and much much more. Happy reading!
AAAPC Annual Research Conference August 12-13 - Scholarships and sponsors
The AAAPC is pleased to offer two competitive scholarships to support attendance at the 2021 Annual Research Conference, including for:
For more information or to register your interest please visit https://www.aaapc.org.au/ARC_scholarships.
We are also still seeking sponsors to support the success of the AAAPC Annual Research Conference. Please refer to the conference prospectus for sponsorship opportunities.
We hope to see you online in August, registration is available now! Please contact us if you have any questions.
Associate Professor Lauren Ball
Conference Committee Chair
l.ball@griffith.edu.au +61413031470.
NEW EMAIL ADDRESS for AAAPC
AAAPC has a new email address! It is secretariat@aaapc.org.au, so please update your address books. A huge note of thanks to AAAPC Executive Committee member Lynsey Brown for leading the way with this.
Upcoming AAAPC Webinar - Bridging health services and research through networks and collaboration: A tale of two cities, May 6
The AAAPC Early Career Researcher and Capacity Development Subcommittee are pleased to host Dr Jean-Frédéric Levesque on Thursday May 6th, 2021 at 7pm AEDT for the next AAAPC Webinar.
Dr Jean-Frédéric Levesque is the Chief Executive of the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation and an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity at UNSW. Jean-Frédéric is a leader in healthcare system analysis and improvement, combining experience in clinical practice in refugee health and tropical medicine, clinical governance and academic research. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada in Preventive Medicine and Public Health. Prior to joining NSW Health, Jean-Frédéric held senior positions responsible for publicly reporting information about the Canadian health system at the Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec and the Commissaire a la santé et au bien-etre du Québec and he was a Visiting Academic at the University of Melbourne.
In this webinar, Dr Jean-Frédéric Levesque will reflect on his work in the academic and policy realms to highlight the polarities often erected as barriers for both sectors to work collaboratively. He will draw on examples from recent collaboration across industry, clinical, policy, and academia to drive health care service innovation and system improvements in clinical care. Dr Levesque will discuss how he has built networks across all aspects of the health sector including facilitators and challenges to building collaboration. He will also highlight more specific opportunities for primary care to collaborate with government to drive service improvements.
News from the Early Career Researcher and Capacity Development Subcommittee
On March 5 the AAAPC Early Career Researcher and Capacity Development Subcommittee held the first FACES - Friends Advancing Careers through E-based Support session via Zoom. Thirteen PhD students and ECRs met for a peer-networking session to share our experiences and current research plans. The next session will be on April 30th with Renee Fiolet leading a peer discussion about her experience of using community participatory based research during her PhD.
Stay in touch with AAAPC - A request for members
There are many exciting opportunities constantly going on in the AAAPC community, including great new jobs and research projects. Sadly however, the AAAPC Newsletter only comes out once a month. The good news is that we now have a noticeboard on our website for all our members!
The even better news is that if you would like to keep up-to-date with AAAPC announcements without constantly visiting the website, all you need to do is:
1. Sign into the AAAPC website and go to the Members Only Section >> Noticeboard
2. Underneath the big blue rectangle there is a where you can click 'Subscribe' to receive regular messages to your inbox from the Members Only (see screenshot below). Follow the instructions from there.
If you would like to leave a message for other members, all you need to do is click the other link under the big blue rectangle --> 'Create topic'.
We are requesting that all AAAPC members strongly consider subscribing to the Members Noticeboard, as an effective way for us all to stay in touch in real time.
Executive Committee Positions - Call for Expressions of Interest
Two of our Executive Committee members are going on maternity leave soon, and will be stepping down shortly before the Annual General Meeting in August 2021.
As such, we are looking for interested AAAPC members to self-nominate for the following positions, both to start in May 2021:
- Chair of the Membership and Marketing Subcommittee
- Newsletter Editor
Please email secretariat@aaapc.org.au if you are interested or have any questions.
Report on the AAAPC Webinar with Prof Carl May - February 2021
We were delighted to host Prof May from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for an online webinar. 180 people registered for the event and we were taken on an in-depth tour of implementation and Normalisation Process Theory. The success of this webinar highlights the AAAPC community's passion for research methods and we will be having further webinars in 2021. Participants rated the webinar very highly and many took the opportunity to send warm messages of thanks to Prof May.
