Australasian Society of
Career Medical Officers
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updated 24th February 2022
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VALE Michael Boyd - ASCMO's longest serving President, who sadly passed away on 25th October 2021 after a long illness.To celebrate his life and accomplishments we are combining our next 2022 ASCMO Annual General Meeting with a festive lunch at the Novotel Hotel, Brighton Le Sands, NSW on Saturday 5th March 2022 from 12:00 to 15:00. Click here for details. Alternatively, contact Mary Webber 0417 236 771 for further details.
SYMPOSIUM FOR CMOs IN PSYCHIATRY AND ADDICTION MEDICINE:- a new HETI funded initiative by CMOs for CMOs in Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine across NSW to meet, network, learn with great speakers, and discuss issues of common interest.
Date: Friday 19th October 2018 Time: 9.00am to 4.30 pm. (Lunch will be provided). Cost: free to Career Medical Officers. (NSW rural CMOs, please advise if you require assistance with travel costs.) Programme: Proposed speakers include - Prof Julian Trollor - intellectual disability mental health - Prof Anthony Harris - best practice antipsychotic management - Prof Dan Siskind - best practice clozapine management - Prof Tim Lambert - cardio-metabolic management - Speakers from AHPRA and RANZCP to discuss the new CPD requirements for CMOs. - Discussion of formation of CMO peer review groups RSVP: by 21/9/18 to mmmmeltzer@hotmail.com Please note that your entitlement to attend is covered by the CMO award.
The latest copy of ASCMO's Journal ASCMO Times July 2017 is available for downloading
from this website. (Adobe Acrobat 'pdf' format).
To view past copies of ASCMO's journals Click here
UPDATE 22nd August 2017, re: alleged overpayment of Annual Leave for CMOs in NSW. ASMOF's Xanthe Thomson reports that:
Hence the award was varied to include the following definitions in Clause 2 of the NSW " PUBLIC HOSPITAL CAREER MEDICAL OFFICERS (STATE) AWARD" "Day Worker" means a worker who works ordinary hours from Monday to Friday inclusive and who commences work on such days at or after 6.00 am and before 10.00 am otherwise than as part of a shift system. "Shift Worker" means a worker who is not a day worker as defined. And that for CMOs who are defined as shift workers, the Ministry supports the view that they will receive payment for annual leave that incorporates shift penalties - when applicable - as consistent with the established practice under the Health Employees' Conditions of Employment (State) Award. This inclusion will clarify the application of the shift work provisions in Clause 2.10.19 of the Leave Matters Policy Directive and it shall not affect any other provision of the Award. However, the Ministry did not consent to inserting any additional words into Clause 12 of the Award. The new definitions in the Award, read in conjunction with the attached letter and PD2014_029 Leave Matters for the NSW Health Service clarify the payment of annual leave which incorporates shift penalties and removes the existing ambiguity. The relevant section of the Health Employees' Conditions of Employment (State) Award is Clause 9 (iv) which says:
(a) Employees who become entitled to take and do take annual leave pursuant to paragraph (a) of subclause (i) of this clause (that is, the annual leave entitlement of four weeks per annum pursuant to the Annual Holidays Act 1944) shall be paid ordinary salary plus either:
(2) in the case of a shiftworker who would have earned ordinary time shift allowances and weekend penalties in excess of the amount of annual leave loading indicated in subparagraph (1) above of this paragraph had he/she not taken the annual leave; those shift allowances and weekend penalties relating to ordinary time the employee would have earned had he/she not taken the annual leave (provided that shift allowances and weekend penalties shall not be payable for public holidays which occur during a period of annual leave). If you wish to discuss this proposal or have any questions please call Xanthe Thomson, Senior Industrial Officer on 02 9212 6900 or email xanthet@asmof.org.au" Background to this dispute There is a dispute currently underway (from Oct 2016) relating to the alleged overpayment of Annual Leave for CMOs in NSW. It appears that the NSW Ministry of Health has formed the view that CMOs in NSW are not formally recognised as shift workers within the NSW CMO Award and are not entitled to provisions within the policy directive "Leave Matters for the NSW Health Service" (see Section 2.10.19) and therefore only entitled to a maxm of 17.5% loading during periods of Annual Leave. [Furthermore this 17.5% loading has a barrier where it only applies to salaries up to that for a Clerk Grade 12 Public Servant as varied from time to time. This means that a Senior CMO may only be entitled to as little at 11% loading on their annual leave] The