

Councillors noted the passing of colleagues Dr Victor Yeo (Hong Kong), Dr Arthur Penberthy (VIC), Dr Graham Murray (NSW), Dr Sandy Zalstein (Tas), Dr Diana Cooper (NSW), and Associate Professor Vic Callanan (Qld).
 


Last updated 10:37 17.03.2023