Australas Phys Eng Sci Med (2014) 37:1–2 DOI 10.1007/s13246-014-0259-8
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
Accessing Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering and Radiopharmaceutical Expertise
Ó Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine 2014
I don’t think I have to tell you that the health care industry is facing growing economic pressure given the increase in the population groups requiring modern medical and surgical services. This is something we all face as healthcare consumers and health professionals. It is also something that our professional association, the ACPSEM, is facing. It is especially true in the current economic climate where we are entering a hole in funding growth. The ACPSEM has the mission to advance services and professional standards for the benefit and protection of the community. As health professionals, whether members of the ACPSEM or not, this is also our aim and we all strive
for appropriately high standards in the work we do. Whether working in a radiopharmacy, as a biomedical engineer or providing medical physics services, we face future challenges in providing our highly trained capabilities to benefit the public. As President of the ACPSEM, I would like to focus our efforts to improve our abilities to influence the direction healthcare is heading so that as many people can benefit from the fantastic advances in medical technology and clinical services for which we are custodians of safety, quality and efficiency. One key word that I would like emphasis is access. We need to ensure that the public can access our services when needed. We also need to make sure that we, as health professionals, can access the support we need to develop and deliver our skills to the public. One issue we face is that the public do not often know what we do. The community we serve often have little or no understanding of health professionals like us that are there, mostly behind the scenes, working hard to ensure that the healthcare services are well run. That is something that will need to change so that, with public awareness and appreciation, we can garner the community support for the work we do. I want to be able to place our professions in the public’s mind. To achieve this we have several things going in our favour that we can build on for when we seriously go to the public with our story. I think that we are well placed to promote our professions. We have been fortunate to have had the generous work of many others of our colleagues who have volunteered their time to develop our professional standards. This is enabling us to publically state that we have established high quality as a benchmark for our professions. We have professional standards, university and clinical department
123
2
accreditation programs, and a certification program that produces high quality health professionals. I would like to be able to individually thank all of those who have contributed to these pieces of work, but the list of names and their contributions would easily fill the pages of this issue. Another advantage we have is that the ACPSEM Office staff and volunteers have been working to improve access to our systems and providing collaborative opportunities with our colleagues. We have developed an e-learning platform that is being used to train, not only the professional groups represented by the ACPSEM, but also others such as radiographers. This outreach to our colleagues in other professions is valuable in building support. An example of this collaboration is the Tripartite Committee, consisting of senior representatives from the Australian Institute of Radiography, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and the ACPSEM. Originally this committee was set up for radiation oncology, however the arrangements are now being expanded to include diagnostic imaging collaboration. These collaborations strengthen our public cases. For example have a look at targetingcancer.com.au for the type of promotion our colleagues are doing for our professions and themselves. Although this website is focused on radiation oncology, it is an example of the type of work we should expect for all the professional groups represented by the ACPSEM. This type of work is based on the collaborative arrangements with our professional colleagues and the commitment of volunteers. One other strength we have is from our ACPSEM members who are engaged with government agencies. These engagements, such as meeting with the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency or the departments of health in Australia and New Zealand, have provided our professional input in the development of policy and programs. One example of a recent on-going involvement is with the Health Workforce Principal Committee. This committee’s two major roles are to provide a forum for reaching agreement on key national level health workforce issues and to provide advice on health workforce issues to the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council. A final strength is the ACPSEM Office. This group of people are instrumental in running the ACPSEM programs. Without them we could not do anything near what we have been able to achieve in the past years. It takes committed staff, each of whom is keenly providing high quality services to its members and the trainees and registrars participating in its programs. All-in-all we are well placed with strong professional standards, professional collaborations and governmental
123
Australas Phys Eng Sci Med (2014) 37:1–2
relationships. What we are missing is access to us by the public. I think we are now well positioned to make that access possible. In fact, I think it is necessary for our continued development as professionals. We need to be valued and supported by the public and recognised as truly professional. By that, I mean independent of our employer and of our clients, with each of us able to make independent professional decisions that will be supported by the public if necessary. I think each of us wants to make a positive impact on society with safety, quality and efficiency of healthcare important to us. If we are able to do this then it will improve public access to the advanced medical technologies and clinical services for which we are responsible. In other words, if we improve public access to us as professionals, so that they can support our professional independence and decisions, then we can help improve public access to the medical technologies we ensure are safe, of the appropriate quality and efficiently utilised. It is the ACPSEM that represents us to the public through its establishment and by our membership. It means that the ACPSEM will need to be more accessible, to members and non-members alike. It also means that the ACPSEM will need to access members and non-members on a voluntary or paid basis so that a lot of the work can be done, especially where that work is important to the public. This is a lot to ask of a membership based organisation like the ACPSEM. The ACPSEM has to seriously consider its financial capacity to run various programs and to consider how to make access to these programs sustainable. The ACPSEM cannot continuously rely on the support from unpaid volunteers and it needs to establish sustainable systems. Public access and support will definitely help attract and retain funding of programs the ACPSEM run and help with making programs such as the ACPSEM Training Education and Assessment Program (TEAP) for all of our professions possible. Please look out for opportunities to work with your local ACPSEM branch and the ACPSEM Office but, when doing so, look for the way to make the work sustainable. I’ll try to improve my access to ACPSEM members and non-members. This is a way that your ideas and concerns can be considered and addressed. The ACPSEM is facing challenges in these tough economic times and we need be clever in the way we sustainably provide our programs so that the public can benefit from and access the medical technology we look after and the clinical services we deliver. I am looking forward to these challenges and I hope you are similarly enthused. We have a bright future.