The event was hosted by Dr Liz Sturgiss and Dr Lauralie Richard. The recording of the webinar can be found online in the Members only section of the website. We are pleased to provide this recording as a service to members. After July, the recording will be made available to the public.
New Zealand Primary Health Care, General Practice & Rural Health Research Symposium - 27-29 August 2021
The call for abstracts is now open for the 2021 New Zealand Primary Health Care, General Practice & Rural Health Research Symposium, which will be held this year in Invercargill. The event is in-person but people unable to travel in the current circumstances will be able to join the sessions via Zoom.
Closing date for abstract submissions is 12 April 2021. For more details visit:
https://www.otago.ac.nz/dsm-gprh/about/news/events/symposium/index.html.
Medical Research Future Fund Grant Opportunities
Two new MRFF research grant opportunities will be of interest to many AAAPC members:
Celebrating some AAAPC Members
A shout out to some members who have had some recent publication success:
I know that this list does not comprehensively include the many achievements of all of our members (apologies). But please send me an email at melinda.choy@anu.edu.au when you or another member you know has a new publication out or receives an award so that we can all celebrate them!
Welcome to New AAAPC Members
We warmly welcome all new members to AAAPC - if you would like your bio to be published in the monthly newsletter, please email secretariat@aaapc.org.au This is a great way to build networks within our community.
This month we are especially welcoming new member Dr Rona Carroll! Dr Rona Carroll is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago Wellington, NZ in the Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice. She is also a GP working in youth health with a special interest in transgender and gender affirming healthcare. Rona is a new researcher and her current projects are exploring general practice care for rainbow young people and improving LGBTQIA+ healthcare education for medical students.
AAAPC Webinar with Prof Carl May - Thursday 18 Feb
AAAPC is pleased to host Prof Carl May from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for an online webinar. His talk is titled "When implementation goes wrong: how can we understand the dynamics of failure to launch?"
Implementation science is an exciting field of research that focuses on how to get high quality evidence about treatment, and the organisation and delivery of care, into routine practice. In this talk Carl will look at the dark side of implementation – and explore some of the reasons why big expensive implementation projects often fail.
Details:
- Thursday 18 Feb 7pm AEST/9pm NZDT
- Registration is free and AAAPC welcomes all primary care researchers and teachers
- For further information please see the AAAPC website https://aaapc.org.au/webinars/ or email liz.sturgiss@monash.edu
AAAPC Annual Research Conference - Call for abstracts now open
We welcome abstract submissions covering the full spectrum of primary care across a range of multidisciplinary perspectives. We also welcome contributions focusing on methodological developments and challenges relevant to the field. We will consider abstracts of relevance to primary care practice, research, education, and policy.
In 2021 we are seeking abstracts across four different presentation types: Oral Presentations, Poster Presentations, Dangerous Ideas and Interactive Workshops.
Please visit the website for all the details and to submit your abstract. The call for abstracts will close on Wednesday 17 March 2021.
Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) list now on website
Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) are sustained collaborations between practitioners and academics who are dedicated to developing relevant research questions, working together on study design and conduct, and translating new knowledge into practice to ultimately benefit the health of populations.
In 2020, there are around 23 primary health care PBRNs in Australia. The Australian primary health care PBRNs, mostly based in general practice and administered through academic institutions, vary in sizes but their key function is to engage clinicians in research to answer community-based health care questions and translate research findings into practice.
A list of PBRNs is now available under the Resources tab on the AAAPC site. Please note this is a members only page so you will have to be logged in for access.
FACES Program is recommencing for 2021!
AAAPC’s peer-support program FACES 'Friends Advancing Careers through E-based Support' is recommencing for 2021.
The objective of this program is to provide mentoring, advice and collegial discussions about career advancement in primary care research and academia for AAAPC members.
Our first session will be a peer-networking Zoom session on Friday March 5th at 12midday AEDT. This will be an opportunity to meet and learn about each other’s current and future research plans.
Register your interest here: https://aaapc.org.au/Sys/Poll/21920 (note this is a members-only page) or contact rita.mcmorrow@unimelb.edu.au if you have any questions.
A shout out to some members who have had recent publication success:
Congratulations also to Prof Jane Gunn, whose research into better management of those at risk of persistent and disabling depression has been showcased in the NHMRC’s '10 of the Best’ success stories from Australia’s health and medical researchers.
