AMA (NSW)

AMA (NSW) The Australian Medical Association (NSW) Limited is an independent association representing the state

The Australian Medical Association (NSW) Limited is an independent association representing the state's medical profession. As the state's peak medico-political lobbying body the AMA (NSW) is dedicated to providing its members with representation on a variety of medical issues, professional services and commercial benefits. The strength of the AMA (NSW) lies in its representative reach across the

state's geographical zones and the profession's speciality groups. By playing a pivotal role in the formation of public health and hospital policy the AMA (NSW) is in a strong position to represent the individual needs of members and their patients.

BOOKS OPEN: A grassroots campaign to attract doctors to the state's central west has claimed victory today with medical ...
28/04/2026

BOOKS OPEN: A grassroots campaign to attract doctors to the state's central west has claimed victory today with medical centres able to open their books to new patients for the first time in 18 months.
The Doctors 4 Mudgee campaign, run by Kate Day, was featured in the Spring edition of NSW Doctor and has now attracted four general practitioners and six registrars to the region thanks to community support and funding.
But, as noted by AMA (NSW) president Dr Kathryn Austin in our article, the responsibility to ensure equitable access to healthcare should not fall on the shoulders of the community.
Kate Day agrees.
"Rural communities deserve the same equitable and timely access to healthcare as their city counterparts and are tired of being overlooked."
Congratulations to AMA (NSW) members Dr Spun Kongsirituwong, Dr Nathan Heijstee and Dr Peta O'Brien for joining the ranks in Mudgee.

MEMBER FOCUS: Sarah Blackwell is a junior doctor at Dubbo Base Hospital. She's also a proud Wiradjuri woman from the lo...
27/04/2026

MEMBER FOCUS: Sarah Blackwell is a junior doctor at Dubbo Base Hospital.
She's also a proud Wiradjuri woman from the lower Blue Mountains and one of the first in her family to pursue higher education.
"Given my background, school and area that I was from, I honestly thought it would be impossible to get into my degree," she says.
But succeed she did, graduating from the University of Sydney with a double degree in science and medicine.
She's now keen to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology to improve indigenous maternal and infant health.
"While I can't change the world as just one person, I can help educate those I work with, even if it's one patient at a time."

COUNTRY LIFE: Are you a medical student interested in working in regional or rural NSW?The next Go Rural road trip, run ...
27/04/2026

COUNTRY LIFE: Are you a medical student interested in working in regional or rural NSW?
The next Go Rural road trip, run by the Rural Doctors Network, is on from Thursday, May 21 to Sunday, May 24.
The bus will visit Canowindra, Young, Junee, Griffith, Hay, Deniliquin and Wagga Wagga, meeting local health professionals, touring facilities, and getting a real taste of rural health careers.
The trip is open to first and second year medical students, plus nursing, midwifery and allied health students studying in NSW/ACT.
For more information on the Go Rural program, please visit: https://www.ruraldoctors.org/site/gorural

LEST WE FORGET: Orange surgeon Neville Howse was the first Australian armed forces soldier to be awarded a Victoria Cros...
25/04/2026

LEST WE FORGET: Orange surgeon Neville Howse was the first Australian armed forces soldier to be awarded a Victoria Cross.
He served in the Boer War with the NSW Army Medical Corps, riding into enemy fire to save a wounded soldier. His horse was shot from under him, but Howse continued on foot to make the rescue.
At Gallipoli, he took charge of evacuating wounded men from the beach in the early days of the campaign, was given command of ANZAC medical services and later of the AIF medical corps.
He later became the federal Minister for Health and Minister for Defence.
Today, we remember his sacrifice and that of every Australian who has faced the atrocities of war.
Lest we forget.

MEMBER FOCUS: Breast surgeon and AMA (NSW) member Dr Belinda Chan knows the role music can play in health.She recently f...
23/04/2026

MEMBER FOCUS: Breast surgeon and AMA (NSW) member Dr Belinda Chan knows the role music can play in health.
She recently featured on the ABC series The Piano, where people from all walks of life are invited to play in public spaces.
Belinda, who works at Strathfield Private Hospital, played in the Broadway Shopping Centre, dedicating her piece to her patients.
"For the ones that have fought and won, to the ones that have fought and lost, the ones that are fighting, the ones that are still yet to fight."
You can watch her in season 2, episode 4 of The Piano on ABC iView.

MEMBER FOCUS: Port Macquarie general practitioner and AMA (NSW) member Dr David Cooke was once told he was a pilot who p...
15/04/2026

MEMBER FOCUS: Port Macquarie general practitioner and AMA (NSW) member Dr David Cooke was once told he was a pilot who practised medicine rather than a doctor who flew planes.
Either way, he's still doing both at the age of 84 - even performing in aerial acrobatics at weekends with a local group called the Bobcats.
For 30 years, David flew twice a week to South West Rocks to see patients, making the 82km journey in 11 minutes.
But, 11 months ago, the paddock he had been using as an airstrip changed hands and was no longer available.
"There was much outrage locally and three properties offered to help," he says.
"One was flooded at high tide, one had a creek across it and the third is much too short."
So, for now, he has swapped the plane for the car, adding two and half hours to his day.
"It's exhausting but I cannot leave my patients without help."
David joined AMA (NSW) 60 years ago and we are grateful for his support.

