The Indonesian examiners will observe the RANZCO Advanced Clinical Exam (RACE) on 26-27 March 2015 at the Sydney Eye Hospital as part of an examiner exchange program between RANZCO and Indonesian College of Ophthalmologists. Earlier this year a team led by Christine Younan and consisting of Humayun Baig and Patrick Lockie visited Jakarta to support the national exams as external examiners.
RANZCO is supporting the Indonesian College of Ophthalmology through an examiner exchange program which includes:
- Indonesian examiners observe clinical ophthalmology exams in Australia, and
- Australian ophthalmologists participate in Indonesian clinical exams as external examiners.
In this way, knowledge and skills will be gained by Indonesian College of Ophthalmology to assist with the management of their national ophthalmology training program and to build the capacity of their teaching faculty. The exchange of examiners visiting Indonesia and Australia respectively will enhance the standard of eye care and provide an opportunity for Fellows of RANZCO and Fellows of the Indonesian College of Ophthalmology to participate in inter-College activities, allowing for development of networks and sharing of learning.
BLOG IMAGE: (FAR)DR SYNTIA NUSANTI MEMBER OF NATIONAL EXAM COMMISSION, (MIDDLE)DR IKKE SUMANTRI CHAIRWOMAN OF THE NATIONAL EXAM, (FRONT) DR TRI RAHAYU – CPD CHAIR AND UNIVERSITY OF INDONESIA’ PROGRAM DIRECTOR DISCUSSED THE RANZCO INDONESIAN COLLEGE OF OPHTHALMOLOGY COLLABORATION WITH RANZCO’S DAVID ANDREWS (CEO), DR NEIL MURRAY (CHAIR OF THE OBCK BOARD OF EXAMINERS AND BOARD MEMBER), GERHARD SCHLENTHER (POLICY AND PROGRAMS), KATE MORRISON (ASIA PACIFIC PROJECT OFFICER)
Uveitis was a major theme at the recent RANZCO South Australian Branch Meeting held at the lovely Sanctuary conference centre at Adelaide Zoo over the weekend of 28 – 29 March. With more than 70 delegates, speakers and sponsors, attending, a mixture of thought-provoking research and case studies were presented.
The branch meeting began on the Saturday with a special appearance by world-renowned cataract and refractive surgeon, Dr David Lubeck, at the Alcon breakfast. Formal proceedings were opened by Dr Garry Davis, SA branch chair, with a session discussing acute/infectious uveitis with Dr Lyndell Lim and Dr Tony Hall. The focus was on uveitis in those with compromised immune systems, with interesting case references to HIV, syphilis and tuberculosis. Later that day, Younger Fellows discussed career and practice management issues at a networking session, and the conference dinner at the Adelaide Oval was a vibrant social evening.
The second day began with an update on the My Eye Health program, which continues to promote eye awareness and health across South Australia and the Northern Territory. Sessions throughout the day focused on chronic non-infectious uveitis with interactivity and Q&A sessions helped flesh out key concerns. Rapid fire sessions highlighted key decision-making aspects faced by many ophthalmic surgeons. The meeting closed with a presentation on the Top 10 tips for uveitis management, bringing together the major learnings from the two days.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) and the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in which RANZCO will provide support to the APAO’s Leadership Development Program (LDP). This includes an annual grant to sustain program activities, sponsorship to experts to present workshops, and administrative and travel expense support. The agreement was signed at the APAO LDP Alumni Reception at the APAO Congress in Guangzhou, China on 3 April 2015.
RANZCO President, Dr Bradley Horsburgh and APAO President, Rajvardhan Azad signed the agreement with RANZCO CEO, Dr David Andrews also present at the signing.
The APAO Leadership Development Program commenced in 2009 to identify individuals with the potential to become leaders in ophthalmology. Supporting the APAO LDP aligns well with RANZCO’s strategy to be a leader in eye care education and professional development in the Asia-Pacific region.
Also at the APAO Congress, RANZCO Fellows Drs Neil Murray and Cathy Green received awards recognising their long-standing service to eye health in the region. Dr Murray received the Outstanding Service in Prevention of Blindness Award. Dr Murray has worked internationally in high, medium and low resource settings over the past 23 years in many Asia-Pacific countries. Through his work with the Fred Hollows Foundation and Chair of RANZCO’s International Development Committee, Dr Murray has taken opportunities to lead development of partnerships, securing of funding, strengthening of eye care education and leadership development initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region. He has been a Trustee of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) since early 2014.
