FIAMC OCEANIA REPORT 2006

Report for FIAMC for Oceania 2006

Greetings to you all who are attending the 22nd World Congress of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations from your Australian colleagues. I am very sorry not to be with you in Barcelona to present this report and to renew the many friendships of previous conferences.

Over the past four years there have been significant changes involving the Catholic doctor Guild and Associations in the Oceania region. This region includes countries from the many small island nations of the Pacific, plus New Guinea, New Zealand, and Australia.

Unfortunately there are no active Catholic doctor associations in the region apart from Australia. About two years ago the only Catholic doctor guild in New Zealand ceased to function as an active group. Apart from one or two queries there has been no response from the Catholic doctors in New Zealand. It is difficult to see how this Guild could become active again unless there is a request by the Bishops of New Zealand.

The report from Australia is far more positive. The Catholic Doctors Association in Western Australia, and the Guilds of St. Luke in Queensland and New South Wales, have continued to be active.

In 2004 the Catholic Doctors Association of Victoria was established with Dr. Eamonn Mathieson as President and the full support of the Archbishop of Melbourne and the Bishops of Victoria. This development was in response to requests by doctors who felt relatively isolated and unsupported in their faith in the work place.

Since the establishment of the association membership has grown with over 100 doctors in contact with the association. Communication has been through setting up a website and religious and social events have been held. The significant activities have been the organising of a student seminar on ethical dilemmas, medical ethics grand rounds, mailouts and submissions to Government over such issues as RU486, research on Human Embryos and Post Coma Unresponsiveness.

The Queensland Medical Guild of St. Luke continues to be very active with Dr. Terry Kent as President. This Guild was responsible for organising an effective protest against the use of RU486 which gained national attention by involving the Catholic Doctor Associations in Australia and lobbying the members of Parliament. Unfortunately the vote was lost in Parliament but the use of RU486 is yet to be approved by the Therapeutic and Goods Administration.

The Guild has also held many other activities including a successful public seminar in the Parliamentary Annex on “Abortion the Debate we have to have” with sessions guided by Bishop Anthony Fisher and Rev. Dr. John Fleming, President of the new Catholic Campion University in Sydney. The guild has also now introduced monthly ‘Grand Rounds” on ethical and social issues which have proved popular with Guild members Christian doctors and non medical people.

The Catholic Doctors Association of Western Australia continues to be active in a similar way to the other States, with a regular newsletter, annual retreat and annual general mass. The president Dr Amanda Lamont who is a trained teacher in Napro Technology, directed a training program for eight other professionals. A successful seminar was held on “Referrals Refusals and Rights: A clinician’s dilemma” in conjunction with Catholic Health Australia.

The Guild of St. Luke in Sydney struggles for survival but continues to be active under Dr. Tony Williams as President. The Guild holds an Annual Mass and Meal which is very well attended. The main problem has been no real interest coming from the younger Catholic doctors.

For the future it is hoped that a National association of Catholic Medical Associations will be formed. This will be of significant benefit to each association by mutual support and exchange of information as the vast distances in Australia make meetings very difficult.

The most significant event in the lives of the Catholic doctors in Australia has been the successful establishment of the Catholic School of Medicine. The University of Notre Dame Australia founded the first School of Medicine on the Fremantle Campus in Western Australia in 2005 and now has 170 medical students. The total number of students will be 320 by 2008 when the first 80 students will graduate.

All students study as well as the medical curriculum the core subjects of Theology Philosophy and Ethics with Bioethics integrated into the course. A Director of Mission has been appointed to oversee the Catholic ethos of the medical course.

A second campus is now being established in Sydney, with that Catholic Medical School due to open in 2008. A Clinical School of Medicine is being established in Melbourne.

Australia is due to have a significant increase in doctors, who are not only knowledgeable and skillful, but also compassionate, dutiful, respectful, and seek to work in areas of unmet need in the Catholic tradition.

This is an exciting and unique development in the education of doctors in Australia and in time will have a profound effect on the way medicine is practised in Australia. There will be much more debate about the ethical issues of the day and I am sure much more interest in the affairs of the Catholic Doctor Associations.

For the Future.

In Australia there is a need to explore new directions to interest the younger Catholic doctors in order to survive as successful associations and guilds.

A national Association will help but the Catholic doctor groups need to broaden their interest by supporting the local organisations of health care both Catholic and non Catholic, especially in the areas of need such as aged care, mental health, palliative care, and indigenous health care.

Social justice issues could be helped by supporting the many outreach programs which are promoted by the Catholic health care institutions.

Information technology needs to be expanded to become a resource for information and communication on the ethical and social problems both nationally and internationally and to help with mutual support between members especially in those areas where the Catholic doctor feels isolated and unsupported.

Finally through the Catholic doctor groups acting as a focus of interest there could be expanded influence by engaging the interests of the many associated health professionals. The Catholic Medical Association of Catholic Physicians of the United States and Canada include physicians, dentists, nurses, medical students, allied health professionals and others who all receive the Linacre Quarterly, and the National News Letter, which also promotes the local guilds by networking and publicizing events such as the annual mass and meetings.

It is hoped that in time for the next FIAMC congress, Oceania and Australia will have a delegation, which will be able to report on significant progress in many areas of these activities.