Dear Colleagues,
I hope you are keeping well during these extraordinary times. As the pandemic rages through the world, we continue to do all we can to adapt to this new reality. The global situation continues to be uncertain. While Australia and New Zealand appear to be faring better than most countries, recent events show us that the situation continues to be volatile. This makes forward planning quite challenging. These challenges are shared by many similar associations around the world and this crisis has strengthened our resolve to work together. We are discussing reciprocal arrangements with the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) and with the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IASME) and look forward to enhancing the range of benefits available to ANZAHPE members. Please keep a close eye on the ANZAHPE website for details of current offers.
I also wanted to reflect on what we have achieved as an association within these challenging conditions. The revamped ANZAHPE research grants scheme attracted over 40 applications, many of which were of very high quality. I want to acknowledge the wonderful work behind these applications and express my appreciation of the high-quality research that is being conducted by ANZAHPE colleagues. I am also pleased to see the significant role that the ANZAHPE Fellowship scheme is playing in the career development of health professional educators. Additionally, I want to note our significant work in the area of interprofessional education (IPE). Further to agreements with the recently concluded ‘Securing Interprofessional Futures’ project, we have developed a knowledge repository which hosts IPE resources relevant to Australia and New Zealand. The repository is now live and can be accessed at: https://nexusipe.org/informing/resource-center/anzahpe.
As many of you would know, the month of July has been a very productive month for ANZAHPE. Thank you to those of you who joined us for the launch of ANZAHPE ONLINE, for the AGM, and for the panel discussion on the Ways of Seeing Exhibition. It has been wonderful to network with you in the virtual world. While we miss the wonderful camaraderie of our face-to-face conferences, the opportunity to meet with you on a more regular basis via our monthly events is a significant positive. I look forward to seeing you at the next event; the keynote by Professor Rachel Ellaway on the 13th of August. Please remember to register via the ANZAHPE ONLINE webpage.
During these testing times, it is wonderful to note the ongoing support of our members. I thank you for remaining so closely involved with ANZAHPE, during times when each of us are facing our own unique challenges. We remain committed to enhancing the benefits of ANZAHPE membership. The newly launched professional development program, the IPE knowledge repository and the reciprocal benefits that are being negotiated with AMEE and IAMSE, are examples of how we intend to add value to ANZAHPE membership. We hope that you will join with us to strengthen ANZAHPE as we navigate these uncharted waters.
With very best wishes!
Chinthaka Balasooriya MBBS PhD FANZAHPE
ANZAHPE President
