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| Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand | |
|---|---|
| Name | Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand |
| Formation | 2000s |
| Type | Professional association |
| Headquarters | Australia |
| Region served | Australia and New Zealand |
| Membership | Deans of medical schools |
Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand is a peak representative body for the heads of medical schools across Australia and New Zealand, coordinating policy, standards, and advocacy among universities and clinical partners. It liaises with regulatory and health workforce bodies, professional colleges, and government agencies to influence medical workforce planning, curriculum development, and postgraduate training pathways. The organisation engages with academic leaders, hospital administrators, and international partners to align medical education with population health needs.
Medical Deans emerged amid reform movements following reviews such as the Calman Commission-style inquiries in the United Kingdom, analogous health workforce analyses in Australia and New Zealand. Early 21st-century health policy shifts including responses to the World Health Organization's calls for workforce strengthening and recommendations from the Australian Medical Workforce Advisory Committee precipitated collaboration among deans from institutions like The University of Sydney, Monash University, University of Melbourne, University of Auckland and University of Otago. Milestones include coordinated submissions to national reviews influenced by reports from bodies such as the Productivity Commission (Australia), assessments similar to the Flexner Report debates, and engagement with clinical colleges such as the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine.
Membership comprises deans or equivalent officers from medical faculties at universities including University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, Australian National University, University of Queensland, Griffith University, University of Western Australia, Curtin University, Deakin University, Flinders University, James Cook University, University of Notre Dame Australia, University of Tasmania, La Trobe University, Macquarie University, Swinburne University of Technology, Charles Darwin University, University of Waikato, Massey University, University of Auckland, and University of Otago. The governance model mirrors structures used by associations such as the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education Councils (UK), with executive committees, working groups, and secretariat support often drawn from partner institutions like Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency-aligned offices and university central administrations.
The organisation coordinates curriculum benchmarking, workforce forecasting, and advocacy on issues intersecting with agencies like the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council, New Zealand Ministry of Health, Medical Board of Australia, Health Workforce New Zealand and international actors such as the World Health Organization and Commonwealth Secretariat. It provides leadership for initiatives addressing clinical training capacity with stakeholders including the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, hospital networks such as Sydney Local Health District and specialty colleges including the Royal College of General Practitioners (UK) affiliate relationships. It also contributes to national dialogues represented in forums like the Council of Australian Governments health meetings and liaises with research funders including the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Health Research Council of New Zealand.
Medical Deans leads consensus on undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum frameworks aligned to the standards of accrediting authorities such as the Australian Medical Council and comparable bodies in New Zealand. It works closely with accreditation-focused organisations like the Australian Universities Quality Agency (historical) models and international partners including the Liaison Committee on Medical Education approaches and the World Federation for Medical Education. Collaborations include mapping competencies referenced by specialty bodies like the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and assessment consortia inspired by examinations such as the United States Medical Licensing Examination and the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination formats, adapted for local contexts including rural and Indigenous health priorities exemplified by partnerships with Aboriginal Medical Service-associated programs and Māori Health initiatives.
The organisation commissions and synthesises workforce research drawing on methods used by the Institute of Medicine, demographic modelling akin to studies by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and health systems research exemplified by the Commonwealth Fund. Policy outputs have addressed clinical placement capacity, rural training pipeline strategies echoing programs at James Cook University, Indigenous health workforce development paralleling initiatives at University of Otago, Christchurch and interprofessional education models from institutions such as Monash University. It partners with academic research centres like the Menzies School of Health Research, Kirby Institute, and policy institutes including the Grattan Institute for evidence translation.
Medical Deans engages in regional networks including links to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-region medical education consortia, collaborative activities with the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and interchange with accreditation bodies such as the General Medical Council and the Medical Council of India-style entities. It participates in exchanges with universities like Harvard Medical School, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Johns Hopkins University, University of Toronto and collaborates on postgraduate training, global health curricula, and mobility arrangements influenced by frameworks like the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group and memoranda similar to bilateral education agreements.
Governance features an elected board of deans, subcommittees on education, research, rural health and Indigenous engagement, and a professional secretariat hosted by member universities. Funding sources include membership contributions, grants from governmental and philanthropic sources analogous to awards from the Wellcome Trust and project funding from agencies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Health Research Council of New Zealand, as well as fee-for-service activities with stakeholders including hospital networks, specialty colleges and international partners.
Category:Medical education in Australia Category:Medical education in New Zealand