We warmly welcome all new members to AAAPC - if you would like your bio to be published in the monthly newsletter, please email aaapc.secretariat@anu.edu.au This is a great way to build networks within our community. This month we are welcoming our first academic optometrist to the AAAPC community, Prof Allison McKendrick.
Prof Allison McKendrick BScOptom, MScOptom, PhD
Allison is an academic optometrist in the Department of Optometry & Vision Sciences, The University of Melbourne. She has served as Head of Department from 2013-March 2021, and was Deputy Head of the Melbourne School of Health Sciences from 2017-2020. Her research aims to better understand normal visual processing and damage due to disease, particularly in older adults. Her research lab has applied aims including developing better clinical tests for the assessment of vision loss; determining methods of preventing visual damage, and improving understanding of the consequences of vision loss on performance in natural visual environments and day-to-day tasks. Her lab has been supported by from the ARC, NHMRC, and industry partnership. Allison is active in optometric peak professional bodies, being a current member of the Board of Directors of Optometry Victoria/South Australia, and a former director of the national body, Optometry Australia.
AAAPC Annual Research Conference 2021 Save the Date Announcement
After the fabulous online Annual Research Conference we had in 2020, the AAAPC Annual Research Conference 2021 will be hosted online again. Based on the fantastic presentations at the inaugural AAAPC Annual Research Conference, the Dangerous Ideas are back for 2021! The event will also feature interactive workshops aimed at building research skills for primary care researchers. The call for abstracts for all presentation types will be opening soon so keep a close eye on the ARC webpage (aaapc.org.au/ARC) for more information.
Season's Greetings from the AAAPC President
On behalf of the Executive Committee, I would like to say a big thank you to our members for your support for AAAPC, especially during the challenges we have faced this year.
We look forward to a bigger and brighter year in 2021!
Wishing you all the best for the festive season, and a happy, healthy and safe new year.
Sincerely,
Phyllis Lau
AAAPC Travelling Fellowship 2020 Recipient
Congratulations to Sajal Saha, this year's recipient of the AAAPC Travelling Fellowship!
Sajal Saha is an academic pharmacist and a Commonwealth Scholar from the UK. He also graduated from a Master of Public Health with Distinction and the prestigious John Griffith Prize from the University of Leeds, UK. Saha is a Pan Canadian Transdisciplinary Understanding on Training and Research in Primary Health Care (TUTOR-PHC) Trainee2020. He is currently a PhD fellow of the Department of General Practice of Monash University and the National Centre for Antimicrobial Stewardship (NCAS) in Australia. Saha wants to use the AAAPC fellowship in conducting a workshop involving GPs, pharmacists and stakeholders to refine the GP-pharmacist antimicrobial stewardship (GPPAS) model designed as part of his doctoral program for future feasibility testing in optimising antimicrobial(s) use in Australian primary care, and presenting in the AAAPC conference 2021. He believes that this grant would help him to generate a NHMRC investigator grant building upon the developed GPPAS model through building a solid network among Monash University, University of Toronto and the University of Melbourne.
AAAPC Member Noticeboard - How to use it
Do you have an announcement, job advertisement or opportunity that you would like to share with AAAPC members?
We now have a members only section of the AAAPC website that you can use to communicate with other members.
The process is simple:
1. Login to your member portal on the AAAPC website.
2. Click on Members Only.
3. Click on Noticeboard.
4. Add you subject, and body of the message; you can also add an attachment to the body of the message.
5. If you would like emailed updates about your message and any replies, press "Subscribe to topic" and choose the frequency of updates from the dropdown menu.
6. Press create.
You can also comment on other posts and connect to AAAPC members.
All posts on the noticeboard are made in the name that you login with. No anonymous posts are possible.
A huge congratulations also to Jane Gunn, who will the interim Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences for 12 months from February 2021.
We warmly welcome all new members to AAAPC - if you would like your bio to be published in the monthly newsletter, please email aaapc.secretariat@anu.edu.au This is a great way to build networks within our community.
Join the Membership and Marketing Subcommittee!
Joining a Subcommittee is one of the best ways to get more involved in AAAPC. It is a great way to meet and work alongside colleagues from all over the organisation. The Membership and Marketing Subcommittee is still looking for keen members to join them.