NSW Ministry of Health has directed Healthshare to identify approximately 60 CMOs across NSW and demand that they repay any excess monies from the alleged overpayment of penalty payments whilst on Annual Leave in the previous 4 yrs, and if failing to do so, then they will have these monies progressively deducted from their fortnightly pay packets. Several CMO members of ASMOF have approached ASMOF upon receipt of these letters for support as they are mystified how the Ministry of Health could successfully argue that they are not shift workers when they clearly are, by way of having been in receipt of regular penalty payments during normal periods of rostered duties and during periods of Annual Leave. ASMOF has initiated proceedings to lodge a formal dispute with NSW Health. This has put this issue 'on Hold' pending the outcome of this dispute. Meanwhile the Ministry of Health has signalled its intention to push ahead and present their argument before the NSW Industrial Commission. Clearly the Ministry of Health's position will now require the presentation of pedantic arguments by ASMOF and/or HSU, as they are the only 2 entities that are recognised to represent CMOs before the NSW industrial commission. This of course requires money which comes from ASMOF & HSU's membership fees. If you wish to support ASMOF which has taken a leadership role in this dispute, consider contacting ASMOF, NSW, or joining ASMOF, NSW. At this late stage of the year I am advised by ASMOF, that you can pay monthly or if you pay for the rest of the year, fees are due 16 Nov and 16 Dec, then ASMOF invoices for 2017. ASMOF is also looking for any examples of 'Letters of Appointment" or "Statements of Duties" or "Advertisements" or "Position Descriptions", that indicate the employer's expectation that a CMO will participate in a roster that will include duty outside normal working hours. If you wish to notify ASCMO of your concerns you can contact Ross White or David Brock via davbrock@ozemail.com.au
a free App for Locums, called "ShiftsDirect", was launched in November 2015 and may well interest anyone wanting to do
the occasional or regular locum hospital shifts. The App is the first of its kind to allow you to directly view, or search for, available shifts across Australia
without the hassle of going through a locum agency. If a particular shift (or shifts) suits you, it provides contact details to get in direct touch with
the employing hospital.Its free to download from the doctorsforaustralia.com.au website. App reviewers have likened it to the 'Uber-ification' of locum agencies. See "Physician hiring app uses 'Uber method' to disrupt billion dollar Locums industry"
The 10th Annual Update in Paediatric
Emergencies will be held from 8-10th April, 2016, at the Peppers Resort (formerly Outrigger) in Noosa, Queensland
Click here for details.
PHEMC is holding a Geriatric Emergency Medicine Seminar at the
Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Macquarie Park, NSW on Thurs 7th April 2016. Click here for details.
Michele Meltzer, a Senior CMO in Psychiatry in Northern Sydney for over 20 years, has been given the opportunity to be the CMO representative on the
Psychiatric State Training Council (PSTC). The PSTC have said that they are interested in improving the training provisions for CMOs in psychiatry,
and possibly getting some kind of recognition of CMOs' existence from the RANZCP. Michele is very keen to hear from as many CMOs as possible about the role of the CMO in psychiatry, what training they would like, whether they are currently getting access to training and CME opportunities, whether they would be interested in a process of certification of skills, and more. Please contact her via email address: mmmmeltzer@hotmail.com.
The latest copy of ASCMO's Journal ASCMO Times August 2015 is available for downloading
from this website. (2MB in Adobe Acrobat 'pdf' format).
To view past copies of ASCMO's journals Click here
Internal Search engines are
popular on the Web. We've got our own too! Now you can restrict your searches to
ASCMO's website with >100 pages relevant to CMOs. Try searching for something now!
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ASCMO's most recent Annual General Meeting was held at the
Novotel Hotel, Brighton Le Sands, NSW on 8th August 2015. Click here for details. Alternatively, contact ASCMO's President Michael Boyd 0409 460 177 for further details.
The next Spring Seminar in Emergency Medicine will be held
in Novotel Barossa Valley Resort, South Australia from
29 September to 3nd October 2015. This conference is partly sponsored by ASCMO and is a worthwhile educational opportunity for all CMOs
working in emergency medicine. For further information about future conferences please visit: www.phemc.org
Campbeltown's next Annual Teaching Symposium will be held at
Campbelltown Hospital's Simulation Centre, Therry Rd, Campbelltown, NSW on Wed 14th & Thurs 15th May 2014.
