AFMW

Worldwide, it is estimated that over 130 million girls and women have undergone some form of genital mutilation/cutting, and at least three million girls are at risk of undergoing the practice every year. Cultural practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) are rooted in a set of beliefs, values, cultural and social behaviour patterns that govern the lives of people in society. The practice of FGM is not confined to a specific population group and it is not sanctioned by either Islam or by Christianity. The practice of FGM is common in parts of Africa, Asia and in some Middle Eastern Countries. It could be practiced among communities settling in Victoria from Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. FGM could also be practiced among certain ethnic groups from a number of Asian countries such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan, as well as among some groups in the Arabian Peninsula such as in Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.1

It is totally unacceptable that any medical practitioner or support staff should be subject to verbal threats or physical violence, especially while looking after patients.

In order to reduce the risk of threats to a doctor’s personal safety it is important to do an assessment of the types of personal safety risks you could be exposed to in your role. This assessment should include:
–    Identifying the potential risks which should also include a review of the incidents reported.
–    Creating a register of the risks identified.

On Saturday February 7 VMWS committee members Jill Tomlinson and Linny Kimly Phuong attended the Melbourne Joomla Day, an educational day that focused on the website content management system Joomla. Teaching was provided on all aspects of website management including search engine optimization, templating, security, Joomla extensions and e-commerce.

What does it take to be the director of neurosurgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne? At 45 Wirginia Maixner is one the youngest heads of neurosurgery in Australia. Read about her life, family and career in The Age’s article titled “Queen of the cutting edge”.

“Doctors may be more at risk of health problems than the general population because of sedentary lifestyles and inevitable stressors associated with medical practice. Annual preventive health checks are recommended for healthy Australians, but rarely undertaken by doctors themselves. Many doctors have become more aware of the need to refrain from self diagnosis and self treatment.  Others have requested more individual support at certain stages of their careers, including during their transition from medical student to doctor in training, throughout registrar training or while adjusting to a new environment as an international medical graduate. However, only 25% of medical practitioners have their own GP. The current medical workplace shortage deters many doctors from taking time out of their busy practices to seek health care.”
– Medical Consulting Victoria

Are you a doctor or medical student seeking medical help for your own health and wellbeing? Speak up! The following organisations offer confidential health and medical services directed to assisting doctors in physical or psychological distress.

Women still report discrimination on gender grounds in medicine. The old “they’re letting women into medicine!” is still alive and well – female students report hearing this over and over again in spite of Victorian medical courses being 50-70% female.

In 2007 10.8% of Australian doctors-in-training were undertaking part time vocational training. Despite this, part time surgical training is essentially non existent, with only one stand alone part time surgical training position and 929 surgical trainees.

VMWS has submitted a proposal to the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission drawing attention to the lack of part time surgical training opportunities in Australia and the potential for part time surgical training to enhance the participation of doctors in the surgical workforce and the delivery of high quality, efficient medical care that will deliver significant benefits to the Australian health care system.

VMWS supports the White Ribbon Campaign which aims to eliminate violence against women by promoting cultural change. It aims to
– Change community attitudes so that men and women have healthy relationships free of violence;
– Encourage men, supported by women, to take the lead in raising public awareness about the issue.