AMAV VICDOC SUMMER 2023 - Magazine - Page 40
Leading through Advocacy
—
A chat with Dr Kym Jenkins who
recently won the Australian Medical
Association’s Annual Women in
Medical Leadership Award
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE
HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR
CAREER SO FAR?
—
The highlights for me have been
getting into medical school and
being the first person in my
family to go to university and
then making the decision to
change tracks and move from
general practice into psychiatry.
Certainly, getting my FRANZCP
and taking my children with
me! And finally, being elected
RANZCP President and Chair
of CPMC and feeling the
responsibility of the trust that
my colleagues had put in me.
WHAT HAS DRIVEN YOUR
DEDICATION TO PROVIDING
SUPPORT SERVICES FOR
DOCTORS’ HEALTH AND
THEIR OWN WELLBEING?
—
I feel privileged to have
worked with and looked after
so many inspirational doctors
who have overcome adverse
circumstances or battled
through health problems to still
provide the best possible care
for their patients. Medicine is an
inherently stressful occupation
however I have witnessed
so many doctors struggle
unnecessarily due to undue
pressures in the healthcare
system, industrial concerns,
interpersonal issues and
professional conflict.
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WHAT DO YOU THINK
IS FUNDAMENTALLY
IMPORTANT IF WE ARE TO
IMPROVE THE WELLBEING
OF DOCTORS BOTH NOW
AND IN THE FUTURE?
—
Of fundamental importance is
decreasing the stigma around
help seeking and the need for
workplaces to facilitate the
seeking of help and receiving
care. Additionally, the focus of
doctors’ health services has
been to look after those who
are already struggling.
It is necessary to broaden our
approach to be preventative.
Equally, all of us, whatever level
we work at or whatever stage
we are at in our careers, must
take responsibility to ensure we
are not agents contributing to
poor health for our colleagues.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT
YOUR WORK IN MIGRANT
AND REFUGEE HEALTH,
WOMEN’S HEALTH,
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND
MENTAL HEALTH?
—
Over the past few years, I have
undertaken pro bono work with
the Asylum Seeker and Refugee
Centre (ASRC) and other
important organisations that
advocate for the needs of this
vulnerable group of people. I see
and assess the mental health of
people who have experienced
all sorts of unimaginable
traumas and are seeking asylum
in Australia. It is hard to be
DR KYM JENKINS
Consultant Psychiatrist
involved in this area and not feel
the need to do more.
I was additionally privileged
to participate and then become
Chair of the Migrant and
Refugee Health Partnership
(MRHP). MRHP has developed
a curriculum framework for
training of all clinicians when
working with migrants and
refugees, now adopted by nearly
all the medical colleges. Another
significant project was working
with the Commission on Safety
and Quality in Healthcare to
produce the NSQHS user guide
for health services providing
care to people for migrant
and refugee backgrounds.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY
TO OTHER YOUNGER
DOCTORS (PARTICULARLY
WOMEN) WHO WANT TO GET
INVOLVED IN ADVOCACY?
—
Advocacy is not just about
lobbying at a high government
level. In fact, we all advocate
for patients everyday however,
if there is an issue you care
about or want to change, put
your hand up to volunteer with
existing advocacy groups.
Be patient in your advocacy.
Change takes time and you need
to prepare the ground and seeds
will have to be sown. Watch the
political climate and wait for
the right time to try again. Be
prepared to be flexible. Taking
a sideways route might be more
effective than tackling an issue
head on.