4 minute read
A Message from the President
The History and Future of the College
My journey to the helm of the College has been an unusual one. I grew up in an environment of violence and ethnic discrimination. After losing our home and all belongings my family fled to safety by migrating to Africa only to experience racial injustice in the form of apartheid. I studied medicine in a black homeland, where secret police would hound students perceived to be activists or sympathisers of black struggle with total impunity and often made them disappear.
By the time I arrived in this part of the world, the formidable trio at the helm of the College were luminaries Turab Chakera, John Earwaker and Michael Sage. Professor Chakera took me under his wings to mentor me. With so much inclusiveness and racial diversity, the land of the long white cloud Aotearoa New Zealand and later the sunburnt land of Australia provided me with opportunities to thrive in both countries.
The College has one of the most racially and culturally diverse membership profiles of any specialist college. The credit goes to past College leadership, to the many past Presidents who recognised value and talent from far afield and made it possible for such individuals to find a pathway to the award of Fellowship. This paved the way for so many International Medical Graduates to settle in two of the most blessed nations on this planet.
I am very grateful to my predecessor Dr Lance Lawler who steered the College through some very difficult times and helped me settle in my new role. His help has been invaluable, and I will find inspiration from his experience.
Over the past two decades, the College has transformed into a shining example of good governance and is always striving hard to excel, serving our professions. We have many more steps to take on this journey. The time has come for us to redress the near absence of Indigenous doctors among our membership. We also need to find ways to address gender imbalance in selection of trainees. We will be working on this as a priority.
There is a crying need for specialist workforce in regional New Zealand and Australia. Establishing a regional training program is one of our priorities. Other priorities include advancing the interventional radiology (IR) and interventional neuroradiology (INR) field of specialty recognition application with the Australian Medical Council and the Medical Council of New Zealand. We are working on finding pathways for our members to train in theranostics and other forms of cancer therapy and diagnosis.
As a specialist college, some members view our role as setting practice standards, professional standards and the training framework and assessments for our trainees. They are correct and that is our core business. But to be a an effective 21st century organisation, we need to also develop an environmental, social and governance framework. The Board will be working on this during this year.
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly changed our lives and it will continue to have an impact for at least a decade to come. Environmental impact, social media misinformation campaigns and territorial instability and conflict in our region and wider world would add further burden on governments, society and health care. We need to reflect on this and see what each of us could do different to make our nations prosper and our communities grow stronger. As highly trained medical specialists, we need to be mindful that we are at the top of the social pyramid in the society and as individuals it is incumbent upon us to play a leadership role—however small it may be. As John F Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
Clin A/Prof Sanjay Jeganathan