If you are interested in joining this vibrant and productive Subcommittee, please email your details to aaapc.secretariat@anu.edu.au.
AAAPC Member Noticeboard - A new place to find out what's on
As many of you know, members of AAAPC are regularly coordinating and connected to lots of workshops, conferences, training events and job opportunities. And now there is an easy place for AAAPC members to both view and announce interesting opportunities!
The AAAPC Member Noticeboard can be accessed by logging into the website. It is a Members Only feature, and well worth checking out. There are quite a few interesting announcements up there right now.
NAPCRG 48th Virtual Annual Meeting on now - November 20-24 2020
You are still able to register to attend the North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Meeting, which is currently on now virtually. For those of you wondering what to do this weekend, NAPCRG is a great opportunity to experience the width and depth of international primary care research. There are quite a few AAAPC members presenting content and some content will also be accessible for registrants post-conference. With reduced prices and the virtual option, it is a great opportunity.
Medical Research Future Fund News
We warmly welcome all new members to AAAPC - this month we especially welcome Jianrong Zhang. If you would like your bio to be published in the monthly newsletter, please email aaapc.secretariat@anu.edu.au This is a great way to build networks within our community.
Jianrong Zhang, MD, MPH is a PhD Student (in General Practice) at the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne (Australia). In 2008-2016, Jianrong accomplished medicine degrees at Guangzhou Medical University (China). From 2017 to 2019, he studied epidemiology and biostatistics as a Master of Public Health candidate, and learned health policy as a Clark-Fox Policy Scholar, at Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis (USA). His research interests include population health, oncology, thoracic surgery, primary care, health services research, study design & methodology, research on publications, and health policy. In 2014-2020 (29 Oct), Jianrong published 20 research articles, 2 reviews, 2 case studies, 11 perspectives/editorials, 2 letters to the editor & 15 conference abstracts in peer-review journals, and had presentations at several international conferences (e.g., WCLC, ESMO Asia, SCT Annual Meeting). Jianrong is also a reviewer of high-impact journals, a member of several academic societies (e.g., IASLC, ASCO, ATS, SCT, CHPAMS, AAAPC), and an editor of some academic journals.
Joining a Subcommittee is one of the best ways to get more involved in AAAPC. It is a great way to meet and work alongside colleagues from all over the organisation. You should have received an email inviting you to participate in a poll to indicate your interest in joining a Subcommittee last week.
As a quick recap, the three Subcommittees presently seeking members are as follows:
To express your interest or to find out more, click on the link in the button below.
Express your interest in joining a AAAPC Subcommittee
NAPCRG Annual Meeting Nov 2020 - Early Bird Registration Closing Very Soon
This year, the NAPCRG Annual Meeting will be a Virtual Meeting. This is a great opportunity for those of us from New Zealand and Australia to attend such a large international academic primary care conference from the comfort of home.
Early bird registrations close on October 15 (just a couple of days away!) To register or find out more, see the attachment below or head to their website.
Why NAPCRG 2020 Annual Meeting flyer.pdf
AAAPC 2020 Travelling Fellowship - Apply Now!
The AAAPC Travelling Fellowship has been reviewed in 2020 in light of the global pandemic which is restricting travel and to take account of the increasing financial constraints that are being experienced by our members.
The 2020 Fellowship is available for any purpose likely to meet the stated aims of the program. It is designed to assist members of AAAPC (of one year or more) to undertake academic activities including costs associated with carrying out research, dissemination, professional development and impact. It does not have to be used exclusively for travel purposes. For more information please see the relevant page of the website and the Information Package on the website.
Applications are welcome for amounts up to $1000. A total fellowship pool of $3000 is available. One fellowship of up to $1000 will be specifically allocated to a First Nations applicant (eligible application dependent).
The closing date for applications is November 4. Early career researchers are strongly encouraged to apply!
AAAPC Responses to Consultation Papers
At the AAAPC our mission is to be Australia and New Zealand’s leading advocate for high-quality primary care research, education, policy and practice. Where possible, we seek to respond to consultation papers on issues of relevance to the academic primary care community. In recent months we have provided responses to two external calls:
Visit our Resources page to access the full responses.
