ASMS

ASMS National Executive member and Auckland Starship Hospital paediatrician Dr Julian Vyas writes about how racial bias in the New Zealand healthcare system may not only affect health outcomes, but can also affect minority ethnic healthcare workers. He argues that tackling systemic racism requires action at both an organisational and individual level.  He asks all health staff to reflect on their own workplace, to be open to the possibility of subconscious bias existing and how it may affect colleagues.

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After more than 40 years of an abortion law that put unnecessary legal barriers between women and their health providers, New Zealand has finally righted a wrong and introduced a new legal framework so abortion can be treated as a health issue, not a criminal one. So, what does this mean in practice? What does it mean for the thousands of women and pregnant people who seek abortions each year due to an unintended pregnancy? What does it mean for …

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The Covid-19 pandemic has meant a rapid increase in the use of IT to support distance consultation through telehealth. ASMS National Executive member and Auckland paediatrician Dr Julian Vyas has been thinking about the implications for members.

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By now, finance minister Grant Robertson will have delivered the Budget. It is not that I see the Budget the same way as kids see Christmas but, as I write this before the 2020 Budget is unveiled, I am thinking about the wish list I would give him.

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Concern is mounting among ASMS members and other health professionals about the adequacy of the current guidelines on personal protective equipment as the Covid-19 crisis develops. Their families are also worried.  This heartfelt piece was sent in by the partner of one of our members.

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Kiwis are a well-travelled people. The OE and the obligatory mid-winter Fiji or skiing family holiday have become part of our lives. And Kiwi doctors are particularly well-travelled. This is partly by necessity to remain up to date in our knowledge, skills, and practice. We are very distant from almost every major centre of medical innovation, and access to specialised education and training often involves leaving New Zealand. At the same time, New Zealand doctors love to travel for the …

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This morning Newstalk ZB wanted to talk to me – at 5.30am!! They are following up on an RNZ piece about Hawkes Bay Hospital and how hot it gets in summer. Fine. I woke up early and talked about how hot it is; and how bad that is. Less than five minutes of my time. But it can’t stop there. Some wards at Hastings Hospital are topping 30 degrees. Like the Nurses Organisation and the Resident Doctors’ Association – …

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I have never been a great fan of maths. I sometimes refer to myself as “not very maths-y.” It’s a self-concept that has always worked for me and — if I’m honest — I can’t think of a time when my relative ‘maths-less-ness’ has held me back. However, they say that all good things must come to an end and maybe I, too, need to reach for the abacus. Why? Because it’s time we started counting the real costs of …

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