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Indigenous Health launches new initiatives
It’s shaping up to be a busy year for the committee with the launch of a new advisory group for Indigenous Australian surgeons among multiple other projects.
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The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Indigenous Health Committee (IHC) has launched a number of initiatives to support Indigenous Trainees and surgeons, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Mina Health Advisory Group
The contemporary iteration of the IHC, which was co-founded in 2008 by Associate Professor Kelvin Kong along with Professor Russell Gruen, Mr Jonathan Koea and Mr Patrick Alley, has created a new advisory group to promote the trajectory of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Like its counterpart, the Māori Health Advisory Group, the Mina Health Advisory Group will function under the auspices of the IHC. Mina translates as ‘knowledge’ and is from the language of the Gathang people on the New South Wales mid-north coast, the language nation of Associate Professor Kong. The Mina Health Advisory Group incorporates wisdom and experience from RACS members who have been involved in the IHC. It is an avenue for providing advice on the development and implementation of key Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health initiatives and projects, as well as content in RACS position statements and policies. The group will meet regularly to discuss the strategies and progress of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reconciliation Action Plan. National taskforce for monitoring ear health Indigenous children in Australia have the highest rate of ear disease in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified it as a “public health crisis” – a term WHO usually reserves for crises in developing countries. The IHC recognises the disparity in ear disease among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and is supporting measures to help advocate for action. The Ear Health for Life consortium, which is supported by RACS, is a national approach to hearing health and represents a multidisciplinary and intersectorial group of interested professionals striving for equity.
Surgical Pathway project
There have been great advances and interest in surgery among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors. The Surgical Pathway project is an adjunct to help accelerate and capture this interest. With the overall objective of reaching parity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander surgeons, the IHC working group has identified three initial aims. The first is to increase the number of Surgical Education and Training (SET) applications submitted by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander junior doctors; the second is to increase the number of successful SET applications; and the third is to increase the number of Indigenous Trainees successfully completing SET. The team is looking forward to working with the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA) to help develop pathways to help. The project’s target group will include Indigenous high school students, medical students, existing professionals and junior doctors. The IHC will develop engagement strategies that encompass the full spectrum of potential surgeons, and the Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) is collaborating with the working group to develop a pilot model. Associate Professor Kong and IHC committee member Dr Stephanie Weidlich, who is a general surgeon at the RDH, are assisting with surgical advice.
The new RACS Health and Safety Course
A new course recently approved by RACS will include cultural competency and cultural safety in the core training competencies for all Trainees across all specialties. The training will assist surgeons in their interactions with Indigenous surgeons and their patients and families. The course is to be undertaken by Fellows, Trainees, Specialist International Medical Graduates and junior doctors. It is accredited for Category 4 Continuing Professional Development ‘reflective practice’, and is available on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eLearning webpage.
RACS Reconciliation Action Plan
The Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is a workplace framework that provides four sequential stages enabling the College to contribute to reconciliation. RACS recently commenced the second stage, ‘Innovate’, which is overseen by the IHC, RACS Council and Reconciliation Australia. The RAPs undertaken by RACS serve two purposes: they reflect both the College’s administrative role in developing strategic health policies, as well as its role in supporting surgeons on their journey to reconciliation. Read more about the new RAP on page 16.