Rita McMorrow, Chair, on behalf of the Early Career Researcher and Capacity Development Subcommittee, would like to thank Andrea Hernan and Rebekah Hoffman for their contributions to the Early Career Research and Capacity Development subcommittee over the past year. We welcome Asvini Subasinghe and Renee Fiolet to the subcommittee. Asvini is a Research Fellow on the SPHERE CRE at the Department of General Practice, Monash University. Renee is a PhD candidate at the Department of General Practice at the University of Melbourne and a Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Deakin University.
On October 7th the AAAPC Early Career Researcher and Capacity Development subcommittee hosted a webinar with A/Prof Lauren Ball. Lauren, who was recently awarded a 2020 Griffith University Vice Chancellor Research Excellence Award, shared how she used her research niche to develop momentum, made social media a key component of her impact strategy and has developed relationships throughout her career.
AAAPC Member Announcement - PhD Scholarship Opportunity: Improving the delivery of healthcare in general practice
The Implementing work-related mental health guidelines in general PRacticE (IMPRovE) team is offering a PhD scholarship to conduct an implementation science project in primary care. This fantastic opportunity would suit someone who sees themselves as a future leader in implementation science. The candidate will learn and develop the field of knowledge translation and improve professional behaviour change, setting themselves up for either a future in academia or in policy or practice settings.
Further details about the scholarship opportunity can be found here.
We hope you are all keeping well in the current circumstances. Within AAAPC, it's the beginning of a new year for us. We have a lots of new members - look out for some bios at the end of the newsletter! We also have a new AAAPC Subcommittee, which I encourage everyone to read about.
With these new beginnings - there is also the opportunity for AAAPC members to be more involved. There are three Subcommittees (Primary Care Education, ECR and Capacity Development, Membership and Marketing) that are currently seeking interested members to join them and there are more details in the rest of this newsletter.
Please consider joining one of these Subcommittees and note you are allowed to be part of more than one Subcommittee. If you are interested or would like to know more - please email aaapc.secretariat@anu.edu.au introducing yourself and highlighting the Subcommittee that you are interested in joining.
The newest AAAPC Subcommittee seeks to deliver on two of AAAPC's strategic goals, namely to:
The newly elected Chair of this Subcommittee is Dr Kylie Vuong, who is a Senior Lecturer in Primary Care at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at UNSW. As this is a new Subcommittee, it is a great opportunity for all members, and particularly new members, to join and get more involved in AAAPC.
If you would like to express an interest in joining this Subcommittee please email aaapc.secretariat@anu.edu.au.
Next FACES Webinar from the ECR and Capacity Development Subcommittee with A/Prof Lauren Ball - Wednesday October 7, 2020
Friends Advancing Careers through E-based Support (FACES) is our primary care mentor program run by the AAAPC ECR and Capacity Development Subcommittee. This Subcommittee is also seeking EOIs from members to join them - please consider this if you are keen on interprofessional education, the FACES program and more secure university positions for primary care academics. If you would like to express an interest in joining this Subcommittee please email aaapc.secretariat@anu.edu.au.
The next FACES webinar will be “Giving bang for their buck”: How to shift the focus from research output to impact" by A/Prof Lauren Ball. In this webinar, Lauren will showcase how she has strategically blended a traditional research track record with a contemporary impact focused agenda to deliver what key stakeholders are looking for in tomorrow’s research workforce. Lauren has built the Healthy Primary Care program at Griffith University as an outward focused brand to drive research impact, and is primarily supported by her NHMRC Investigator Fellowship. Lauren has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles and attracted over $12 million in research funding from government bodies, non-government organisations and philanthropic foundations.
Everyone is welcome to attend this webinar, whether you are a FACES member or not. Visit the AAAPC website to register.
AAAPC Membership and Marketing Subcommittee Announcement
The AAAPC Membership and Marketing Subcommittee is also seeking EOIs from members to join them. This Subcommittee was responsible for the recent #ourprimarycare campaign, as part of their work in supporting AAAPC to become a visible, effective and sustainable organisation that is responsive to a broad primary care membership. If you would like to express an interest in joining this Subcommittee please email aaapc.secretariat@anu.edu.au.
