RMSANZ is the professional body for rehabilitation physicians and trainees in Australia & New Zealand and offers a stimulating, supportive and collegial environment of professional development, continuing education, policy review and encouragement of teaching and research.
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ISPRM Photos
Were you there?
ISPRM Congress 2024, photos available here
RMSANZ Director Nominations 2024
The 2024 Annual General Meeting of Rehabilitation Medicine Society of Australia and New Zealand Ltd (RMSANZ) (the AGM) will be held on 27 November 2024. Nominations are invited for candidates to be appointed as Directors at the AGM and also for the position of President-Elect (and Director, if not already an elected Director) of RMSANZ.
RMSANZ currently has ten (10) directors. The terms of five (5) of those Directors, Drs Zoe Adey-Wakeling, Richard Seemann, Brian Zeman, Kelly Dungey and Alaeldin Elmalik, expire at the AGM in accordance with RMSANZ’s constitution. Accordingly, there will be five (5) vacant Director positions to be filled at the AGM. Dr Adey-Wakeling will have completed her permitted term under RMSANZ’s constitution and therefore will not be standing for re- election. Dr Seemann has decided not to stand for re-election. Each of Drs Zeman, Dungey and Elmalik, being eligible, has indicated his/her intention to stand for re-election as a Director at the AGM. Nominations are invited from other candidates to fill the five (5) vacant Director positions at the AGM. If two or less nominations are received from other candidates Drs Zeman, Dungey and Elmalik will be declared elected at the AGM, together with any other nominee(s). If more than two other nominations are received a poll will be held at the AGM for the five vacant Director positions.
To be eligible for election as a Director and/or President-Elect a person must be an Ordinary Member of RMSANZ. An ordinary member is defined in clause 3.1.1(a) of RMSANZ’s constitution. Clause 3.1.1(a) provides that any Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians who practices as a Rehabilitation Physician (as defined in the RMSANZ constitution) is eligible to apply for membership of RMSANZ as an Ordinary Member.
Nominations for Directors and/or President Elect must be submitted on the prescribed form which can be obtained here:
Director Nomination
President Elect Nomination
Nominations must be signed by two (2) other Ordinary Members and contain a consent to act signed by the person nominated, and must be left with, or posted or transmitted to reach, the Association Manager of RMSANZ no later than 5.00 pm AEDT on Thursday, 24 October 2024.
The initial term of office of a person elected as a Director at the AGM is two (2) years.
Australian and New Zealand Stroke Organisation Mentor Award 2024
Nominations are now open
Are you a member of ANZSO, have you thought about nominating.
For further information, click here.
RACP Surveys
Government response to violence against people with disability deeply disappointing
Today’s Federal, State and Territory government response to our four-and-a-half-year Disability Royal Commission is deeply disappointing and fails to respond to the scale of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability.
National disability representative organisations have expressed significant concern that only 13 recommendations of 222 have been fully accepted, and that after nine months, so many recommendations remain still to be resolved across different levels of government.
Read more in this Media Release by People with a Disability Australia
New Curriculum for Rehabilitation Medicine Advanced Training
The College (RACP) is renewing the Basic and Advanced Training curricula. The new curricula will place an enhanced focus on competency-based training, supported by programmatic assessment approaches and provide clear learning goals and progression criteria against which trainees will be assessed.
Please click here to read more about the changes.
Encouraging Leadership in Rehabilitation Medicine: Recognise Your Potential
The RMSANZ annual scientific meeting in Sydney this year together with ISPRM was a massive success. Whether the preferred nomenclature was PM&R, physiatry or rehabilitation medicine, the meeting involved thought-leaders and changemakers in the field collaborating and contributing their amazing work and insights. With over 1500 delegates from all around the world in wide-ranging fields, there is no doubt the ripple effects of this meeting will be felt for many years to come.
The session on leadership in rehabilitation medicine reflected on the unique leadership qualities that rehabilitation professionals bring to the table. Despite being underrepresented in medical leadership positions worldwide, our skills and experiences equip us to excel in these roles. A distinguished panel including Australia’s own Professors Fary Khan, Andrew Cole and Dr Gaj Panagoda considered how we can lead both from within and from the front.
Read more insights from the Conference on Leadership in Rehabilitation Medicine here
#LeadershipInRehab #PhysiatryLeaders #MedicalLeadership #FutureLeaders
Image 1 - Dr Maria Paul with Dr Alex Ganora, collecting prize on behalf of Dr Jessica Smith (pictured in second photo)
Dr Alex Ganora Emerging Leadership Award
Congratulations to Dr Jessica Smith for winning the inaugural Dr Alex Ganora Emerging Leadership Award 2024.
There was an the exceptional field of nominees for the prize – namely - Dr Stephanie Lam (Private Practice SIG NSW), Dr Kavitha Muthukrishnan (Branch Chair, Victoria/Tasmania) and Dr Kelly Dungey (Board member from Qld).
RMSANZ are glad to announce that this award will now be awarded every year as part of the ASM, for more details watch for information in the RMSANZ newsletter!
15/4/2024
The Rehabilitation Medicine Society of Australia and New Zealand (RMSANZ) offers condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, during the tragic events in Sydney’s east over the weekend. We also wish to show support for the injured or traumatised in the April 13th attacks in Bondi Junction Sydney.
As rehabilitation physicians who care for individuals affected by trauma and their loved ones we empathise with survivors and the families who lost loved ones to this horrific event. Many members of the community including those living with disabilities may have been traumatised by witnessing events or being potential targets of violence and the RMSANZ acknowledges their varied responses to this tragedy. As rehabilitation physicians treating trauma, we know that survivors of this tragedy will have a difficult few weeks or months ahead.
We encourage those survivors in need to seek assistance through medical options as well as
- NSW Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511
- Lifeline on 13 11 14 or chat online here.
- Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN on 13 92 76
- Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800 or chat online here.
- Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or chat online here.
- Headspace on 1800 650 890
- MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978 or chat online here.
- Talking to children about trauma https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/connecting-communicating/coping-with-trauma/trauma-support-for-children
Many members of our society and the teams they lead, live and work in the eastern suburbs of Sydney and will be involved in rehabilitating those injured. We support your efforts and encourage you to reach out for any assistance if necessary.
We congratulate members of the medical community and first responders as well as members of the community for their collective response in protecting the lives of those at risk.
Congratulations to Prof Steven Faux, awarded AM for service to Rehabilitation Medicine and to medical research
International Day of People with Disability
International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) is a United Nations observed day held on 3 December each year.
Message from Prof Steven Faux, President, RMSANZ
A disability action plan for an hospital. How does it work?
For more information on the Day and it's origins please click here