From COVID-19 learnings to climate change and digital leaps, RACMA Conference 24 inspired and informed.
World-renowned speakers covered a host of issues and developments impacting medical leadership at the RACMA 2024 Conference. The theme was New Frontiers for Medical Leaders – From COVID to the Olympics.
RACMA Conference 2024 fast facts:
> 419 in-person attendees
> 127 online attendees
> Attendees from every RACMA jurisdiction plus Hong Kong
1. Insights from a Paralympics leader
A dynamic presentation from CMO of Paralympics Australia Dr Steve Reid provided a high-energy start to the conference.
Dr Reid’s underlying message was that exercise is medicine and its benefits are particularly profound for people living with disability.
Dr Reid said people living with disability have a disproportionate risk of chronic disease due to sedentary lifestyles, and significantly higher rates of potentially avoidable deaths.
Therefore, as Australia looks toward the Brisbane 2032 Paralympics, one of Dr Reid’s key aims is to improve community participation rates in sport of people with disability.
In his far-ranging address, Dr Reid outlined how the Paralympics origin can be traced back to sports activities that were organised to help British air force soldiers who had suffered spinal injuries improve both their physical and social health. He gave insights into the extensive COVID-19 protocols at the Beijing Paralympics and talked about the establishment of clinical guidelines into issues particular to para-athletes such as prevention of pressure injuries.
2. Climate change is everyone’s responsibility
Laureate Professor Nick Talley’s discussion about the impacts of climate change on health emphasised the responsibility of health care workers to take positive action.
Health issues related to climate change are wide-ranging, Laureate Professor Talley said, from asthma and cardiovascular diseases to heat-related illness, malnutrition and mental health impacts. His sobering message: illness and death related to climate change will only continue to grow unless we act now.
In terms of direct action, Laureate Professor Talley offered Hunter New England Local Health District, which aims to become net zero by 2030, as an example of what other health services should aspire to.
3. Digital advancements in health
The impact of digital advancements on healthcare was a key focus at this year’s conference.
Professor of Biomedical and Health Informatics at Macquarie University Dr Farah Magrabi talked about the high consumer demand for AI in healthcare in Australia and outlined the many ethical and safety considerations.
A/Chief Clinical Information Officer at eHealth QLD Dr Rae Donovan emphasised the importance of strategic advice and guidance on digital health to improve clinical outcomes. She stressed how critical it is to focus on data security, infrastructure resilience and continuous skill development for staff as AI use evolves.
Gillian Mason, whose roles include Deputy Chair of the Health Technology Assessment Consumer Consultative Committee, provided a first-hand account of the impact of digital health innovations on her life, and spoke of the importance of consumer involvement in governance and leadership.
4. Lessons learnt from COVID
Key Medical Leaders from Queensland Health, Te Aka Whai Ora and Hong Kong shared critical learnings from the unique perspectives of their region’s COVID-19 Pandemic responses.
The session featured Queensdland Health Chief Medical Officer A/Professor Catherine McDougall, TeAka Whai Ora Chief Medical Officer Dr Rawiri McKree Jensen and Former Chief Executive, New Territory East Cluster of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority Dr Beatrice Cheng.
In outlining Hong Kong’s response to the Pandemic, Dr Cheng said insufficient vaccine coverage and dense living conditions posed the greatest challenges in Hong Kong, where more than 1 million cases resulted in 9,000 deaths. Effective measures included community masking, social distancing and a tiered-care system.
Dr Cheng said the major lessons to take away from the pandemic were the need to:
- Strengthen surveillance and reporting systems
- Improve preparedness on test capacities and absorb learning from other countries
- Develop integrated responses with government agencies
- Improve hospital capacity for dealing with infectious diseases
5. Margaret Tobin Challenge
The National Margaret Tobin Challenge was hotly contested this year with presentations from seven Candidates. Dr Josh Manukonga from Aotearoa New Zealand took the honours, impressing judges with his presentation “Cultivating critical consciousness – An intersectional, critical race theory lens to cultural safety education in healthcare.”
6. Debate provided humorous finale
An entertaining and clever debate on the topic ‘The Future Medical Administrator will be replaced with AI’ provided a light-hearted yet thought-provoking finale to RACMA 2024.
Congratulations to the ‘against’ team of Dr Isabelle Kapterian, Dr Catherine Olweny and Dr Jason Goh for taking the honours.
We look forward to another successful RACMA conference in Perth in October 2025.
Author: Felicity Gallagher
9th October 2024