Lauralie Richard, Chair, on behalf of the Membership and Marketing Subcommittee, writes, "We would like to thank Dr Hok Lim for his contributions to the Membership and Marketing subcommittee work over the past year. We wish Hok all the very best in his future projects! We would also like to publicly welcome Dr Pallavi Prathivadi. Dr Prathivadi is an academic GP and third year PhD Candidate at the Department of General Practice, Monash University. Her research aims to improve evidence-based opioid prescribing in primary care. She is a Fulbright Future scholar at the Stanford University School of Medicine from 2020-2021. Pallavi joins the AAAPC Membership and Marketing Subcommitteee with relevant experience (as a current member of the Monash DGP Media & Marketing Committee)"
AAAPC Executive Subcommittee Announcement
In the last newsletter, it was mentioned that A/Prof Lauren Ball was stepping up to be our new Chair of the Conference and Professional Development Subcommittee.
This left the Secretary role vacant, but we are pleased to announce that Dr David Chua has been recently appointed by the Executive Subcommittee as the new AAAPC Secretary. David is a postdoctoral primary care researcher who works across Griffith University, UQ and the well known large GP clinic in Brisbane called Inala Primary Care. We are thrilled to have him join us.
AAAPC Member Announcement - Australian Association for Adolescent Health
The Australian Association for Adolescent Health (AAAH) is the national peak body bringing together young people and professionals to promote the health and wellbeing of young people (12 to 25 years). AAAH is holding an online showcase for Higher Degree by Research students (e.g. PhD, Masters by Research, Honours students) to be held in the week beginning Monday 30th November. The aim is to highlight some of the excellent youth health research being done around Australasia by our Higher Degree by Research students. There will be no specific theme – only ‘Youth Health’. AAAH is now calling for abstracts (closing Sept 27), to find out more please visit the event page.
Congratulations to:
A shout out also to some members who have had recent publication success:
We warmly welcome all new members to AAAPC. This month, we are especially welcoming Klaus von Pressentin, Hsin Tien and Alessandro Luongo.
If you would like your bio to be published in the monthly newsletter, please email aaapc.secretariat@anu.edu.au This is a great way to build networks within our community.
Until next month,
Dr Melinda Choy, AAAPC Editor
melinda.choy@anu.edu.au
AAAPC Annual Research Conference - August 14-15 2020
This time last week we were halfway through our first ever online AAAPC Annual Research Conference. How amazing to be able to virtually gather with 180 colleagues from Australia, New Zealand, Norway, USA, the UK and South Africa! How wonderful to have the opportunity to be inspired by the enthusiasm, ideas and range of expertise within our primary care research community.
Thank you especially to Liz Sturgiss and the whole Conference and Professional Development Subcommittee (Lauren Ball, Chris Barton, Lynsey Brown, Vera Costa, Kyle Eggleton, Anna Fragkoudi, Phyllis Lau, Lauralie Richard and Katharine Wallis) for the amazing job that they did.
Congratulations to all the prize winners recognised at the closing of the conference:
Many thanks also to the conference sponsors who enable us to give these prizes: CSIRO Publishing / Australian Journal of Primary Health, The University of Queensland Primary Care Clinical Unit, The University of Melbourne Department of General Practice and WentWest.
Some of you may still be in conference withdrawal, but don't worry, it's not all over...
Finally, the joy of being part of AAAPC in the same spirit of the conference lives on. One new member said, "I found your (conference) tweets so positive and encouraging, and the multidisciplinary approach really shone through. It was just so refreshing to see this sort of grassroots approach that it convinced me to apply for membership."
AAAPC Annual General Meeting - July 30 2020
The AGM minutes and all of the reports that were presented are available on the website.
A few key things that happened at the AGM this year were:
Our immediate past President, Prof Kirsty Douglas, was profusely thanked for her past three years of steady and wise service as President and many thanks were also extended to Brigid Cassells for her support of AAAPC.
Bridges-Webb Medal winner - Prof Danielle Mazza
The prestigious Charles Bridges-Webb Medal is a recognition of an AAAPC member who has made and will continue to make international standard teaching and/or research contributions to academic activities in the primary care environment.
A huge congratulations to Professor Danielle Mazza, this year's extremely worthy winner. Prof Danielle Mazza, Head of the Department of General Practice at Monash University, is a leader in primary care research and has achieved so much in closing evidence practice gaps in women's sexual and reproductive health, preventive care, and primary care management of cancer. She joins a long list of other distinguished recipients. Congratulations again Prof Mazza!
