2023 Committee of Management Election

There will be six positions available on the Committee of Management (CoM), commencing from 15 June, 2023.

An online election will be held from Monday 5 June to Wednesday 7 June.  
Details of the online election process will be circulated to eligible members.

2023 Committee of Management Nominees

Nominations have been received from eleven members, listed below in alphabetical order by last name:

* Denotes current members of the Committee of Management who are offering for re-election.  

Please read nominees' statements below:  

MEGAN ANAKIN*

I have been a member of the ANZAHPE Committee of Management for two terms of service as Honorary Secretary of the association. I am responsible for coordinating correspondence for the association and managing the Awards and Grants portfolio. I actively contribute to three committees that support our conference, interprofessional education, and mentorship. I am seeking election for a third and final term so I can support the induction of new Committee of Management directors to our ‘ANZAHPE Way’ philosophy and strategic direction.

My work an Education Advisor and Senior Lecturer in the Education Unit at the Otago Medical School, University of Otago, in Dunedin, New Zealand provides me with the skill set to contribute productively as a leader of our association. My research interest focuses on examining the experiences, influences, and impacts on students and teachers when learning/teaching decision-making about providing patient care in a range of contexts including simulation and interprofessional education; and how this knowledge can be used to inform curriculum and faculty development in health professions education.

FEMKE BUISMAN-PUJLMAN

Associate Professor Femke Buisman-Pijlman supports health education and health educators in Australia and New Zealand and beyond. She holds Academic positions that span the University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and the Royal Children’s Hospital. She aims to support mature age health professionals on their life-long learning journey using on the job training, short online and face-to-face courses as well as accredited courses. 

Femke is a Dutch behavioural neuroscientist who is making a global impact through health education and research. She has a Graduate Certificate in Online Learning (Higher Education) and is passionate about mentoring colleagues. She is a leader in online learning, global education, curriculum mapping and in developing learning opportunities that are fit for purpose for health professionals.  

Femke excels in matching learning experiences to learner needs, whether they choose short courses, formal learning, CPD or MOOCs. Over her decades-long career in addiction and mental health teaching, she has specialised in educating mature-aged students in multi-disciplinary settings, holding several inaugural education leadership roles. Currently, she holds two roles at the University of Melbourne. She is Academic Director (Health) at the Melbourne School of Professional and Continuing Education and as Academic Lead for the Children’s Campus Mental Health Strategy. Co-design with industry, health professionals and consumers are key to develop learning experiences that have an impact and are accessible for all.  

As a leader in Addiction and Mental Health education, Femke is value driven and works to improve equity and diversity in education and training and reduce stigma. She strives for excellence and innovation in education and supports others to be better and grow. Evidence-based approaches and scholarship are at the foundation of progressing the field and learning from national and global leaders. 

ARVIN DAMODARAN

At our best, we strive to provide healthcare for those in need, while creating a safe, inclusive education culture so that the future is in good hands. It’s tricky and aspirational, but a meaningful shared mission.

By way of introduction, I am a medical educator at UNSW Sydney and Rheumatologist at Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick. Face-to-face teaching remains the highlight of my week, and I have been the chuffed recipient of multiple teaching awards. As the Director of Teaching, School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW, I try to improve the student experience across our four metropolitan and five rural campuses, extending from Albury to Coffs Harbour in NSW. As a researcher, an interest has been in highlighting the vulnerabilities of students and teachers as they negotiate trust and risk in clinical environments. I am fortunate to be an International Competency Based Medical Education Collaborator, and will happily talk med ed theory until the wee hours.

What happens to our students after graduation is a personal concern, having lost friends and colleagues along the way. Happily, my institution prioritises work-readiness, student wellbeing and inclusiveness. Downstream, I chair my hospital’s General Clinical Training Committee, where we try to ensure that junior doctors are looked after on their placements.

Having been President of the NSW Branch of the Australian Rheumatology Association (ARA) and ARA Board director, I currently chair the ARA Education Training and Workforce Committee. I contributed to the recent national ARA workforce report highlighting major workforce shortages, especially rurally. We need to do things differently. As an advocate for interprofessional team-based care, developing nurse practitioners and practice models that integrate allied health is critical.

Health professions educators are my peeps; I nominate with humility and without expectation since I am certain you will be well served by any of us.

A/Prof Arvin Damodaran, FRACP FANZAHPE

CHARLOTTE DENNISTON

Charlotte began her career as a physiotherapist and completed a PhD in health professions education at Monash University in 2018. Since then she has worked across health and university sectors, across the continuum of health professions education, including at Monash Health, Monash University and the College of Intensive Care Medicine. As a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Medical Education, University of Melbourne, Charlotte currently leads the Professional Practice Theme in the Melbourne MD and is the Interim Director of Work Integrated Learning. Her work is focused on the nexus between learning through work and preparing the workforce for professional practice. Charlotte has a number of collaborations across Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. These include research projects, scholarship of teaching and learning activities and higher degree by research supervision.