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
Accessing Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering and Radiopharmaceutical Expertise
Ó Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine 2014
I don’t think I have to tell you that the health care industry is facing growing economic pressure given the increase in the population groups requiring modern medical and surgical services. This is something we all face as healthcare consumers and health professionals. It is also something that our professional association, the ACPSEM, is facing. It is especially true in the current economic climate where we are entering a hole in funding growth. The ACPSEM has the mission to advance services and professional standards for the benefit and protection of the community. As health professionals, whether members of the ACPSEM or not, this is also our aim and we all strive
for appropriately high standards in the work we do. Whether working in a radiopharmacy, as a biomedical engineer or providing medical physics services, we face future challenges in providing our highly trained capabilities to benefit the public. As President of the ACPSEM, I would like to focus our efforts to improve our abilities to influence the direction healthcare is heading so that as many people can benefit from the fantastic advances in medical technology and clinical services for which we are custodians of safety, quality and efficiency. One key word that I would like emphasis is access. We need to ensure that the public can access our services when needed. We also need to make sure that we, as health professionals, can access the support we need to develop and deliver our skills to the public. One issue we face is that the public do not often know what we do. The community we serve often have little or no understanding of health professionals like us that are there, mostly behind the scenes, working hard to ensure that the healthcare services are well run. That is something that will need to change so that, with public awareness and appreciation, we can garner the community support for the work we do. I want to be able to place our professions in the public’s mind. To achieve this we have several things going in our favour that we can build on for when we seriously go to the public with our story. I think that we are well placed to promote our professions. We have been fortunate to have had the generous work of many others of our colleagues who have volunteered their time to develop our professional standards. This is enabling us to publically state that we have established high quality as a benchmark for our professions. We have professional standards, university and clinical department
123
2
accreditation programs, and a certification program that produces high quality health professionals. I would like to be able to individually thank all of those who have contributed to these pieces of work, but the list of names and their contributions would easily fill the pages of this issue. Another advantage we have is that the ACPSEM Office staff and volunteers have been working to improve access to our systems and providing collaborative opportunities with our colleagues. We have developed an e-learning platform that is being used to train, not only the professional groups represented by the ACPSEM, but also others such as radiographers. This outreach to our colleagues in other professions is valuable in building support. An example of this collaboration is the Tripartite Committee, consisting of senior representatives from the Australian Institute of Radiography, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and the ACPSEM. Originally this committee was set up for radiation oncology, however the arrangements are now being expanded to include diagnostic imaging collaboration. These collaborations strengthen our public cases. For example have a look at targetingcancer.com.au for the type of promotion our colleagues are doing for our professions and themselves. Although this website is focused on radiation oncology, it is an example of the type of work we should expect for all the professional groups represented by the ACPSEM. This type of work is based on the collaborative arrangements with our professional colleagues and the commitment of volunteers. One other strength we have is from our ACPSEM members who are engaged with government agencies. These engagements, such as meeting with the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency or the departments of health in Australia and New Zealand, have provided our professional input in the development of policy and programs. One example of a recent on-going involvement is with the Health Workforce Principal Committee. This committee’s two major roles are to provide a forum for reaching agreement on key national level health workforce issues and to provide advice on health workforce issues to the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council. A final strength is the ACPSEM Office. This group of people are instrumental in running the ACPSEM programs. Without them we could not do anything near what we have been able to achieve in the past years. It takes committed staff, each of whom is keenly providing high quality services to its members and the trainees and registrars participating in its programs. All-in-all we are well placed with strong professional standards, professional collaborations and governmental
123
Australas Phys Eng Sci Med (2014) 37:1–2
relationships. What we are missing is access to us by the public. I think we are now well positioned to make that access possible. In fact, I think it is necessary for our continued development as professionals. We need to be valued and supported by the public and recognised as truly professional. By that, I mean independent of our employer and of our clients, with each of us able to make independent professional decisions that will be supported by the public if necessary. I think each of us wants to make a positive impact on society with safety, quality and efficiency of healthcare important to us. If we are able to do this then it will improve public access to the advanced medical technologies and clinical services for which we are responsible. In other words, if we improve public access to us as professionals, so that they can support our professional independence and decisions, then we can help improve public access to the medical technologies we ensure are safe, of the appropriate quality and efficiently utilised. It is the ACPSEM that represents us to the public through its establishment and by our membership. It means that the ACPSEM will need to be more accessible, to members and non-members alike. It also means that the ACPSEM will need to access members and non-members on a voluntary or paid basis so that a lot of the work can be done, especially where that work is important to the public. This is a lot to ask of a membership based organisation like the ACPSEM. The ACPSEM has to seriously consider its financial capacity to run various programs and to consider how to make access to these programs sustainable. The ACPSEM cannot continuously rely on the support from unpaid volunteers and it needs to establish sustainable systems. Public access and support will definitely help attract and retain funding of programs the ACPSEM run and help with making programs such as the ACPSEM Training Education and Assessment Program (TEAP) for all of our professions possible. Please look out for opportunities to work with your local ACPSEM branch and the ACPSEM Office but, when doing so, look for the way to make the work sustainable. I’ll try to improve my access to ACPSEM members and non-members. This is a way that your ideas and concerns can be considered and addressed. The ACPSEM is facing challenges in these tough economic times and we need be clever in the way we sustainably provide our programs so that the public can benefit from and access the medical technology we look after and the clinical services we deliver. I am looking forward to these challenges and I hope you are similarly enthused. We have a bright future.
