Next week’s WONCA global conference in Sydney is an important event for GPs Worldwide to gather and share knowledge, particularly regarding primary care practices in different countries, and to address challenges in workforce and funding in healthcare systems.
Over 3000 delegates from around the World will gather at the 50th celebration of WONCA to reconnect and revive General Practice, sharing knowledge and learnings on access, equity, funding, and multidisciplinary care teams. This includes networking with Australian and overseas GPs and in particular learning about primary care practices in other countries.
The WONCA 2023 World Conference in Sydney is hosted by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) . RACGP is the voice of general practitioners (GPs) across cities and throughout rural and remote Australia. For more than 60 years, the organisation has supported the backbone of Australia’s health system by setting the standards for education and practice and advocating for better health and wellbeing for all Australians.
Australian Health Journal met with Dr Nicole Higgins, President of RACGP in transit at Brisbane Airport recently and she spoke about the $6 Billion allocated in the Federal Budget in May as a significant achievement for General Practice investment. She also emphasised this announcement reinforced GPs should be at the centre of multidisciplinary care teams to ensure continuity of care and better health outcomes.
Dr Higgins also spoke about the new Commonwealth Government led Scope of Practice review being crucial for General Practice to address the challenges of workforce and funding in the primary healthcare system.
Dr Higgins describes WONCA as the FIFA World Cup of General Practice! And that Australian doctors are excited about the upcoming WONCA conference being held at the Sydney ICC between the 26th to 29th of October. The same conference will include GP23 as the RACGP yearly gathering of Australian GPs.
About WONCA
WONCA is an acronym comprising of the first five initials of the World Organisation of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians. WONCA’s short name is World Organisation of Family Doctors. It is a not-for-profit organisation with 132 member organisations in 110 countries and territories, with membership of around 500,000.
WONCA represents and advocates for its constituent members at an international level where it interacts with world bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO).
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Allied Health Leader shares career insights
Mirella Vagnarelli is a distinguished healthcare leader with proven expertise across South Australia and the United Kingdom, where she has successfully led large, multidisciplinary teams. Holding a Master of Business Administration (Health) from Flinders University, she earned Fellowship status with the Australasian College of Health Service Management in 2022. In 2023, Mirella was honoured as a scholarship recipient for the prestigious ‘Women in Leadership’ Program at the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation.
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Australia’s Nursing Crisis Snapshot
“Nursing, already under pressure, is reaching breaking point due to the pressures of COVID-19 and a disjointed healthcare system, including the acute, primary and aged care sectors”, says Kylie Ward, Australian College of Nursing CEO adding, “We must act now to protect our nurses and healthcare; the time has come for a national reckoning on nursing in Australia.”
Australian nurses cannot continue to work under the extreme pressure they are currently operating under – the impacts are mounting.
The almost 400,000 Australian nurses are a constant presence in every one of our major life milestones, national emergencies and global crises. The nurse of today holds a science degree, possesses highly technical training, valuable medical opinions, front-row expertise, is an effective trainer, and is skilled in population and systemic thinking. But the pandemic is inflicting a major emotional and physical toll on nurses.
In this “Perspectives” special, Australian Health Journal spoke with 4 nurses on the challenges they or nurses in their circle have experienced, the key issues as well some of the opportunities. These nurses come from national leadership & policy, large scale workforce management, a final year student completing over a year on placement across 6 Melbourne Hospitals and a NSW based ICU nurse stranded in Mexico, unable to return to a critical role in nursing to an already strained team due to incoming quotas.
While the issues are challenging, there are strategies that can be put into place to ease the pressure, to support nurses, and nursing care in Australia. These are discussed by the the 4 nurses.
– Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN CEO, Australian College of Nursing
– Adjunct Professor Alanna Geary FACN ACN Chair of Workforce Sustainability Policy Chapter & Chief Nursing & Midwifery Officer, Metro North Health
– Natalie Reyes, NSW based ICU Nurse Currently stranded in Mexico
– Hayley Pollock, Final Year Bachelor of Nursing Student & ACN Emerging Nurse Leader
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ARCS Annual Conference 2019
Earlier this month, ARCS Australia held it’s Annual Conference at the International Convention Centre Sydney – ICC Sydney, with the theme of putting patients at the centre of healthcare. Uniquely, the conference included a number of patients who attended, presented or were referenced.
