The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) is pleased to announce that Dr Ewen McPhee has been elected to be its eleventh President.
Dr McPhee is a Rural Generalist obstetrician and practice principal based in Emerald in central Queensland.
He has attained an impressive profile as a national rural health spokesperson and social media commentator and has been a pioneering advocate of rural telehealth.
Dr McPhee has served on numerous national policy and advocacy forums recently including the national Primary Care Taskforce, the National Rural Generalist Taskforce and the Medical Benefits Review committees. He is also immediate past president of the Rural Doctors’ Association of Australia.
Dr McPhee is an experienced training supervisor and medical educator and currently holds roles as a senior academic clinician at the University of Queensland’s Rural Clinical School and a senior fellow for Generalist Medical Training at James Cook University.
He is currently serving as a director of the ACRRM Board and has held senior roles in the College for many years.
“The College is entering an exciting new chapter, particularly, as it moves toward being able to take a more direct role in the delivery of its Fellowship programs, with the transition to College-led training and nationally supported rural generalist training” Dr McPhee said.
“It’s my hope that ACRRM will continue to agitate for the brave and intelligent decisions that can bring health equity to people in our rural and remote towns and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.”
“We will look to make the most of the opportunities presented by the federal government’s Stronger Rural Health strategy and progressing all the commitments in our Compact with the Commonwealth Government.”
The College acknowledges and thanks candidate Dr Mike Beckoff, who has been an invaluable contributor to the leadership of our College for many years. Dr Beckoff will continue to hold a range of key roles in ACRRM including as a Board director.
Dr McPhee will formally commence his new role in October during the Rural Medicine Australia conference in Darwin.
