ANZSGM Victorian Division Peer Review Weekend
Anjali Khushu
After four long years the much awaited Victorian Division Peer Review Weekend was held in the scenic surrounds of the Portsea Golf Resort on 21-22 October 2023.
By all measures, the event was a resounding success. Around 67 delegates attended (including interstate visitors- thank you Vasi and P’ouli), all speakers turned up, the program went according to plan and the weather held up!
The theme for the weekend – ‘Physician, Heal thyself’, was novel but very contextual. It resonated with all the delegates. We had four excellent speakers who addressed different aspects of well being- practicing mindfulness, looking out for our teams and higher level organisational approach to address physician well being.
The audience was left with much food for thought, but also actionable ideas to incorporate and implement in our daily work/life schedule. There was an acknowledgement of the fact that well being of health care workers is critical to a sustainable health care system and that it has to be the collective responsibility of the employers and the employees.
Outside of the formal sessions delegates enjoyed yoga and meditation sessions, wine tasting at a local boutique winery, leisurely walks and an afternoon at the Alba hot springs.
Jonathan Mariott’s Trivia Quiz accompanying the Saturday night dinner is always a much awaited feature of the peer review weekends – and as always, it was a highlight of the weekend. There was a broad range of questions-ranging from expose’s to questions on film and sports celebrities, travel, cartoon characters etc. It needs to be documented that the table that won the quiz had two young boys on it and I am given to believe that they were instrumental in their teams victory. Well done young men!
All delegates left rejuvenated, having refreshed old connections and forged new ones. There was a unique sense of bonding after our collective burnout and trauma through the pandemic.
There were also some very tangible outcomes- suggestions have been put forward that all divisions of the ANZSGM dedicate one session to well being at their respective division meetings and there were also suggestions for consideration of a position statement by the ANZSGM on physician well being. We hope that the weekend marks the start of an important conversation that needs to be had.
Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of many people who contributed to the success weekend- the team at Peninsula Health, the Victorian and Federal division of the ANZSGM and administrative assistance from Lucinda and Paula.
Image Courtesy Anjali Khusha