Dr Green received the APAO Distinguished Service Award. Along with her career as a glaucoma specialist, she is the convenor and designer of the RANZCO Leadership Development Program, which aims to develop and enhance leadership skills for ophthalmologists in Australia and New Zealand. She is an APAO LDP Program Director and has participated as invited faculty for leadership programs including the Royal College of Ophthalmologists of Thailand and the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr Green has provided eye care and teaching in countries such as Cambodia, Fiji, Nepal, Myanmar and Timor Leste.
The 30th APAO Congress was held in Guangzhou, China in early April with more than 5,000 attendees and nearly 1000 speakers. Australian and New Zealand Fellows were actively involved, including representation on the planning committee.
BLOG IMAGE: DRS CATHY GREEN AND NEIL MURRAY WITH THEIR APAO AWARDS RECOGNISING THEIR LONG-STANDING SERVICE TO EYE HEALTH IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION.
On 8 May 2015, RANZCO and the Indonesian College of Ophthalmology (KOI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to affirm the desire to continue a collaboration that commenced in June 2013. This agreement follows on the successful examiner exchanges between the two colleges funded by the Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII) this year as part of its support of maintaining people-to-people links between the two countries. The aims of the examiner exchanges were to further enhance standards of ophthalmology education and training in Indonesia and to provide an opportunity for RANZCO and KOI representatives to participate in inter-Collegiate activities.
DR GONDHOWIARDJO TJAHJONO (KOI) AND DR CATHERINE GREEN (RANZCO) SIGNING MOU ON 8 MAY 2015
The new three year MOU will seek to collaborate on strengthening accreditation processes for Indonesian ophthalmology training institutions through capacity building activities and exploring opportunities for collaboration on continuing professional development.
The Ophthalmology Residency Training Technical team, together with Dr Mark Renehan, and Craig Dobney from RANZCO, conducted the first Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) for Ophthalmology at the University of Health Sciences (UHS).
It was a mock examination in preparation for the OSCE that will become part of the assessment program of the Ophthalmology Residency Training (ORT) in December. Setting up the mock OSCE required a significant amount of preparation and planning by the ORT faculty, and it was a very successful event.
ORT students from Year 1 were the candidates and they examined the patients while trainees from Year 2 and Year 3 observed. Members of the ORT team and other Ophthalmologists from Cambodia examined the candidates, using the performance criteria checklists that they developed in the RANZCO workshop last April, based on the new ORT curriculum and also after assessing the patients that visited UHS as part of this exam.
For the mock OSCE there were 5 stations that were held in the simulation centre of the UHS. These stations were Anterior segment, Posterior Segment, Refraction, Communication & History taking, and Neuro Ophthalmology / Paediatrics. Dr Mark Renehan assisted in the preliminary examining of the patients (pictured).
After the OSCE, both candidates and examiners completed an evaluation of the exam and its processes. Then a post exam meeting was held with RANZCO and the ORT Technical team to discuss any improvements required in the lead up to the OSCE in December.
We would like to thank all those that participated in this exam in making it a successful platform to improving assessment of ophthalmology students in Cambodia. RANZCO’s collaboration with the UHS is funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Recent Trainee and Supervisor Workshops held at the Royal North Shore Hospital Sydney were deemed a success.
TRAINEE WORKSHOP
A very successful Ophthalmic Simulation Communications and Clinical Scenario Workshop was held on Saturday 20 June 2015 at Royal North Shore Hospital. The Workshop targeted trainees and provided them with an opportunity to deal with challenging scenarios in which professional actors took the part of patients. A professional facilitator was present at each scenario together with an ophthalmology consultant to provide clinical and professional advice. Feedback from all participating trainees, consultants and facilitators was overwhelmingly positive.
Many thanks to the five consultants who so freely gave of their time and expertise on the day. While being the last in a series of Workshops funded by the Commonwealth Government through the Specialist Training Program (STP), RANZCO is hopeful of being able to offer this highly valuable training experience in the future.
SUPERVISOR WORKSHOP
The last in the series of Ophthalmic Supervisor Training Workshops was held at Royal North Shore Hospital on 9 May 2015. Scenario based, professional actors took the part of trainees and supervisors were able to explore techniques for handling difficult communication issues.