Charlotte values participatory approaches, both for research and education purposes. These approaches enable broad perspectives to address real needs, guide focus, inform key and important priorities and to enable equity and justice in relation to health professions education. Partnerships are an important part of curriculum design and delivery in the Professional Practice theme and in Charlotte’s research approaches. Both facets of work are heavily influenced by the partnerships with the Clinical Schools and clinical networks within and outside the Melbourne Medical School. Charlotte emphasises and champions these partnerships, for the sustainability of the curriculum, to support and build a community of practice and to enable authentic co-design and consultation.

Charlotte has a long affinity with ANZAHPE, being the first conference she attended as an undergraduate in 2007 and more recently with involvement as an Associate Fellow and the Mentorship Scheme working group. Involvement with the Committee of Management would enable her to further contribute to the ANZAHPE community in meaningful ways.

KIAH EVANS

Dr Kiah Evans has two decades of experience as an

interprofessional health professions educator, spanning tertiary teaching, clinical leadership, and research management roles. She has a Graduate Certificate in Health Professions Education and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Kiah has coordinated undergraduate/graduate-entry Master units in occupational therapy, along with postgraduate units (certificate/diploma/Master) in health professions education, whilst also supervising~30research students (honours-PhDlevels). Kiah holds health professions education leadership positions at university (Deputy Chair – School of Allied Health Research Committee)andnational(ExecutiveGroup-ResearchAustralia’s Early- and Mid-Career Researcher Working Group) levels, and plans to complete the CompanyDirectorsCourse in2023.

Kiah has demonstrated organizational and interpersonal skills through varied curriculum development, academic administration, and research projects with individuals/teams spanning numerous health disciplines. This included coordinating the development of Australia’s first national guideline for the assessment and diagnosis of autism (with NHMRC-approved recommendations), based on extensive community consultation with autistic adults, caregivers of individuals on the autism spectrum, clinicians, and national peak bodies. She also consulted on autism guideline development/evaluation projects in New Zealand and Vietnam.

Kiah’s core professional value is ‘impact’, which she demonstrates through embedding authentic learning activities and assessment items into units, supporting research students to publish their findings, conducting translational research projects, collaborating with state and federal government departments, and building the education, evidence-based practice and research capacity of health professionals and students.

As an active member of ANZAHPE, Kiah engages regularly with professional development programs and festivals. She would welcome the opportunity to utilize her expertise to further advance ANZAHPE’s strategic priorities, in particular, related to the key issues of (1) capacity building in research and scholarship and (2) well-being of health professionals and students (building on a current project on ‘Leading Thriving Workplaces’ in regional Australia).

HAYDEN FRIZZELL

As a full-time Medical Educator in Rural Victoria, I am already benefiting greatly from the resources and opportunities that ANZAHPE provides, and I am excited to contribute to the organisation in a formal capacity.

Having worked as a Secondary School Teacher & Curriculum Developer for several years, and now as an educator in the tertiary space, I have a genuine passion for education. I currently work as a Rural MD1 Course Facilitator at the Shepparton campus of the University of Melbourne, and have served as an Academic Lead for our rural campuses. In this role, I have collaborated with a team of both academic and professional staff members to create and implement an engaging post-graduate MD program in regional Victoria, ensuring that students have the best possible learning experience. This co-ordination role has also allowed me to extend my skills in the areas of budgeting, project management, and marketing, and I am required to make strategic positions to support various stakeholders. On a larger scale, I am currently working with a team of international academics on the Organising Committee for the 2024 Ottawa Conference to ensure the success of this pivotal event in Australia.

ANZHAPE is committed to ensuring that rural Health Professionals have access to great educational opportunities, and I believe I have something to contribute in this area. I am the Subject Co-Ordinator for a post-graduate unit in the University of Melbourne’s medical program called Rural Health – Foundations, which explores the real impact of social determinants of health and various models of Health Service Delivery in remote parts of Australia. Having lived, studied and worked rurally for many years, I know first-hand that there are barriers which can prevent students in regional areas from accessing the same opportunities as their metropolitan peers, and I am keen to work towards ensuring equity in this area. As a Director for the ANZAHPE Committee of Management, I will endeavour to always bring a ‘rural and regional access’ lens to the projects that we engage in.

Although I am still an early-career academic, I have a great passion for education, and am committed to enabling educational and training opportunities to become more accessible for regional areas. I am keen to think outside the box and work within teams of experienced and professional Directors to create innovative ideas and solutions to further advance and promote the great work of ANZAHPE.