The Royal Australasian December 2012 RhaïaThe Official Newsletter of the Australasian College of Physicians Volume 20 Issue 4 Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine Special Paralympic Edition Meet the Superhumans Forget about everything that you thought you knew about strength… Forget everything you thought you knew about humans… It’s time to do battle… Ref: Channel 4 advertisement for Paralympics Article by Ingrid McGaughey My partner Michael and I decided four years ago that we would go to the Paralympics in London in 2012. It wasn’t that we had a professional or personal relationship with any of the athletes. We had simply watched some of the Paralympics on television, and had been blown away by the competitors obvious tenacity, dedication and athleticism. Photograph by Jagdish Maharaj (IAC photographic competition winner) In many ways their achievements seemed even more remarkable than those of the Yet at the Paralympics we saw this and Olympians. (And the level of sportsmanship more. And even we were surprised by just Many of the Brits we met at the Games also seemed better!) how much we enjoyed the Games… were amazed that we had managed to gain tickets to so many sessions. I think the To put it in simplistic terms, I’m not, by My overwhelming impression was these difference was that we applied well before any stretch of the imagination, a world- games, over all others that had occurred going to the Paralympics became desirable class athlete. But I know that even I could before, were about respect for the and sexy. The common story we heard manage to: achievements of world-class athletes. from the locals was that people had applied The pre games media coverage carried a for Olympics tickets, had missed out, and • Swim 200 meters backstroke, and stay definite message that the athletes weren’t then decided to ‘try’ one or two Paralympic afloat for the duration, interested in pity, or being regarded as any events, usually to see the infrastructure • Stagger around the 800 metre way lesser to the Olympians. Basically the rather that the athletes per se. runningtrack, message was that these were THEIR games, • Manage an inelegant leap over a lowish and this was THEIR time. But as the Olympics came and went, and the high jump, Paralympics approached, attitudes began to • And kick a soccer ball in roughly the We had been lucky with the ticket allocation. change. ‘right’ direction. My sister was a resident of the UK and had put in for tickets in the initial ballot. In the Post Olympics, large billboards appeared However I’m pretty sure that I would not end we received great tickets to almost in London and on Channel 4, the official manage: every session we requested: two sessions UK broadcaster of the Paralympic Games. of athletics, two of swimming, as well as the Supposedly addressed to the Olympians, • The 200m backstroke with no functional women’s wheelchair basketball finals. they cheekily stated ‘…thanks for the arms or legs without drowning, We had missed out on the wheelchair rugby warm up…’. The video footage can be • The energy expenditure of sprinting tickets much to my partner's disappointment, viewed at http://www.youtube.com/ around the arena with a hemiplegic gait but through the Australian Paralympic watch?v=S48VDQGzCGk or even blindfolded at speed with a Association ‘follow my team’ allocation sighted co-runner advising me of hazards had been fortunate to score guaranteed Channel 4 launched a great publicity • Hopping up to the high jump with one leg tickets to the wheelchair rugby finals series program all round. Another brilliant and launching myself over 1.6 metre bar, if Australia progressed that far. They did commercial entitled ‘meet the superhumans’ • Or locate a tinkling. moving soccer ball (and went on to win gold) so all in all seven and featuring the hip-hop legends Public while blindfolded, let alone kick it sessions of world-class sport…not a anywhere. bad haul. Continued on page 6... RHAÏA DECEMBER 2012 1 This Issue 1 Feature Story – Meet the Superhumans (Ingrid McGaughey) CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS Ingrid McGaughey, Andrew Cole, Chris Poulos, Jagdish 3 Editorial (Andrew Cole) Maharaj, Susan Rutkowski, Peter New, Mary-Clare Waugh, 4 President’s Report (Chris Poulos) Jayanthini Ganeshkumar, Gerald McLaren, Jasmine Gilchrist Lucy Ramon, Mohammed Abdul Vaseem, Kirrily Holton, 7 My times with the Paralympic Movement (Jagdish Maharaj) Ruth Marshall, Katherine Langdon, Jennifer Mann, Sally Warmington, Charitha Perera 8 Australian Women’s Basketball (Susan Rutkowski) MISSION AND CONTENT 9 Paralympics – Nazim Erdem (Peter New) This newsletter is published four times per year for The Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine of The Royal 10 Farewell to Stephen O’Flaherty (Mary-Clare Waugh) Australasian College of Physicians, 145 Macquarie Street, Sydney, 2000. Copyright 2012 AFRM. The Newsletter is 11 Winner of the IPSEN Award (Dr Jayanthini Ganeshkumar) primarily a communication for AFRM Fellows and trainees, to provide up-to-date information for readers in the areas of 12 Diabetes Study (Gerald