NSW CMOs are encouraged to contact kathy.delicata@sswahs.nsw.gov.au for bookings and further details
BMJ's Learning Modules are
now available via CIAP for NSW health employees
From 2012, the University of Newcastle has introduced a Master of Clinical Medicine (Leadership
and Management) program, that has been developed in collaboration with NSW Health to promote its Senior Hospitalist initiative. They also consider this program to be
relevant to doctors in a range of other roles.Specifically the program is designed to:
- provide a hospital-wide perspective on patient care - provide the knowledge, professional skills, attitudes and ability to be effective doctors, communicators and - clinical care co-ordinators across independent disciplines and to bridge the gaps that exist in hospital processes - enable doctors to develop a deeper understanding of hospital organisational culture, networks and infrastructure - give doctors the skills to conduct research-based system redesign - offer a postgraduate qualification directly relevant to the management of patient care in hospitals or other clinical facilities Please refer to both the University and NSW Health websites for more information at:
www.health.nsw.gov.au/training/hospitalist NB: Generous NSW Health sponsorship may be available to doctors currently employed as a hospitalist or other non-specialist roles. An information pack can be downloaded from: www.health.nsw.gov.au/resources/training/hospitalist/pdf/info_pack_jan_2012.pdf Specialists interested in the program should also contact NSW Health for advice on any sponsorship options that might be open to them. The closing date has been extended until Friday 17th February 2012 Further information can be obtained from:
E: Sheila.Proust@newcastle.edu.au P: 02 4963 2025 Alex Brown E: abrow@doh.health.nsw.gov.au P: 02 9391 9326
The latest copy of ASCMO's May 2011 Newsletter is out now.
(0.9MB in Adobe Acrobat 'pdf' format). To view past copies of ASCMO's journals Click here
The last meeting for ASCMO was
ASCMO's 2010 Annual General Meeting and Conference.
This was held from 19th & 20th November 2010 at the Australian School of Advanced Medicine at the Macquarie University Hospital,
3 Technology Place, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2109.
- Advanced Ultrasound: Central Line Placement & Regional Blocks - CT Cardiac Imaging - Paediatric Team Skills Simulation Workshop - Virtual Reality Laparoscopic Workshop - Hand Injuries - Conscious Sedation & Anesthetic Monitoring - iPads for learning and clinical support etc,
The latest copy of ASCMO's Journal ASCMO Times October 2010 is available for downloading
from this website. (2.9MB in Adobe Acrobat 'pdf' format).
To view past copies of ASCMO's journals Click here
The Master of Medical Practice (Hospital Medical Care) is a new course being offered by
Australian School of Advanced Medicine at Macquarie University in North Ryde, Sydney.
This program is for medical practitioners who wish to acquire a university qualification which denotes subspecialist expertise and competence in the the care of patients who have been hospitalised for specialist medical or surgical treatment. The program comprises eight units of study, each worth 4 credit points.
- Hospital therapeutics - Resuscitation and clinical procedures - Safety and quality in hospital medical care - Ethics, law and professionalism - Basic concepts in education and critical appraisal of the medical literature There is a choice of electives from:
- Surgical care - Medical care - Health systems and management The latest data from "MABEL"
(available here) indicates that amongst medical officers, CMOs were most likely to feel that their
personal and professional commitments are in balance.
[Mabel = "Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life".] Mabel is a 5 yr longitudinal survey of Australian doctors up to 2011. Just under 10,500 doctors responded to Wave 1 in 2008, and Wave 2 is currently being conducted. More information is available at their website: www.mabel.org.au A new concept in Continuing Medical Education resources for CMOs is the "CMO Club".
For more details go to "CMO Club" Continuing Medical Education Leave under utilised by many NSW CMOs.