AAAPC Membership and Marketing Subcommittee #OurPrimaryCare campaign
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the recent #OurPrimaryCare campaign that reached its peak during the recent AAAPC Annual Research Conference. It has been such an encouraging, thoughtful and motivating collection of descriptions of what we all do.
For those who missed out or simply want more of it, look up #ourprimarycare on Twitter, head to the relevant page on the website or watch the video.
AAAPC Executive Committee Announcement
Congratulations and thank you to A/Prof Lauren Ball who is stepping up to be the new Chair of the Conference and Professional Development Subcommittee.
This is wonderful news, but it does also mean that the Secretary position is now vacant. If you are interested in the position or have any questions, please email aaapc.secretariat@anu.edu.au.
AAAPC Annual General Meeting - Thursday July 30th, 5pm AEST via Zoom
It would be wonderful to have as many AAAPC members as possible at the AAAPC Annual General Meeting on Thursday next week. It will be an efficient meeting, including elections and the awarding of the prestigious Charles Bridges Webb Medal.
We still have not received any nominations for Chair of the Conference and Professional Development Subcommittee - it's not too late to nominate a worthy colleague. Nominations close on Wednesday July 29 and more details are available on the website.
Please click the button below to register, and receive the Zoom link and password. See you there!
Register for the AGM on July 31
AAAPC Annual Research Conference - August 14-15 online
With less than one month to go, we are all excited for the AAAPC Annual Research Conference in August! Make sure you have a look at the website to see the great range of presentations and workshops in the program.
All speakers have been contacted about Speaker IT training sessions and it is encouraged that all speakers take the opportunity up in order to make the conference a smooth success.
There is also an opportunity for delegates to host small group discussions on a topic of their choice, similar to a small group discussion over lunch or coffee during a face to face conference. If you are interested in hosting a small group discussion, please email Dr Liz Sturgiss (liz.sturgiss@monash.edu) before the 7th of August with:
Membership and Marketing Subcommittee #ourprimarycare Campaign
AAAPC's #ourprimarycare campaign is still going! The goal is to promote what academic primary care means to you. The campaign will run from July to mid-August, especially during the AAAPC 2020 Annual Research Conference.
The campaign will involve two challenges:
We want to hear your challenges, goals and passions in academic primary care. Be creative, zany and inspiring. Put your thinking caps on, talk to your colleagues and start uploading your videos here. For more inspiration and help, visit aaapc.org.au/ourprimarycare.
Contribute to the AAAPC #ourprimarycare campaign
AAAPC Member Announcement - Grant Generating Project from NAPCRG
The North American Primary Care Research Group is calling for applications for the Grant Generating Project (GGP) for 2020-2021. The GGP seeks to equip family medicine and primary care researchers with the skills they need to successfully develop and submit grants for research funding. Once learned, these skills continue to help generate new funds for family medicine research and training, year after year.
This year the GGP is being run virtually until its final session, although there is flexibility for those who may not be able to travel. Applications close on August 28 and further information on how to apply is here.
AAAPC Member Announcement - Social Media Fellow Position with BJGP Open
Another new international opportunity that can be undertaken remotely is the Social Media Fellow Position with the British Journal of General Practice Open. This is a part-time, 12-month honorary post with BJGP Open, and will fit alongside existing commitments. It will include 2-4 hours of work per week.
Applications close on July 31 and further information on how to apply is here.
We warmly welcome all new members to AAAPC - if you would like your bio to be published in the monthly newsletter, please email aaapc.secretariat@anu.edu.au. This is a great way to build networks within our community.
The AAAPC Annual General Meeting of 2020 will be held at 5:00 pm on Thursday the 30th July via a Zoom webinar. It would be great to have as many members there as possible.
The meeting will involve the election of President, Vice President, Chair of the Conference and Professional Development Subcommittee and Editor. The agenda, explanatory documents, nomination form and proxy voting forms are all available on the website in the Association Meetings section, under Events.
The 2020 Bridges Webb Medal will also be presented at the end of this meeting. This is a highlight of our meeting honouring one of our members who has excelled in primary care.
AAAPC Annual Research Conference - to be held virtually August 14-15 2020
We are pleased to announce the line up for the COVID symposium which will be held as part of our virtual conference in August.
Chaired by Prof Michael Kidd, we have five excellent speakers who will update us on innovations relating to research, education and clinical practice in primary care in Australasia.
Registrations are open and we look forward to welcoming you online in August.