McLaren) education, practice, advocacy, research and AFRM affairs. Kleenex Neck (Gerald McLaren) DISCLAIMERS: 14 Trainee Liftout - Editorial (Jasmine Gilchrist) OPINIONS, ACCURACY & ADVERTISING Trainee Liftout - Examination Feedback The statements and opinions contained in the articles of 16 Trainee Liftout - Leadership in Health Management this Newsletter are solely those of the individual author (Lucy Ramon) and contributors and not of The Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine of The Royal Australasian College 17 Trainee Liftout - Clinical Corner – Medical Restrictions to of Physicians. The Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Driving (Mohammed Abdul Vaseem) Medicine of The Royal Australasian College of Physicians Trainee Liftout - Trainee Committee Report (Kirrily Holton) disclaims responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained in the scientific articles or advertisements. The 18 FEC Chair’s Report (Andrew Cole) appearance of advertisements in the Newsletter is not Reflecting on 6 years wearing the ‘hat’ as your Lead for a warranty, endorsement or approval of the products or Continuing Professional Development (Ruth Marshall) services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. 19 The National Disability Insurance Scheme EDITORIAL POLICY AND LETTERS (Katherine Langdon) Letters will be published at the discretion of the Editor as 20 AFRM Award Availability space permits and are subject to editing and abridgement. Is the NDIS the solution…? (Jennifer Mann) Letters will be considered if they are typewritten double- spaced and do not exceed 300 words. Letters will not 21 National Partnership Agreement on Commonwealth Funding be returned unless specifically required. Fellows must of Sub-Acute Services acknowledge duplication of other material published or submitted for publication and the AFRM reserves the right for 24 Remembering Dr Graeme Penington (Sally Warmington) appropriate editorial input, which will be discussed with the IAC International Photographic Competition contributor prior to publication. 25 South Australia Branch Report Published by: The Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine 26 Calendar of Notified Conferences 145 Macquarie Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 Telephone: +61 2 9256 5420 Fax: +61 2 9251 7476 Email: [email protected] RHAÏA DECEMBER 2012 Website: www.afrm.racp.edu.au PRESIDENT: Chris Poulos Designed and typeset by: PRESIDENT ELECT: Stephen de Graaff DNF Creative Solutions - +61 2 9745 4551 PAST PRESIDENT: Kath McCarthy Email: [email protected] TREASURER: Peter Harradine EDITOR: Andrew Cole This Newsletter is supported by a grant from Allergan TRAINEE SUB-EDITOR: Jasmine Gilchrist Australia Pty Ltd. 2 RHAÏA DECEMBER 2012 Editorial Succession planning means different things to different people. my Better Half and I discovered that our legal colleagues have an entirely different take on succession planning. Put bluntly, it is Perhaps we think immediately of the use of the term in their euphemism for managing your (legal) affairs and determining professional healthcare settings. In our Faculty’s structure, for what needs to happen along the way to your inevitable demise example, we have a Past-President, President and President-elect. (guardianship, powers of attorney) and ensuring the effect of This is precisely so that the continuity of corporate knowledge your Will thereafter. Apart from reminding us that we all should and professional collegiality will continue, should (as our President have updated Wills, powers of attorney and guardianship in place said to me in jest the other month) one be hit by a bus, or be taken (beware the bus or medical illness that does not take you out out by a sudden medical illness, as Gerry McLaren reminded us completely), it is a reminder that transitions come to us all, and it is happens from time to time with hard working busy doctors in for us to prepare for these as well as we are able. middle age. This is my last piece as Editor of Rhaïa, and I trust I have prepared At least the Faculty has rules around succession planning to for this transition as best I have been able over the last couple of ensure that it occurs, but I sometimes wonder how many of us months. I look forward to Rhaïa’s further development in years to (especially greying baby-boomers) really think purposefully about come with keen anticipation. Please give my successor Gerry the this in our individual professional lives? Do we need to keep same generous encouragement and support you have afforded on doing all the things with which we are presently individually me over the last decade. involved; or could more tasks be shared with other colleagues as part of their planned professional and leadership skills Wishing you a happy Christmas and New Year holiday season, development, preparing for the day that they can step up to the next level? Please don’t misunderstand me; I am not speaking Andrew Cole here of simple task delegation, but of a more complex sharing of experience and information, and inductively discussing some of the knotty non-clinical issues we might encounter.