FPM Board and committee appointments
At the FPM New Board meeting held on 16 May, members warmly welcomed:
- FPM Vice-Dean, Dr Leinani Aiono-Le-Tagaloa (NZ).
- New board member, Dr Irina Hollington (SA).
- Re-elected board member, Associate Professor Susie Lord (NSW).
- Co-opted board member, Dr Tipu Aamir (NZ).
In addition, the following key changes in appointments were made:
- Chair, FPM Executive Committee – Dr Dilip Kapur.
- Chair, FPM Training and Assessment Executive Committee – Dr Leinani Aiono-Le-Tagaloa.
- Chair, FPM Professional Affairs Executive Committee – Professor Michael Veltman.
- Chair, FPM Training Unit Accreditation Committee – Dr Louise Brennan.
I would like to acknowledge and thank the many FPM fellows for their continued support in progressing the work of the faculty and the board.
ANZCA/FPM Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)
75 per cent of the deliverables of the RAP have been achieved, with the remainder of the recommendations on track to be completed. The next phase of the RAP will commence later this year, focusing on creating stronger relationships with First Nations communities.
Strategic projects and initiatives
The faculty commenced the “Developing Australian Educations Standards” project for the implementation of the National Strategy for Health Practitioner Pain Management Education with Ms Genevieve Nolan recruited as the project manager.
A ‘soft-launch’ of the resources for opioid stewardship implementation (ROSI) toolkit was launched at the Australian Pain Society conference in Darwin in late April.
The Flexible Approach to Training in Expanded Settings (FATES) agreement has been executed, with Ms Mariam Haliem appointed as the project coordinator.
Committee restructure
Following a review in 2023, the board made the decision at the April 2024 meeting to retire the Professional Standards Committee. A key driver of this decision was to strengthen the relationship between the board and the FPM national and regional committees. The committee chairs will be invited to attend FPM Board meetings, on rotation. In addition, a session will be held during the FPM Spring Meeting which will provide an opportunity to highlight key activities, issues, and achievements within each region.
The membership of the FPM Professional Affairs Executive Committee (FPM PAEC) has been expanded to include the Safety and Quality Officer, the Continuing Professional Development Officer and the FPM Professional Affairs Coordinator. The Mentoring Program Officer will become a member of the Training, Accreditation Executive Committee.
The development of faculty professional documents along with submissions to government will become a function of FPM PAEC, guided by the DPA FPM Professional Affairs, with regional input.
FPM Spring Meeting
Following a formal invitation from the CEO of ANZCA, representatives from the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists Ms Kristy Cheung, Chief Executive Officer and Dr Timmy Chan, Chair of Board of Pain Medicine, have confirmed they will attend the 2024 FPM Spring Meeting in Auckland, New Zealand on 18 to 20 October 2024. Their participation will further develop the cordial relationship between the faculty and the Hong Kong college.
Research
Dilip Kapur will be attending the Australian Pain Society: painSTAR event to be held in the Barossa Valley between 10-14 November 2024. This event brings together a group of clinical and early to mid-career academic researchers to participate in an intensive program focused on research. The college has once again contributed $A20k in sponsorship funding, which will allow the faculty to deliver a lecture on a topic of its choosing.
FPM Executive Director
I would like to welcome Ms Martina Otten, the new Executive Director of the Faculty of Pain Medicine. Martina joined on 1 May and was able to attend the recent FPM Symposium and ANZCA Annual Scientific Meeting. I am sure that you will all make her feel welcome in the months to come.
Farewells
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Immediate Past FPM Dean and retiring board member Dr Kieran Davis, who concluded his 12-year term on the FPM Board. He will be very much missed. The board also farewelled Executive Director FPM, Ms Leone English and wished her well in her retirement.
Professor Michael Cousins FFARACS 1968, FANZCA 1992, FFPMANZCA 1999, sadly passed away on 27 April 2024. Professor Cousins was the driving force behind the establishment of the faculty 25 years ago, the first dean of the faculty, as well as a former ANZCA President. A tribute to Professor Cousins was made during the “Michael Cousins Lecture” at the ANZCA ASM.