Tomorrow (Friday, May 15) is the closing date for nominations for those wishing to become President, Vice President, Chairman of Council or Treasurer of the AMA.
The incumbent president Rosanna Capolingua is not running again. According to the latest Oz Doc, the three presidential contenders (barring any last-minute entrants) are:
• Aniello Iannuzzi, a GP from Coonabarabran
• Gary Speck, an orthopaedic surgeon from Melbourne
• Andrew Pesce, an obstetrician from Sydney.
Given how much airtime the AMA president gets (far too much I reckon, relative to all the other interests in health that so often miss out), I think it’s only fair that the broader public should have a say in who gets the nod.
We could organise this along the lines of AMA Idol – it wouldn’t be so much about their policies or political strategies, but about how gentle they are to our ears, especially over breakfast.
Judging criteria could include things like whether they have a sense of humour, a pleasant voice, and a healthy dose of humility.
The election will take place at the AMA National Conference in Melbourne on May 29-31.
One Comment
Ian Haywood
I’m not sure that airtime corresponds to influence, as AMA currently is the de facto shadow health ministry. If the AMA got less press releases and delivered half for their members as APA and ANF do for theirs I’d be happy.