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Medical Alumni Association e-Newsletter: December 2008

Dear Colleagues

In this brief e-Newsletter, there are sections on:

I thank everyone who sent me comments and material after the first e-Newsletter in September. I will follow up on your suggestions in the New Year and add relevant items to the website. The format and content of the Faculty website will be reviewed early in 2009.

Please send any comments on continuing medical education of our alumni or other issues to: , or call me on 02-9660-0576.

Sydney’s medical mosaic: telling our stories (December 2008)

Continuing medical education: for retired doctors and for all alumni

Michael Harris (1954), a retired paediatrician, has suggested that it would be most helpful to have a series of regular talks that would assist in keeping those who are no longer in clinical practice up to date on major topics in clinical medicine and public health. As it happens, John Yu (1959) and others have been discussing similar ideas with the Dean, Bruce Robinson (1980).

At a recent meeting of the Medical Alumni Association Council, then at a meeting with Faculty representatives, we discussed the desirability of educational programs for all alumni. While some MAA Council members expressed a strong view that there are already enough programs run by teaching hospitals and professional Colleges, they supported the idea of events that should appeal to specific groups of alumni whose needs are not met at present.

The educational programs for retired alumni could be held at weekends several times each year, say, in May and November, starting on Saturday afternoons, finishing at lunch on Sunday, and giving people a chance to meet their colleagues for dinner and/or lunch.

Alternatively, these educational sessions could be held in the evenings on weekdays, say, from 7 to 9pm, building on the experience of successful public lectures run by the Faculty in recent years. Of course, many of our younger colleagues may also be interested in these programs.

Topics might include review of treatment of common conditions such as hypertension; discussion of drug interactions; mental health and depression; women’s health; men’s health; healthy lifestyles; prostate cancer; breast cancer; and cervical and uterine cancers.

The speakers would generally be from within the Faculty and its teaching hospitals but we should also aim whenever possible to include visiting international speakers. For a series such as ‘Meet the author’ based on current research within the Faculty, these sessions would offer the opportunity for alumni to hear and meet our researchers. As well as holding these sessions at the University or Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, any evening program of talks could sometimes be held at other venues such as Westmead Hospital and Royal North Shore Hospital.

After receiving your comments, we suggest that the Faculty and Medical Alumni Association should jointly develop an educational program of talks and seminars. We are keen to assist alumni with an educational program that offers reviews of current treatment of common medical conditions, discusses how we can achieve healthier lifestyles, and informs you about current research within the Faculty.

Please send me your comments and suggestions by email: , or call me on 02-9660-0576.

University of Sydney Institute for Sustainable Solutions

This is a new cross-disciplinary initiative within the University and offers a great opportunity for alumni to participate in the early stages. The initial ‘Sustainability & Health Forum: Possibilities and Priorities for the Faculties of Health’ was held on 5 December.

The comprehensive report on the Forum (and copies of the speakers’ slides) can be obtained from Renee Slade ()

As the Australian Health Policy Institute is formally merging with the Menzies Centre for Health in January, the AHPI website is being modified. The report and further information will be available soon on the website.

Medical alumni meeting in the United States in 2009

After receiving a suggestion from Derek Raghavan (1974), now based in Cleveland, Ohio, we have been considering whether to have a meeting of medical alumni in the United States next year. This is likely to be held in conjunction with the regular annual meeting of the Sydney University Graduates Union of North America (SUGUNA). The first meeting of SUGUNA was organised by Bill Lew (1974) in 1990. Gerry Bassell (1973) is the current President of SUGUNA. See the website: www.usyd.edu.au/alumni/networks/suguna/index.shtml

In recent days, I have discussed this suggestion with the Dean, Bruce Robinson, Tracey Beck, Director of the Alumni Relations Office, and members of the University’s Alumni Council. We envisage that the meeting would be held immediately preceding the SUGUNA meeting, which will follow its usual format, starting on Thursday evening (20 August) and finishing on Sunday morning (23 August). It will be held in Los Angeles close to UCLA. Tentatively, the medical alumni meeting might start on the evening of Wednesday, 19 August, and continue all day Thursday. Participants would have the option of staying on for all or part of the SUGUNA meeting

As well as participants from the US and Canada, we would welcome any USyd medical alumni who may wish to travel from Australia, Europe, or elsewhere.

Further information will be available in the next e-Newsletter in January.

Medical Heritage Trail

This self-guided walk within the University and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital is to be launched by the Chancellor, Professor Marie Bashir, on 18 December. All alumni should have received the fine booklet describing the Trail with the December Radius.
We warmly congratulate Lise Mellor and her assistants on completing this story linking sometimes familiar, but perhaps often forgotten, University and Faculty people and places. Everyone will find much to bring back memories and will discover new treasures of our shared past.

Distance studies in Clinical Epidemiology now available at the University of Sydney

The School of Public Health now offers short courses – Graduate Certificate through to Masters level clinical epidemiology programs – by both face-to-face and distance learning. Courses are designed to ensure that the theory students learn is applied to patient-based examples and is readily integrated into their day-to-day work. The courses are taught by clinicians for clinicians and students are encouraged to think independently and critically. The popular short course includes: Introduction to Clinical Epidemiology, Literature Searching and Introduction to Systematic Reviews. For those considering a degree program, new units for 2009 include Introduction to Genetic Epidemiology, Clinical Research Development & Practice and Introducing Qualitative Research in Health – just to name a few!

There are many great aspects of the Master's program in Clinical Epidemiology: the excellent faculty, the relevant courses and the pragmatic statistical skills. It was the flexibility I appreciated the most. (Rahul Mainra, Master of Clinical Epidemiology student)

More information about the courses can be found at: www.health.usyd.edu.au/future/coursework/clinepi/index.php
To download a Course Guide (pdf) go to: www.health.usyd.edu.au/current/handbooks/ClinEpi_Handbook.pdf
Further information: www.health.usyd.edu.au/future/coursework/index.php

Possible cognitive assessment of older doctors

Harry Haber (1963) has drawn my attention to an article in the most recent Medical Journal of Australia (2008; 189: 622-624), also reported in Australian Doctor (10 December 2008), which suggests that practising doctors aged over 60 years should have regular cognitive assessments.

Harry wonders whether the Medical Alumni Association should encourage discussion of this issue and possibly be prepared to provide its views, if needed. No doubt the AMA would be active on behalf of its members if the various Medical Boards were to develop guidelines. What do you think?

Reunions

Planned reunions and their organisers are noted in Radius. If your graduating year has not had any reunions, please let me know and we will try to contact your year representatives: ; tel. 02-9660-0576.


If your friends from the University of Sydney are not seeing these e-Newsletters, this means we don't have their current email addresses! Please forward the e-Newsletter to them and ask them to give us their email address.

With best wishes for a happy festive season!

Paul Lancaster
President, Medical Alumni Association
University of Sydney

18 December 2008