Dr Michael Beckoff seeking ACRRM leadership to continue the fight for rural and remote medicine

The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) will be holding elections for the position of President this month, with rural generalist Dr Michael Beckoff one of two candidates vying for the top spot.

On applying for the role, Dr Beckoff said: “I am very interested in promoting the College to make sure we’re attracting the right candidates for rural training, the ultimate goal being retention in rural areas and better health outcomes for rural and remote communities.”

We sat down with Michael to ask him what he would bring to the College.

What would ACRRM look like under your leadership?

My first wish is to continue the good work of past Presidents and Board Members. We’re a growing organisation and I’d like to acknowledge that and progress from where we are now.

If I were president, I’d want to be a positive leader for the organisation and talk to members to understand their perspective. We’ve got students, registrars, Fellows, and international doctors, and I’d like to make sure we’re training the right doctors for rural health.

From a Board perspective, I’d like to make sure we’re meeting our vision and goals, and with our government stakeholders at a Federal and state level, I’d like to ensure we keep things moving positively. There’s a lot going on, like the AGPT transition to the Colleges, the National Rural Generalist Pathway Taskforce, and of course our Compact with the federal government to uphold. I’d also like to be progressive in technology and enhance our digital health capacity and capability.

All of this leads to the ultimate goal: improving equity of access to health services for rural and remote communities. This is through our education program, our selection process, and the way we deliver training. All of these things add up to helping to get the right doctors in the right place.

What does a Presidential position mean to you?

I joined Council as a SA director originally, and then became a member of the Board. It’s humbling to be nominated and considered, and I thank Lucie Walters for showing me that. She was the person who got me more involved in ACRRM. I’ve been a Fellow for some time, but I wasn’t always actively involved in governance. For me, this is about growing the College from the perspective of members and their rural communities. It’s about educating in a clear way to enable better health outcomes for communities.

I bring a more corporate aspect to the organisation, having spent a significant amount of my time in the corporate health sector, so I’d like to make sure we progress as an organisation from a corporate perspective as well as a member, community and stakeholder perspective.

What is the future of ACRRM to you?

It’s basically achieving our vision of better health for rural and remote people through access to skilled rural doctors and creating an even stronger member base. Our member base is growing which is great.

It’s also being recognised as a national and international leader in rural and remote generalism. We’ve done a lot of work to promote that in Australia and internationally, and we’ve helped other countries such as New Zealand and our neighbours in the Pacific develop their curriculum. So being able to expand what we’re doing and really make a difference in rural and remote communities.

All ordinary members of ACRRM are eligible to vote and will be sent correspondence on how to do so via email from an independent election company.