It appears that many NSW CMOs remain unaware that changes to their award in 2005 have provided them with a clear entitlement to 7 working days (= 7 x 7.6hrs) of Continuing Medical Education (CME) leave per annum, with full reimbursement of expenses relating to that leave, provided they have worked as a CMO for a minm 12 mth period and the educational activity is relevant to their CMO position. CME leave (& associated entitlements) can accumulate to a maxm of 21 working days [= 21 x 7.6 hrs = 159.6 hrs]. Many CMOs would have now accrued this maxm entitlement and cannot receive any more unless they begin utilising their entitlements. CMOs have used this leave to attend conferences throughout Australia and New Zealand, such as the recent Spring Seminar in Emergency Medicine (see below). Some CMOs have used CME leave to attend courses with registration fees alone being greater than $3000 per position (eg 1 week ultrasound courses for Emergency physicians). ie: this is a valuable entitlement that can be used effectively to develop and maintain skills relevant to your position. Some CMOs taking advantage of their CME entitlements have experienced delays and/or difficulties when seeking approval for CME leave and reimbursement for associated expenses (such as meals, accommodation, travel, parking, course registration, etc). Most difficulties have arisen from Employers & CMOs being unfamiliar with CMOs entitlements to CME leave, as well as finding suitable forms to complete, etc. Some Area Health Services are using TESL (Training Education and Study Leave) forms designed for staff specialists to process CMO claims. Some have modified these TESL forms to better suit CMO needs. If you are having difficulties please familiarise yourself with Clause 16 of the NSW CMO Award (click here for a copy of NSW CMO Award). Provide your employer with a copy of this section. Once employers are made aware that the CMO Award provides a clear 'Entitlement' to CME leave + expenses, they usually assist you as best they can. If you continue to have difficulties you can contact David Brock via email davbrock@ozemail.com.au NB: During negotiations that led to the 2005 award, ASCMO insisted on the inclusion of the word 'ENTITLEMENT' in relation to leave & expenses for continuing medical education leave, and that approval for such activities 'SHALL NOT BE UNREASONABLY WITHHELD'. This means that any employer refusing to provide leave and/or financial re-imbursement for related expenses must have reasons that would withstand potential scrutiny before the NSW Industrial Commission. NSW Health's policy directive "PD2005_619 Travel Policy" outlines allowable travel expenses subject to the production of receipts. [source: www.health.nsw.gov.au/policies/pd/2005/pdf/PD2005_619.pdf] ASCMO has obtained a Feb 2008 copy of revised Committee Guidelines for Senior CMO Grading in
NSW.
These guidelines are being used by the Grading committee when assessing applications. Therefore anyone wanting to apply for Senior CMO Grading in NSW, should ensure their applications cover all aspects within these guidelines.
A downloadable copy of Kevin Rudd's
"National Health and Hospitals Network for Australia's Future" is
available here.
You can also find downloadable copies of Stage 2 of the Govt's Health Reform Plan at the following link: A National Health and Hospitals Network: Further Investments in Australia's Health - Full Report (PDF 2472 KB)
CMOs in NSW receive a 4% payrise from 1st July 2006.
You can find an updated salary scale by clicking here.
There has been some confusion about the aniversary dates for CMOs progressing
up the salary scale in the NSW CMO Award. A letter explaining the various dates for progression can be found
here.
To join ASCMO click here. If you've forgotten the username/password combination send a request to officemanager@ascmo.org.au. CMOs in NSW receive a 4% payrise from 1st July 2006.
You can find an updated salary scale by clicking here.
On 20th May 2006, a
proposed Pilot Program for Hospitalists in some NSW public hospitals was presented to ASCMO's Annual General Meeting held in Sydney at the Novotel Hotel, Brighton le Sands.
Click here to view proposed Pilot Program for Hospitalists in NSW (May 2006) To apply for a username/password combination contact officemanager@ascmo.org.au To join ASCMO click here. To stay up-to-date with all things CMO, you are welcome to join
'ASCMO-talk@yahoogroups.com', the private email discussion list
for ASCMO's membership. It allows CMOs to place any problem/issue/idea before a group of your peers to canvas their opinions.
Or you can simply be a 'lurker', only getting involved if issues being discussed happen to interest you.
Currently 28 CMOs across Australia and NZ belong to this discussion list. This includes all ASCMO's committee members.
So if you want to get involved or stay up to date with the latest issues affecting CMOs, join this discussion list
by emailing David Brock at davbrock@ozemail.com.au or click here to join "ASCMO-talk".
ASCMO's next meeting will held during the
2006 Spring Seminar (Peripheral Hospitals) Emergency Medicine
Conference (Tues 3rd - Fri 6th October 2006) at
'The Byron at Byron' in Byron Bay, NSW. This has been a successful
conference aimed at CMOs and continues to be sponsored by ASCMO. Visit the Spring Seminar's website at
www.phemc.org for accomodation (discounted), registration and course details. Early bird prices if registering before 30/7/06. See you there.
At our 10th Anniversary AGM in May 2006,
Michael Boyd agreed to continue as President. We congratulate him
for ASCMO's achievements during his period of stewardship, including the new Award for CMOs in NSW. Michael can be contacted by email at
stringhouse@optusnet.com.au
for any concerns or suggestions for the future direction of our organisation.
The Doctors Health Advisory Service (DHAS) has notified ASCMO that there has been an
increase in the notifications it received in relation to Career Medical Officers, over
the previous 6 mths to December 2003.