Professional facilitators were also present at each scenario to assist the process. Feedback from this and previous workshops has been extremely positive and while the Workshops were funded by the Commonwealth Government through the Specialist Training Program (STP), RANZCO intends to use knowledge gained to develop further training resources and activities for Supervisors.
The 2014-2015 RANZCO Leadership Development Program commenced with the attendance of the RANZCO Council meeting in Sydney on 21 June, followed by a session at RANZCO HQ on 22 June. RANZCO LDP Director Cathy Green provided an overview on leadership and President Stephen Best welcomed the ten RANZCO LDP participants. Simon Abbott, Allergan Training Manager, ran the Insights Discovery workshop designed to provide a better understanding of one’s own communication preferences, a better appreciation of communication styles different to one’s own, and enhanced communication skills. The session involved individual reflection, interaction, robust discussion in groups and feedback. Participants attained self-knowledge and had lots of fun. Directors of the RANZCO Board participated as invited faculty.
RANZCO staff supported yet another important, ‘National Close the Gap’ Day, on Thursday 19 March.
There were several events planned and in the lead up to the day Adam Kiernan, Manager, E-Learning and Indigenous Health, gave a short presentation on some of the statistics relating to Indigenous eye health. Adam shared in his presentation that Indigenous Australians can expect to live 10-17 years less than non-Indigenous Australians and it was emphasised that vision loss accounts for 11% of the health gap. Currently blindness rates in Indigenous adults are 6 times the rate in mainstream with low vision rates at 2.8 times the rate in mainstream. 94% of vision loss is caused by preventable or treatable conditions (refractive error, cataract, diabetes and trachoma) and about a third of Indigenous adults have never had an eye examination. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being six times those of non-Indigenous Australians and vision loss being the equal third leading cause of ‘the gap’ after heart disease, diabetes and trauma, with stroke and alcoholism. Blindness rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are six times those of non-Indigenous Australians and vision loss is the equal third leading cause of ‘the gap’ after heart disease, diabetes and trauma, with stroke and alcoholism.
Staff members participated in a picnic in the park to show local support for this national event and there were photo opportunities and other activities including a signing of the ‘Close the Gap’ pledge, organisational pledge and writing a letter to the Prime Minister on Oxfam’s website. Later on in the day there was an opportunity to plant a hand in the ANTaR organised ‘sea of hands.’
The aim of the campaign is to work towards closing the overall health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in one generation (over a 25 year period). The campaign was started in 2005 so that leaves 15 years to achieve this goal. The Prime Minister’s 2015 Report on Closing the Gap indicated that there are areas where there has been substantial improvement but in contrast some areas are falling behind their projected targets.
The eye health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is a priority for both the Government and the eye health and vision care sector.
The sector has endorsed the Roadmap to Close the Gap for Vision as a focus for improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health.
The second instalment of the RANZCO Leadership Development Program, developed by RANZCO Director Cathy Green, was held over three days from 30 January to 1 February in Melbourne, Australia. Aptly named the RANZCO LDP Masterclass, the session included immersive workshops, talks from RANZCO President Bradley Horsburgh, RANZCO Vice President Arthur Karagiannis, Director Neil Murray, and a special appearance by RANZCO CEO David Andrews.
The Masterclass walked participants through managing meetings, how to run successful campaigns, working in regions of diversity and many more. The session benefited greatly from external presenters. Marsheila De Van, a Communication Specialist, who has the ability to turn the most reluctant participant into an accomplished presenter, shared her expertise on interpersonal skills improvement, cultural diversity and meeting moderation. She spared no one and all had to front up and present on topics at short notice. Presentations were filmed and feedback was provided in a very constructive and interactive manner.
The second instalment of the RANZCO Leadership Development Program, developed by RANZCO Director Cathy Green, was held over three days from 30 January to 1 February in Melbourne, Australia. Aptly named the RANZCO LDP Masterclass, the session included immersive workshops, talks from RANZCO President Bradley Horsburgh, RANZCO Vice President Arthur Karagiannis, Director Neil Murray, and a special appearance by RANZCO CEO David Andrews.
The Masterclass walked participants through managing meetings, how to run successful campaigns, working in regions of diversity and many more. The session benefited greatly from external presenters. Marsheila De Van, a Communication Specialist, who has the ability to turn the most reluctant participant into an accomplished presenter, shared her expertise on interpersonal skills improvement, cultural diversity and meeting moderation. She spared no one and all had to front up and present on topics at short notice. Presentations were filmed and feedback was provided in a very constructive and interactive manner.
