Journalists wanting to speak to an ACRRM spokesperson are invited to contact Petrina Smith on 0414 820 847 or email.

Rural Medicine Australia conference
25-27 October 2018, Darwin
www.ruralmedicineaustralia.com.au

#RMA18

A respected Aboriginal medical leader, the Leader of the Australian Greens, and an Australian medical student leader will be among a diverse group of distinguished speakers at this year’s RMA Presidents’ Breakfast at the Rural Medicine Australia (RMA18) conference in Darwin.

Rural Medicine Australia is the joint annual conference of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA), and is the largest annual gathering of rural doctors in Australia.

This will be the third year that the highly successful RMA Presidents’ Breakfast has been held, with the high-level panel this year to comprise:

  • Dr Kali Hayward, President of the Australian Indigenous Doctors’
    Association (AIDA)
  • Senator Richard di Natale, Leader of the Australian Greens
  • Alex Farrell, President of the Australian Medical Students’
    Association (AMSA)
  • Associate Professor Ruth Stewart, ACRRM President
  • Dr Adam Coltzau, RDAA President

The RMA Presidents’ Breakfast has been made possible for a third year through continuing generous support from MDA National.

This year’s Breakfast will cover wide-ranging topics, including:

  • feminisation of the rural medical workforce, and what this will mean for rural practice into the future
  • the need to further build the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctor workforce, and strategies to achieve this
  • the development and rollout of the forthcoming National Rural Generalist Pathway
  • what junior doctors are looking for in terms of their medical training in rural settings, and in considering a career as a doctor living and/or working in rural communities

RDAA President, Dr Adam Coltzau, said: “We are thrilled at the depth and quality of speakers we have confirmed for our Presidents’ Breakfast at RMA18. This will ensure the issues covered at this year’s Breakfast will again be wide-ranging and immensely interesting, and will take in a variety of perspectives.

“We are particularly pleased to have Dr Kali Hayward participating at our Breakfast this year as AIDA President — her in-depth knowledge and perspective on boosting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctor workforce, and what rural practices and others can do to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors and trainees, will be keenly heard.

“We are also very pleased to have Alex Farrell presenting at the Breakfast as AMSA President - after all, it is this future generation of doctors that key government initiatives such as the Regional Training Hubs and the National Rural Generalist Pathway will need to inspire and support, to ensure the continuation of wide-ranging medical services in the bush into the future.”

ACRRM President, Associate Professor Ruth Stewart, added that the participation of Senator Richard di Natale at the Breakfast will inform discussion of the Australian Greens’ policy platform.

“Rural doctors and other delegates at Rural Medicine Australia have shown that they are fervently supportive of initiatives to save the environment and the planet, and also very supportive of initiatives that build social capital and strong communities. These are issues on which the Greens have led debate.

“Senator di Natale is himself a doctor, and his attendance at our Breakfast will be valuable on multiple levels.

“Both Dr Coltzau and I greatly look forward to participating in this year’s RMA Presidents’ Breakfast, and we encourage those attending RMA18 to register early to ensure they have a seat at what will be one of the highlights of the RMA18 conference program.”

RMA18 will be held at the Darwin Convention Centre from Thursday 25 – Saturday 27 October 2018, with pre-conference clinical workshops and a meeting day being held on Wednesday 24 October 2018.

The RMA18 Presidents’ Breakfast will be held at 7am on
Friday 24 October 2018.
RMA delegates are encouraged to register early to ensure
a place at the Breakfast.

Registrations for RMA18 are now open.

More information on RMA18 can befound at www.ruralmedicineaustralia.com.au.

RMA18 is a proudly inclusive conference, and its program will feature a strong line-up of female and male keynote and other speakers from a variety of different fields and backgrounds. Additional keynote speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.

High resolution photos of the speakers at the RMA18 Presidents’ Breakfast are available by contacting Patrick Daley, Ineke Kuiper or Rachelle Forbes.