CPMC National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Medical ...

The College’s inaugural Indigenous Health ForumThe College’s inaugural Indigenous Health Forum washeld at the RACS Annual Scientific Congress on the 8 May.The programme comprised retrospective and prospective viewsfrom both sides on the Tasman Sea.Two knights of the realm– Dame Anne Salmondand Sir Mason Durieaddressed the Maori and NewZealand perspective while A/Prof. Shaun Ewen and Dr JacobOllapallil took the responsibilityfor the Australian Indigenousaspect.Dame Anne Salmond is NewZealander of the Year andis highly respected for hercollaborative work with eldersof the Te Whaanau-a-Apanuiand Ngati Porou Maori tribes onissues of Maori life. Sir MasonDurie is a member of theRangitane and Ngati Kauwhata(Maori) tribes. He has beenactively engaged in mentalhealth research and policyfor more than two decades,and in 1993 established aMaori Health Research Centrethat has provided nationalleadership in outcomesresearch and research intomental health service delivery.Shaun Ewen holds manyleadership positions, includingbeing the inaugural AssociateDean (Indigenous Development)Faculty of Medicine, Dentistryand Health Sciences at theUniversity of Melbourne. Shaunshared many of his experiencesand views gained throughworking with the medicalspecialties in Indigenous healthsyllabus development. OllapallilJacob is well known across theCollege for his tireless work asa trauma surgeon, particularlywith Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslanders patients in CentralAustralia. His continuedchampioning of, and passionfor, Indigenous health is to begreatly admired and respected.The presentations delivered bythese distinguished guests putinto perspective the reasonswhy our First Nation peopleshave experienced, and continueto endure, such devastatinghealth outcomes whencompared with non-Indigenouscommunities in Australia andAoteora New Zealand.“Their perspectiveson the futureincluded reflectionson interpersonalrelations, the currentpolitical climate and,more importantly, theamazing work beingdone acrossthe College and in thewider community inthe field of Indigenoushealth and how thiscan inspire us to dobetter”.The forum was one of manyRACS Indigenous healthinitiatives at this year’scongress. The convocationceremony saw a significantMaori presence with formalspeeches and songs in Maoriafter an impressive challengefrom a Maori warrior. CollegePresident Michael Hollandsrose perfectly to that andpunctuated his response withMaori phrases which impressedall. A major highlight was theconvocation of two Maorigraduates, Maxine Ronald ourfirst Maori female surgeon,and Vaughan Poutawera. Wecongratulate them on thiswonderful achievement.The College is delighted withthe success of our inauguralforum and will work to ensureIndigenous health is a regularfeature of the RACS annualscientific meeting.For further information onRACS work in Indigenoushealth please visitRoyal Australasian College ofSurgeons | Indigenous HealthCommittee or contact the IHCSecretariat on 03-92767407CPMC NATSIMSFP Newsletter | July 2013 | Page 17