AAAPC is launching #ourprimarycare campaign to promote what academic primary care means to you. The campaign will run from July to mid-August, with activity focussed during the AAAPC 2020 Annual Research Conference.
AAAPC Charles Bridges Webb Medal Nominations Open
The Bridges-Webb Medal is awarded to an AAAPC member who has made, and will continue to make, sustained high level contributions to academic primary care. This prize is one of the ways AAAPC's commits to fostering and supporting career development in academic primary care.
Nominations for the 2020 Medal are now open and close on the 15th of July. The winner will be announced at the Annual General Meeting on the 31st July 2020.
Further information and nomination forms are available on the website. Completed nomination forms and a CV of the nominee need to be emailed to aaapc.secretariat@anu.edu.au by close of business on 15th July 2020.
AAAPC Member Announcement - International Primary Health Care & COVID-19 Study
AAAPC member Prof Felicity Goodyear-Smith and colleagues recently conducted a multinational survey aimed to understand characteristics and strategies employed by different countries to deal with COVID-19 from a primary health care perspective. A summary of key findings from this work is now available in the Members Only section of the website.
Link to results from International Primary Health Care & COVID-19 Study
AAAPC Member Announcement - Improving access to early medical abortion amid COVID-19
A newly formed Coalition of key stakeholders and clinician experts is advocating rapid policy and practice-based changes to improve the accessibility of early medical abortion (EMA) in Australia during COVID-19 and beyond.
EMA has been declared an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic but it is not always easy to access. The Coalition, brought together by the NHMRC-funded SPHERE Centre of Research Excellence in Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health in Primary Care and led by Monash University’s Professor Danielle Mazza, is advocating for a range of changes to support women who could potentially be affected by these challenges.
Link to the full EMA and other consensus statements
AAAPC Executive Committee Announcement - Policy Update
AAAPC's Primary Care Research, Policy and Advocacy Subcommittee have helped the Executive Committee recently update its policy regarding distribution of information from AAAPC members. The policy is that we will be happy to distribute information on research projects or other relevant activities from AAAPC members. We need however submitters (AAAPC members) to agree that:
a) (In the case of research projects), submitters need to include the project's ethics approval number.
b) (In the case of advertisement of other initiatives) submitters acknowledge that the distribution will not bring financial or other material benefits, or result in disadvantages to the public or other groups.
Please note that both the AAAPC Member Announcements in this month's newsletter have complied with this policy.
Friends Advancing Careers through E-based Support (FACES) Event in June
FACES 2020 had their second event in June with an interactive presentation (one slide shown below) with Dr. Liz Sturgiss discussing Research Impact. The FACES group provides a peer-support space for students, ECRs and experienced researchers. Our next event will be held at AAAPC 2020 Annual Research Conference in August when we will be discussing “Tips and tricks for conducting research remotely”. Applications for FACES 2020 are now closed but if you would like more information contact the AAAPC ECR and Capacity Development Chair Dr Rita McMorrow rita.mmcmorrow@unimelb.edu.au.
Vale Founding President Emeritus Professor Neil Carson AO
We grieve the loss of Emeritus Professor Neil Carson AO, our founding president, who died recently aged 92. Neil Carson was a key early leader in academic primary care; who pursued quality multidisciplinary community medicine, skilled and qualified general practitioners, talented research and education teams, all for the growth and improvement of general practice and primary care.
He was a visionary leader who grew his unit into one the largest Departments of General Practice in the country, mentored many current leaders in primary care today, helped establish foundational qualifications and examinations in general practice, created one of the first electronic medical record systems and was part of international growth in general practice and primary care.
Over his career, Neil was the foundation Professor of Community Medicine (now General Practice) at Monash University (1975-1980), head of a newly established Department of Community Medicine at Monash University (1980-1992), founder of the Blackburn Clinic in Melbourne (1952), Censor-in-Chief at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (1973-1976). He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1993, awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Medicine (MD) by Monash University in 1994 and made a Life Fellow of the RACGP in 2004.
Of particular relevance to us, from 1983-1989, Neil was appointed the founding president of the Australian Association for Academic General Practice (now known as the Australasian Association for Academic Primary Care). We continue to benefit from his legacy to general practice and primary care today. A full tribute by Monash University can be found here, and a tribute from Emeritus Professor John Murtagh is here.
