2008 Mid-year Update from the ACPSEM Office  
 

The Federal Government, through the Department of Health and Ageing, has renewed its funding commitment for the ACPSEM Radiation Oncology Training, Education and Accreditation Program (TEAP)  for another year.    Other TEAP areas, such as in radiology and nuclear medicine, are still in a bit of limbo with ACPSEM still very much reliant on volunteer support.  Many thanks to Anthony Wallace, Paul Cardew, Stefan Eberl and Leighton Barton for continuing to ‘soldier on’ despite repeated funding set-backs.  We are doing our best to support all areas in the office but we certainly cannot do without our staunch volunteer helpers.   

Our new website is slowly approaching the final stages of development and we are hopeful of launching it in the last half of this year – possibly before the EPSM-ABEC conference in Christchurch.  Again we are reliant on volunteers, for various committee and branch activities, informing the web-building team about the complexities of our database, accreditation and training needs.  More news on this project and the improved online member services soon. 

A big ‘Thanks’ to those members, who chose not only to renew their membership in April, but to also donate to the newly formed ACPSEM Medical Research Foundation.  We now have a few thousand dollars in a separate account that will initially go towards prizes and awards directed towards encouraging research opportunities.  There will be a special page devoted to the Foundation on the new website and we look forward to it flourishing and adding impetus to the College’s mission of advancing services and professional standards in medical physics and biomedical engineering for the benefit and protection of the community. 

A reminder that the ACPSEM Office tries to cover as many time-zones as possible to support members from New Zealand to Western Australia by staggering our staff attendance times.   Mia Fedele, our admin /finance whiz, arrives early Sydney time most days.   If you have a membership query please direct it to admin@acpsem.org.au  or call  61 2 9700 8522.  Angela Wong, supporting in the TEAP areas, is in most days 9-5 and looks after registrars in training and some special events.  Angela’s email is teap@acpsem.org.au 

I am in later in the morning and stay until at least 6pm AEST most days.  I can be emailed direct at manager@acpsem.org.au  

Carol James, ACPSEM General Manager