A group of Greek-Australian doctors in Victoria has sought to form a new invigorated professional association with a vision to enable doctors to promote better health for all Australians including those of Hellenic descent. Their mission is to unite medical professionals with the community, connect people and inspire lifelong advancement in medical knowledge.
Hellenic Medical Society of Australia (HMSA) President, Associate Professor Marinis Pirpiris, who is an Orthopaedic Surgeon and also Victorian Chair of the Australian Orthopaedic Association, in a statement earlier this week said that “we have a dedicated board of eleven doctors who are all passionate about our aims and who have come together to give back to the community and unite the profession. HMSA has undertaken at least 5 public education lectures in the last 18 months, co-ordinated by HMSA Board member and Paediatrician Dr Betty Messazos-Trapetsa, with support from The Greek Community of Melbourne. Our mission with these public forums has been to improve understanding of the public on a variety of important topics, exploring themes such as Heart Disease, Arthritis, Depression, Diabetes, Psychosis, as well as a talk on accessing services in the Australian health system. We are really proud of the achievements of the Board so far.”
A talented board of medical professionals promoting medical knowledge and connection with the public and other colleagues.
The HMSA Board also includes (in alphabetical order), Dr Spiros Fourlanos (Endocrinologist), Dr Arthur Kokkinias (Psychiatrist), Mr George Koufogiannis (Urologic Surgeon), Dr Betty Messazos-Trapetsa (Paediatrician), Associate Professor Arthur Nasis (Cardiologist), Dr Stav Papapostolou, (Cardiologist and Cardiac Imaging fellow), Dr Nick Roubos (General Practitioner), Dr Mary Stavropoulou (GP & Skin cancer medicine), Mr Kostas Syrrakos (General Surgeon) and Dr George Stabelos (General Practitioner).
HMSA Vice-President Dr George Stabelos added that “we would like this organisation to be relevant and useful to both the public and the medical profession by promoting medical and health knowledge and connecting people in all groups. We envisage to achieve this by improving the community’s understanding and having greater control over one’s own health, connecting the public with doctors, or strengthening collegiality and connections amongst the medical profession and facilitating advancement in medical knowledge.”
In addition to the public educational lectures, HMSA is planning events where doctors can meet and exchange new information and ideas, enhance fellowship and even enjoy Greek culture and heritage at a social level. The HMSA Board sees the potential benefits of a synergistic association as compared to doctors working alone and sometimes in isolation as individual professionals.
“There are numerous examples in society and in many fields including medicine, of achievement and success, where people work hard and attain a great deal as individuals,” commented Dr George Stabelos. “However in the Australian community generally, including the Australian-Greek community, there are also opportunities for synergising and harnessing the collective wisdom, effort and experience of us all. We need to do more of this as a community and avail of these opportunities as there are a myriad of potential benefits for communities and professionals.”
In explaining the motivation behind this large group of doctors forming a re-energised association, HMSA President, Associate Professor Marinis Pirpiris emphasized that “groups working harmoniously and in solidarity can result in extraordinary achievements, have an impact on society and leave a legacy that no individual could by themselves. That is one further reason why all these doctors have come together.”
HMSA Board member and treasurer Associate Professor Arthur Nasis, a cardiologist who is also head of Acute Cardiac Services at Monash Medical Centre agreed and commented further, “we have nearly 400 Victorian doctors on our database and any doctor who is not a member can now visit our website and register to become a member at www.hmsa.org.au.
The public is also able to access the site and in the long run, once a number doctors have registered, the public will be able to locate a doctor on our directory, including identifying bilingual clinicians. Whether it be GPs or doctors working in various other specialties such as surgery, cardiology, endocrinology, psychiatry and so on, the public will have access to them. Anyone will also be able to register their interest to attend HMSA public forum educational events. We believe the above will assist in reducing language or cultural barriers related to accessing health services and successfully navigating the Australian healthcare system. It will be of benefit in improving and optimising health outcomes, especially where language or cultural barriers might currently exist.”
Setting high standards.
HMSA Board member and secretary Dr Arthur Kokkinias, Consultant Psychiatrist, also stated “the HMSA has also established a set of core values which guide the association and its members. These include:
– Excellence: advocating for quality, cutting edge, evidence based medical practice.
– Integrity: promoting ethical, transparent and accountable, professional care.
– Compassion: aiming for patient-centred quality care.
– Collaboration: facilitating unity, mutual respect and professional leadership
– Innovation: striving for continuous improvement, lifelong learning and commitment to medical research.
We feel it is important to set the highest standards.”
Doctor Events.
HMSA’s inaugural event for doctors took place in November of last year, where over 100 doctors of various specialties were invited to attend. HMSA Board member Dr Spiros Fourlanos, an Endocrinologist, who is also Director of Medical Education for HMSA, noted that “keynote speakers included Professor James Tatoulis, Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Royal Melbourne Hospital and Dr Maritsa Papakostantinou, Orthopaedic Registrar, as well as HMSA President Associate Professor Marinis Pirpiris. The speakers offered interesting insights in their career paths and the night was a great success. We plan further events with both a medical education and social component. The event was enjoyed by a wide spectrum of medical professionals ranging from experienced doctors from various medical and surgical sub-specialties as well as medical and surgical registrars, other doctors in training and medical students. It was satisfying seeing everyone come together.”
