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Website: http://www.fiamc.org OCEANIA Delegate to FIAMC Associations Jubilee of the Sick Persons and Health Care Workers (Rome, 8-11 February 2000) DELEGATE TO FIAMC Dr Michael Shanahan (West Australia) ASSOCIATIONS WEST AUSTRALIA Catholic Doctors Association c/o LJ Goody Bioethics Center, 39 Jugan Street, Glendalough WA 6016 (Tel: +61-9 242 4066; Fax:+61-9.242 4067; ljgbc@iinet.net.au ) NEW ZEALAND Guild of St Luke, SS Cosmas & Damian (GSLSCD) JUBILEE OF THE SICK PERSONS AND HEALTH CARE WORKERS Rome, 8-11 February 2000 Catholic Doctors'Challenges for the new Millennium in Oceania Dr Michael Shanahan, West Australia The future of the Catholic doctor associations extending into the next millennium in our region will depend on the next generation of Catholic doctors. The present generation of Catholic doctor associations is struggling to be effective and the trend is towards a decline. How to motivate the next generation to become involved will be the challenge into the third millennium. Finding a role for them in the Catholic health care system may be part of the answer. The philosophy of the Catholic health care system is to focus health care by providing quality medical care, in conjunction with the social and spiritual needs of the patient made from conception in the image of God, according to the mission of Jesus Christ who has compassion for the sick. It is a collaborative activity, requiring the services of doctors, nurses, administrators, chaplains and many others under the common spiritual urge of the Church, which values life and justice. The Catholic health care system, which includes major hospitals in many parts of the world, and many community institutions and services, is having problems reaching these high ideals for many reasons. Some would say that their mission is not now economically possible, and that the Church should find other ways of reaching the people, and abandon the high technology hospitals to the care of the secular world. Alternatively, the Catholic health facilities will need to search for different solutions in order to fulfil their mission. At least part of their solution lies in mutual support between the institutions and Catholic professional associations. To prevent further decline of Catholic institutions towards a dominant secular outcome, there is a need to focus on the Catholic identity as expressed by the spiritual ethos and ethical dimensions. To achieve this outcome a critical mass of Catholic health care workers is required, especially as the laity replace the dedicated religious. Again we need to look to the next generation of Catholic professionals to become involved. In many places, the current membership of the Catholic doctor associations is mainly in the older generation, that is pre-Vatican II. These members grew up with an organised Catholic upbringing, through schools, parishes and Catholic university colleges, in a Christian culture and Catholic sub-culture, but their numbers are diminishing. The younger doctors are distracted by their busy professional demands, studies and family commitments. For many, their commitment to Catholicism is only lukewarm, not supporting some of the Church's teachings, and wanting the Church to change in various ways. Regular attendance at Mass is less, and many have no solid foundation of Catholic teachings. However, this is often offset by a firm conviction of social justice, for the poor and disadvantaged, who lack proper medical treatment. They will be, hopefully, "prolife" and oppose legislations that promotes abortion or euthanasia. This generation of Catholic doctors may be converted to a sense of "mission" by asking for their help, with social issues such as indigenous health matters, drug problems, overseas aid and hospice care to name a few. The Catholic health institutions should seek out and invite committed Catholic doctors to assist in management, by joining committees (such as ethics, accreditation and advisory committees), that will use their specialised knowledge and skills. Education in ethics and ethos will be a significant challenge for Catholic professionals into the future. Conferences, seminars, and lectures need to be sponsored by the Catholic hospitals and the church. Special provision will be needed to train resident doctors and nurses in Catholic ethics allowing time from their rosters to take part. An area of special need will be the training of Catholic obstetricians and gynaecologists, who are urgently needed. Catholic hospitals both nationally and internationally will need to come together for this special program. The Australian Catholic universities that have established nursing schools may be able to provide courses on ethics for medical students as well as nurses. Alternatively, courses may be provided by the Catholic university colleges for Catholic medical students. Hopefully, in the future the Catholic universities will be able to establish medical schools. The director of mission and ethics committees composed of a dominant number of committed Catholic professionals, need to work together to maintain the ethos of Catholic identity. Both should look for practical opportunities to help the disadvantaged and the poor. The Catholic institution could give special support to the Catholic doctor and Catholic nurse associations by inviting representation from these groups. The hospital could also help with secretarial support, by the provision of computer access, communications, printing newsletters, and a library for journals on ethics and reference books. Working together in this way will be to the benefit of all. The Catholic doctor associations in Australia need to work together by forming an effective federation of Catholic medical associations. International links with the Asian and world federations should be strengthened. Finding a spokesperson who is a good communicator, is essential for making public statements on behalf of the association. The associations also need to be more "lobbyist" on such issues as abortion, euthanasia and genetic experimentation. Even for the committed members the usual activities of the association need to be examined afresh. The annual conference, meetings, masses and retreats, and social events could be revamped in an effort to make them more attractive. Catholic medical students should be also especially welcomed to these functions. The central core of the associations, usually made up of only a few committed individuals will need to make a greater effort to welcome other younger members, and encourage them to take responsibility and make decisions. Finally, and not the least, will be a closer collaboration with the Church working together for mutual benefit especially through the Catholic bioethics centres where they are established. It is essential the associations receive advice and encouragement from the bishops, priests, religious and moral ethicists as we all share the same ambition to see Catholic health care thrive into the third millennium. Our challenge is to seek out and inspire strong leadership in Catholic health care, from amongst this next generation.