It is not clear whether this is a trend, or short lived occurrence. The DHAS is also not aware if there have been any structural issues that might underlie this increase. The DHAS, therefore wished to remind ASCMO of its existence and its charter to provide support to doctors, veterinarians and dentists in NSW experiencing any level of psychological or physical distress. The Doctors Health Advisory Service "Helpline for NSW" = 02 9437 6552
The (Oct 2003) QLD SMO/RMO Award is available on ASCMO's website.
"BULLIES NOT WANTED". This guidebook was issued by the Sth Australian Ombudsman. Although aimed at Sth Aust workplaces
this comprehensive 48 page guidebook provides a balanced appraisal and considered suggestions.
If you are a target of bullying you will probably feel a lot better after reading this.
If you are having difficulty downloading this guidebook (Word document) click here
Letter from Medical Training and Education Council of NSW (MTEC),
asking ASCMO and CMOs for information on how CMOs receive training and education. by Evan Rawstrom, Executive officer, MTEC, June 2003
Minutes from ASCMO's 2003 Annual General Meeting, Mar 2003
Letter supporting introduction/invention of Advanced Trained CMOs in NSW by David Tree, Nov 2002
Work Life Flexibility Project - Letter to AMA, July 2002 by David Tree
Bullying in the Workplace
Latest "President's address, June 2002", by our new President, Dr David Tree.
Latest copy of the
"ASCMO Times" [April 2002] is now available. Its presented in Acrobat format.
To view past copies of the "CMO Bulletin" or obtain a copy of Acrobat reader
Click here.
Minutes from
2002 Annual General Meeting held in Sydney on 18th May 2002. Our name has changed from CMOA (Career Medical Officers Association) to ASCMO.
We can now expect to hold the domain name ascmo.org.au
indefinitely. The name change has prompted an extensive revision of our website.
We trust you will find it a useful and enjoyable resource. Salary Packaging will be available to all NSW CMOs working in
Public Hospitals from 1st Jan 2002 .. contact your Pay Office personnel for more details.
NB: As the Salary Packaging year runs March - March .. the full $17,000 per year is available for packaging in the 3mths to March 2002.
Furthermore, the CMOA recommends that all CMOs seek independent financial advice
before entering into any salary packaging arrangements with their employers.
Checkout our page of "CMO related
Cartoons", thanks to our resident cartoonist, Kien Coaxuan + friends NSW CMO's can expect a 3% payrise from Jan 2002
(Click here for details)
Peruse our "Selected Gems" by visiting
ASCMO's Miscellaneous webpages Visit more
Advertised positions for CMOs .. latest ads posted 11th Feb 2002
- yet again relegates CMO's to being juniors or rural gp analogues. This report completes the second part of the performance audit into NSW emergency departments. The first report (1998) looked at service planning issues. This report looks at patient flow issues. Together, these reports provide a detailed examination of the workings, problems and opportunities for improvements in NSW emergency departments. Learn all about
how to salary package a Motor Vehicle URGENT:
we need your comments to help refine the proposed coursestructure for a CMO "Masters In Clinical Medicine" (Draft No. 4 [27th April 2000] is now available for further comments) , The CMOA committee has co-authored an article on "Hospitalists"
published in the latest (April 3rd 2000) issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.
Visit our "Hospitalists" page (? a new role for CMOs) to view details.
Introducing "CMOAtalk",
our very own email discussion group.. an opportunity to discuss issues with your Career & Senior MO colleagues. .. to join, simply send an email to David Brock CMOA Submission to the
"Australian Society of Emergency Medicine (A.S.E.M.)" , relating to the role
of CMOs in the Emergency Medicine medical workforce. Written by Dr Stephen Delprado, our A.S.E.M. representative .
we have provided a copy of the
"Recommendations from the Mid-term review for Fed Govt's Provider Number Legislation" ..
tabled to Fed Parliament Dec 1999 .. (make you own comments about them in our Guestbook) QLD Senior Medical Officers'
and RMOs' Award (+ INTERPRETATION Manual) NSW Salary Sacrifice for Superannuation arrangements (April '99) Please complete our
"Feedback form" and
tell us what you think about our website
Proposed changes to NSW CMO Award
They will now be presented to ASMOF & HAREA (our industrial representatives) for further development and subsequent presentation to the Dept of Health for discussion and negotiation.
Multi-Skilled Medical Officers Agreement & Credentialling Criteria
CMOA Information Sheet |