A GP doctor who attended the inaugural medical event remarked “one thing that stood out to me about tonight was the amount of impressive medical professionals we have in our community, some inspiring people who are incredibly dedicated, hard working and cutting edge professionals in their respective field. They are often leaders in their fields and have achieved an enormous amount for their patients, the organisations they work in, the profession overall and for the Australian community. Imagine if we could all leverage that knowledge, experience and fellowship in order to contribute in some way to an association that works together for the greater good of the public and the profession. That would benefit the profession and society at large.”
The next educational and social event is a dinner on 23rd November 2017 at the Hellenic Republic. Dr Nick Antoniades will present on ‘Thunderstorm Asthma’ and Dr Spiros Fourlanos will give an update on ‘Treatments for Type 2 Diabetes’.
Doctors from all subspecialties are invited to attend this free event which is kindly sponsored by Astra Zeneca.
To book a place please visit our website at www.hmsa.org.au and become a standard member asap. E-mail us at info@hmsa.org.au your RSVP or any queries.
For full event details and information see the invitation on our website under ‘EVENTS’’Social.
Corporate Partnerships, Sponsorship and Benefactors.
HMSA Board member, General Surgeon and HMSA Director of Community Liaison, Mr Kostas Syrrakos and HMSA Board member, Director of Educational Events and Urological Surgeon Mr George Koufogiannis, pointed out that “the inaugural event was made possible thanks to the support of Yianni Zaparas and Zaparas Lawyers, who are one of the largest personal injury law firms in Victoria and located at a number of locations around Melbourne including Oakleigh, Epping, Cranbourne and Preston”. In addition, “organisations such as HMSA provide an opportunity for corporate synergies and many win-win scenarios. We are open to hearing from corporate organisations, individuals or other groups who wish to work with us for a common greater good. We are currently in discussion with potential corporate partners and sponsors representing a number of medical services and products.”
The Future : public & doctor events and the Australian- Hellenic connection.
HMSA Board member and Director of Communication, Dr Betty Messazos-Trapetsa stated “the immediate goals of HMSA include continuing our public forum education seminars on a variety of medical topics. These are conducted by various medical speakers every few months on Sundays in Greek and/or English with powerpoint presentations with an opportunity for questions and answers by an expert panel at the end of each session. The lectures are aimed at health promotion, disease prevention and health education. Most are held at the Greek Community of Melbourne building in the city on Lonsdale street. Everyone is welcome to attend and they can register or keep an eye out for invitations to these events via our website or just simply attend. We also announce on our community radios, via Greek newspapers, on facebook and via news updates with GOCMV. We are also inviting promotional sponsors or benefactors to partner with us in these events.”
“HMSA would like to conduct regular doctor events that encourage a range of doctors to update knowledge, advance the science and art of medicine, and contribute to enhancing collegiality,” reiterated HMSA board member Dr Spiros Fourlanos. Dr Stav Papapostolou, HMSA Board member and Community Development Officer, is a cardiologist and cardiac imaging fellow, also pointed out that “HMSA is also focusing on boosting attendance of younger doctors including those in training. There are opportunities for mentoring and to share knowledge, experience, skills and create new contacts, something that is important for medical professionals who function in a team environment”.
“We also have some inspiring goals for the future which relate to serving the community in the areas of medical philanthropy in Australia and Greece, and promoting various connections both locally and between Australia and Greece” said HMSA Board member and GP Dr Nick Roubos. “On the weekend of the 25th and 26th November 2017 there will be a Greek Medical Tourism Conference in Melbourne together with Medical Doctors from Greece that aims to promote bilateral medical tourism and establish both countries as future medical conference destinations. These will be worthwhile achievements.” Details about this event and for a full programme please visit our website. It is also available via GOCMV.
“Doctors are also part of a wider health care team and in the future we envisage co-organising a separate association such as a Hellenic Health Professionals Group, that will also bring together other important members of the health care team such as pharmacists, dentists, psychologists and allied health professionals” said Dr George Stabelos, GP. “As a practicing GP and a former allied health professional, I can see enormous benefits to the public and health care professionals that could arise from such an organisation. We would like to hear from anyone interested in being involved and moving forward with something like this.”
HMSA would like to hear from any doctors who are interested in contributing on a HMSA sub-committee, or from any other members of the public from various backgrounds who may wish to join a team and assist HMSA in a voluntary capacity with administrative and organisational aspects of our events and operations. Please contact us via our website below.
The Hellenic Medical Society of Australia is based at the Greek Centre for Contemporary Culture, 168 Lonsdale St, Melbourne.
The next event is this thrusday 23rd November 2017.
Medical and surgical practitioners from every specialty including doctors in training are all invited to attend and can register their interest via the HMSA website at www.hmsa.org.au