ANZCA Bulletin June 2012 - final.pdf - Australian and New Zealand ...

President’smessageDr Lindy RobertsPresident, ANZCAThere are two particularly special aspects forme in taking over as president of the Collegeat this time. The first is that the handoveroccurred at the recent successful ASM in myhometown, Perth. The second is that thisyear marks the 20th anniversary of ANZCAand it is also 20 years since I first joined theCollege as a trainee.As the incoming president, I am likeall our Fellows, driven by the notions ofexcellence, care and collaboration. Anexample of this is through leadership of thecurriculum review process where we useda coalface-up approach, seeking the viewsof Fellows and trainees about the existingtraining program, to build a world-classcurriculum that is nearly ready to be rolledout. We have another opportunity at thistime as the College and its Faculty of PainMedicine define the plans and direction forthe five years from 2013 to 2017.It is important that College leaders seekthe views of Fellows and trainees and usethat feedback wisely – the best leaders Ihave known have forged the directions oftheir organisations from listening to theirconstituents. As part of the planning for thenext five years, there has been a series ofways in which Fellows and trainees havehad a voice. These include the consultationprocess and hospital visits being undertakenby ANZCA Chief Executive Officer LindaSorrell, the outcomes of the 2010 Fellowshipsurvey, the 2011 New Zealand roadshowundertaken by Dr Vanessa Beavis, and the2012 curriculum survey targeting heads ofdepartment, regional/national educationofficers, supervisors of training and trainees.Thank you to all who have shared their views.So what are you saying? These are someof the key messages:• Our core purposes remain training,education, accreditation, standards ofclinical service delivery for all sectionsof our communities; services for Fellowssuch as continuing education, continuingprofessional development, the libraryand other resources; advocacy to thewider community and government in theinterests of high quality patient care andsafety; and promotion and support forevidence-based practice through researchand education.• As a College we have many strengths.These include the training program andthe quality of our graduates, our growingeducational resources, and publications.We are a credible, professionalorganisation that has the tremendousbenefit of Fellows’ capabilities andcontributions; along with staff knowledgeand resources.• We can improve in a number of areas,particularly in our relationships withand services to our Fellows and trainees,including acknowledgement of andsupport for their contributions. Our mainchallenges over the next few years willbe those of health sector and workforcereform; implementing the revisedcurriculum; ensuring that we remain anorganisation that continues to deliveroptimal value to its members; and fosteringrelationships with important partners. Insome quarters, we need to strengthen ourprofile and role.I am inspired by the call from Fellows forthe College to remain a world leader, anorganisation committed to excellence witha profile and membership services to match,using new technologies and communicationsto best effect. All these aspirations ultimatelyunderpin the high standards of care weprovide our patients.Past presidents, deans and councils aswell as the many Fellows and trainees whohave contributed so much up to this pointhave given us all a solid foundation on whichto continue building. I know we can respondto challenges and we will aspire towardsan even stronger organisation over the nextfive years. We need to promote and maintainstrong standards through successfulrollout of the revised curriculum, and growsupport for innovative research and ongoingdevelopment of resources for Fellows.We need to work on building a sense ofunity and ownership in our College throughstrengthening relationships between theANZCA Council and the regions, ensuring aservice-oriented approach throughout theCollege, and seizing ongoing opportunitiesfor collaboration between the College and theFaculty of Pain Medicine. We must continueto foster strong relationships and strategiccollaborations with governments, othercolleges and the societies, and with trainingorganisations in Hong Kong, Singaporeand Malaysia. And we must ensure ourorganisation is sustainable into the futureby continually developing efficiencies,relevance and effectiveness, the best staffand the best systems. I am confident that wewill move from strength to strength.Of course, there would be no Collegewithout the efforts of the many Fellows,trainees and staff who contribute at somany levels. The past 20 years has beenmarked by many significant achievementsfor the professions of anaesthesia andpain medicine, and I feel privileged to betaking over as the leader of a college thatis in excellent shape. I have a great senseof optimism about our next 20 yearsand beyond.4 ANZCA Bulletin June 2012