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Staff at the Australian National University Medical School have raised concerns the school would effectively be disbanded under a new proposal. Proposed changes to the College of Health and Medicine would cut 23 positions from the college, with three academics and two professional jobs to go from the ANU Medical School. ACT Health senior staff specialist and professor of hepatic medicine at ANU Medical School Geoff Farrell said the restructure would be detrimental to the school. “It’s the medical school that’s really getting the big bullet,” he said. “What we’re really worried about is the medical school is effectively being disbanded as we know it.” The ANU has proposed changing the name of the college from College of Health and Medicine to the College of Health, Medicine and Psychological Science. The professional discipline streams would be renamed ANU Medicine, ANU Psychology and ANU Population Health and each would be led by a new deputy dean. The managing change proposal states the school has been “less effective in advancing clinical research” and “an effective funding model” has been elusive. University-funded academic staff from the medical school would be integrated into the two research schools. Professor Farrell was concerned the changes would not have the support of doctors and would affect the reputation of the medicine program. He said the two-week period for submitting feedback on the plan was too short and the college should have held focus groups with staff members before drafting the proposal. READ MORE: An ANU spokesman said the only change to medicine would be in name and where related teaching and research would sit in the university’s organisational structure. “ANU Medicine will still be led by practising clinicians and the program will still have strong ties and robust relationships with ACT Health and Canberra Health Services,” the spokesman said. He said ANU would continue to graduate 100 medical students per year as it had done in the past 14 years. A spokesman for ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said she was advised of the changes before last week’s announcement. “We have been assured by ANU that this is a genuine consultation process, and encourage all those affected by the proposed changes to engage in that process,” the spokesman said. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
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Staff at the Australian National University Medical School have raised concerns the school would effectively be disbanded under a new proposal.
ACT Health senior staff specialist and professor of hepatic medicine at ANU Medical School Geoff Farrell said the restructure would be detrimental to the school.
“It’s the medical school that’s really getting the big bullet,” he said.
“What we’re really worried about is the medical school is effectively being disbanded as we know it.”
The ANU has proposed changing the name of the college from College of Health and Medicine to the College of Health, Medicine and Psychological Science.
The professional discipline streams would be renamed ANU Medicine, ANU Psychology and ANU Population Health and each would be led by a new deputy dean.
The managing change proposal states the school has been “less effective in advancing clinical research” and “an effective funding model” has been elusive. University-funded academic staff from the medical school would be integrated into the two research schools.
Professor Farrell was concerned the changes would not have the support of doctors and would affect the reputation of the medicine program.
He said the two-week period for submitting feedback on the plan was too short and the college should have held focus groups with staff members before drafting the proposal.
An ANU spokesman said the only change to medicine would be in name and where related teaching and research would sit in the university’s organisational structure.
“ANU Medicine will still be led by practising clinicians and the program will still have strong ties and robust relationships with ACT Health and Canberra Health Services,” the spokesman said.
He said ANU would continue to graduate 100 medical students per year as it had done in the past 14 years.
A spokesman for ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said she was advised of the changes before last week’s announcement.
“We have been assured by ANU that this is a genuine consultation process, and encourage all those affected by the proposed changes to engage in that process,” the spokesman said.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
Australian National University revealed a change management proposal for the College of Health and Medicine last week. Picture: Jamila Toderas