TITANIC SURVIVAL: This week marks the fateful day, 114 years ago, when more than 1500 people lost their lives in the sin...
12/04/2026

TITANIC SURVIVAL: This week marks the fateful day, 114 years ago, when more than 1500 people lost their lives in the sinking of the Titanic off the Canadian coast.
For former Bondi doctor, William James, it was particularly harrowing. He was engaged to Australian nurse Evelyn Marsden, who was looking after first class passengers onboard the ship.
Ironically, they had met while working on the Titanic's sister ship, Olympic, which had crashed into another ship a few months earlier, resulting in Evelyn transferring to the Titanic.
After the Titanic went down, Evelyn was initially reported as missing, but was later found to have escaped in a lifeboat.
Three months later, William and Evelyn tied the knot.
The pair died a week apart in 1938 and are buried in Waverley cemetery.

SURGICAL MAYHEM: Prior to the development of anaesthesia, the ability to perform surgeries quickly was highly prized.Sco...
21/03/2026

SURGICAL MAYHEM: Prior to the development of anaesthesia, the ability to perform surgeries quickly was highly prized.
Scottish surgeon Robert Liston could purportedly amputate a limb in less than 25 seconds, working with a fury that often put others in danger.
During his most famous surgical slip, Liston was moving so quickly that he cut off three of his assistant’s fingers and slashed a bystander’s coat.
The patient and the assistant died of gangrene a few days later, and the spectator was so alarmed he suffered a fatal myocardial infarction.
It is the only surgery in history said to have had a 300 per cent fatality rate.

BREAKING BARRIERS: Alexandra Adams is a former Paralympian, avid solo world traveller, published poet, public speaker an...
20/03/2026

BREAKING BARRIERS: Alexandra Adams is a former Paralympian, avid solo world traveller, published poet, public speaker and social media star.
In a few months, she will add “medical doctor” to her list of achievements when she graduates from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom.
Alexandra, 32, is also deaf, almost totally blind and requires constant oxygen.
She has been in Australia this month to complete electives at Royal North Shore Hospital and Gold Coast University Hospital, and while she’s “loved every minute of it”, she’s also experienced ableism from peers and administrative challenges in fulfilling both placements.
For Alexandra, practising medicine is more about clinical knowledge and empathy than sight, and she's embraced technology to bridge the gaps.
She uses a Bluetooth stethoscope which connects to her hearing aids, an app to explain ECG findings and has her own method of cannulating using touch.
She is due to head home next month, but after 10 years of study, she now fears she may not be able to start her first job in the NHS in July after being allocated to a rural area, lacking public transport or access to her own specialists in London.
In an upcoming NSW Doctor edition, we talk to Alexandra and Dr Dinesh Palipana, an ED doctor with quadriplegia, on the challenges facing doctors with disabilities.
You can read more about Alexandra here: https://settingsights.co.uk/about-me-the-story/

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY: Royal Prince Alfred Hospital is one of the state's premier facilities - but it only came to be af...
15/03/2026

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY: Royal Prince Alfred Hospital is one of the state's premier facilities - but it only came to be after a shocking incident at a harbourside picnic in March, 1868.
While visiting Sydney, Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria, was shot in the back at close range.
He survived, and the shooter was hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol a month later, but as an act of gratitude to the surgeons who saved him, the prince gave his name to a new hospital.
A public fundraising campaign then got underway to bring the hospital to life, with doors opening in 1882.
The bullet and the golden probe used by surgeon Dr Isaac Waugh to extract it from the prince's body are still on display at RPA.

ON THE FLY: For those living in western NSW, access to doctors and healthcare has always been a challenge. But we are f...
14/03/2026

ON THE FLY: For those living in western NSW, access to doctors and healthcare has always been a challenge.
But we are fortunate to have many members passionate about serving these communities, even if it means flying or driving thousands of kilometres to deliver care.
Last month, GP Dr Francois Pretorius joined the Royal Flying Doctor Service to provide care to the 1300 residents of Warren, west of Dubbo.
When not serving Warren, he visits remote towns in the RFDS network.

ELECTION COUNTDOWN: It is one year today until the next NSW election. At the last election, healthcare was mysteriously ...
13/03/2026

ELECTION COUNTDOWN: It is one year today until the next NSW election.
At the last election, healthcare was mysteriously missing from the conversation.
Since then, pressure on our public hospitals and doctors has only intensified.
We have been working with the NSW Government and Opposition to ensure funding and staffing issues are front and centre for all candidates and voters in March 2027.
NSW needs long-term, stable investment in the health system, workforce planning that supports recruitment and retention of doctors, and policies that recognise the realities of modern healthcare delivery.
Over the next 12 months, we will continue advocating to improve the system for doctors and patients.
If you are not yet a member, please join us and help us change healthcare for the better.

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Level 6, 69 Christie Street
St Leonards, NSW
2065

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Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

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+61294398822

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