But that health system needn’t remain an imaginary vision. One of the roles of an organisation like ours is to lead towards that vision, and during 2022 we continued to do so.

In the third year of a global pandemic, we used the enormous power of our collective voice to advocate with governments and address the current health system crises on both sides of the Tasman.

We know it will take systemic reform to reduce burnout in the workforce, and we are leading those calls on your behalf. I have spoken numerous times in the media to amplify your concerns and advocate for health reform and investment. Gender equity in our profession is possible. We released a major College report into gender equity in medicine, followed by a productive session working through these findings at our May 2022 RACP Congress.

We’ve updated our flexible training policy, including the change to exclude unlimited parental leave from accruing towards the training time limit.

These changes are part of our ongoing reform to provide greater flexibility for trainees wanting to start families, and to take care of our members’ wellbeing.

A healthcare workforce that is truly inclusive is possible. There has been progress this year on our Indigenous Strategic Framework, with new initiatives such as the fee reimbursement scheme to cover the training costs of annual training and/or exams for eligible participants. You can read more about the framework later in this report.

I won’t deny the huge challenges we currently face in realising our vision.

Many of you are overworked or under tremendous pressure. We work in an industry that still lacks flexibility for all, and where there are enormous barriers to women entering and progressing through their medical careers, compared with their male counterparts. Whether it’s the challenges of starting a family during training years, discrimination faced through our careers, sexual harassment in the workplace or a lack of flexible work – these are all barriers that women, who are almost 50 per cent of our membership, face in their careers. We also recognise that others also experience discrimination and barriers in their professional life.

But we are determined to lead improvements across our entire sector. We are also determined to improve the services we deliver to you, in our examinations, our day-to-day responsiveness, or the support we provide.

You are not alone in the challenges that you experience in your journey as a trainee, a physician or paediatrician – whether those challenges are in leadership, at work, home, or in your studies with us. As a collective, I think it is vitally important that we support each other and share not just our challenges, but our triumphs. Leading towards the future for you continues to be my priority in the time I am privileged to be President. I welcome Louise McElvogue as the interim CEO as of December 2022 and look forward to continuing to lead the College along with the Board and other senior leaders in our College.