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AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF HEALTH AND MEDICAL SCIENCE (AAHMS)
The Academy was established to provide an impartial and authoritative voice for healthcare informed by the best available evidence and expert advice from the best and brightest in health and medical research. The Academy will also focus on the development of future generations of health and medical researchers.

History of the Academy
The establishment of an Academy of Health and Medical Sciences in Australia, independent of government and able to speak authoritatively, was initially proposed by Professor Warwick Anderson, NHMRC CEO, in 2012.

A small group of eminent medical research leaders began to consider whether there might be a place for such an organisation and to develop the concept into a reality. Professor Ed Byrne, Vice-Chancellor, Monash University proposed to his colleagues from the Group of Eight universities that such an organisation would be valuable in the Australian context, and that Go8 should support its development. In November 2013, a Development Committee of active health and medical research leaders met to establish the foundations of the Academy. They acknowledged the many important bodies and organisations in health and medical sciences in Australia, with whom the Academy would to work to achieve their objectives.

Purposes
The Academy will serve the three purposes identified as of high priority in the 2013 Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research (the McKeon Report ):

Development
The development phase was greatly facilitated by the Commonwealth Department of Health, the National Health and Medical Research Council, and the Group of Eight Universities. A Steering Committee was established to oversight the development. Members were Profs Ian Frazer, James Angus, Warwick Anderson, and John Horvath, supported by Dr Patricia Ridgway (NHMRC) and Alan Mackay (Go8). There were valuable consultations with a range of other key organisations, including the UK Academy of Medical Science.

In June 2014, the Academy of Health and Medical Sciences was formally established. A committee of eminent senior health and medical scientists, chaired by Professor Richard Larkins, was formed to consider and recommend an initial Council of Fellows of the Academy.

The Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences was established as a legal entity, with initial Directors being Professors Frazer, Anderson, Fiona Wood and Mr Alan Mackay. The Academy has been registered as a not-for-profit charity and will continue to increase its Fellowship, develop work programs, plan specific initiatives to meet its objectives, and exercise a presence advising the community and governments about health and medical issues, under the patronage of Professor Sir Gustav Nossal.

The first meeting of the Council was held on 13 June 2014, at the Australian Academy of Science in Canberra. That meeting elected Professor Ian Frazer as President inaugural President, and Professor Ingrid Scheffer as Vice-President. Other members of the Academy Council Executive, elected at that meeting, were Professor Nicholas Talley (Hon Treasurer); Professor Steven Wesslingh (Public Officer), and Professors Simon Foote and Robyn Ward. The Academy sought proposals for the first election of Fellows from universities, medical research institutes, specialist medical colleges, and other organisations, during the second half of 2014. Submissions and referee letters were considered, and 116 Fellows (FAHMS) were elected.

Who is eligible for fellowship?
A person currently resident in Australian who has demonstrated distinguished professional achievement in a field related to health and/or medicine, by the exercise of outstanding leadership in the science of health and medicine; they will be continuing to demonstrate significant and continuing involvement with issues of health care, prevention of disease, education, research, health services policy and delivery. They will have all or several of the following characteristics: Fellows of the Academy will have skills and resources to contribute to the Academy’s tasks of assessing current knowledge, conducting studies, and considering policy issues. They will be willing to be active participants in the Academy.
 * They are well recognised by their peers, nationally and internationally, for excellence in medical and health science
 * They demonstrate creativity, distinctive competencies and a commitment to advance academic medical and health science in Australia
 * They have contributed and are contributing to medical and health science by leadership, inspiration or the furtherance of health and medical science in a senior management or administrative capacity
 * They raise public understanding or appreciation of medical and health science
 * They have rendered and continue conspicuous service to medical and health science

How are eligible individuals proposed for fellowship?
Candidates for fellowship are nominated by an existing Fellow, who will with the assistance of the candidate provide a signed Consent Form and a completed Certificate (which must be signed by the Nominator and a Seconder, both of whom must be current Fellows of the Academy). The forms are available on the web site at  http://www.aahms.org/fellowship/

The annual closing date for completed nominations is 30th November, for candidates to be considered for election in the following year. Nominated candidates who are not elected in their year of proposal will be further considered for 3 subsequent years, with updated papers provided by the nominating fellow, after which, if they are not elected, 2 years must elapse before they are re-nominated. New independent referees will be sought each year a candidate is considered.

How are fellows selected for fellowship?
Candidates duly nominated are allocated to a fellowship committee, who will consider up to 20 candidates for fellowship, seek external and independent referees reports, as well as referees reports from the proposers list of nominated referees. The fellowship committees consist of fellows, who serve for a period of 3 years. Fellowship committees are asked to propose for fellowship those who meet the criteria, ranked in preference. Fellows are advised that they must not participate in the discussion about, or ranking of, those candidates with whom a conflict of interest is considered possible. Ranking takes into account the criteria for fellowship, and the desire for diversity within the fellowship.

Lists of eligible candidates with rankings and all relevant documents are brought before council for consideration, and council recommends who should be put before the current fellowship for consideration for election to fellowship. A list of council recommended new fellows is put to the fellowship, each of whom have the opportunity to inform council, in private and within a certain period, if they have concerns about a nominated candidate. Successful candidates are announced at the AGM/Annual Scientific meeting in the fourth Quarter of the year.

Fellowship privileges and responsibilities
Fellows are entitled to
 * Participate in state branch and national scientific meetings
 * attend and vote at the annual general meeting,
 * participate in the running of the Academy through service on council or the fellowship committees,
 * nominate to the fellowship
 * contribute to the mentorship program and nominate mentees
 * use the FAHMS postnomial
 * be considered for the academy annual awards

Fellowship Dues
Fellowship dues are paid annually, at a rate set by council. The annual dues are determined by income, with reduced rates for lower incomes, and for fellows no longer in employment. A single lifetime payment, calculated by age, is also available to fellows on request. Fellows who find themselves unable to pay their dues for good reason may make application to the Academy Executive Council to be excused their fee.

Where is the academy based?
The Academy Executive Officer, Simone Yendle, is the only paid member of staff of the Academy. She has an office in the Royal Australian College of Physicians building in Melbourne. You can contact her as follows:

Simone Yendle Executive Officer Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences C/- RACP Offices Level 2, 417 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia PO Box 7210, St Kilda Road, VIC 3004 Phone: 0423 031 133 | Fax: +61 3 9820 9628 | Web: www.aahms.org

How is the academy run?
The academy is a Limited Liability Company, run by a board. The board and executive meet quarterly by phone or face to face to further the business of the Academy. The executive is a subset of a council of 15 fellows, who represent the fellows interests and views to the Academy. Council meets at least twice yearly. All executive and council members give their time voluntarily.

How are council and executive selected?
Currently the terms of office and method of election of council, executive, and the board are under consideration, and your input is sought through the AGM or otherwise on this matter. Council propose that the council should be ¼ replaced each year through election from the fellowship. The board and executive should retain their positions for at least the next 3 years, and thereafter should be also subject to replacement by election.

OBJECTIVES
The academy aims to
 * Recognise high achievement in research in medical sciences, and in development of evidence based, sustainable health and medical practice and policy.
 * Provide expert independent scientific assessment of issues relevant to the health of Australians.
 * Be a source of independent expert advice to all Australian governments and other funding sources on research priorities in health.
 * Develop partnerships between stakeholders to promote and share knowledge in health and medical science.
 * Promote and facilitate the development of academic medicine and efficient evidence-based clinical practice to ensure the best possible health outcomes for all Australians.
 * Promote Australian health and medical sciences with other Academies, nationally and internationally.
 * Engage with community, to promote & build confidence in evidence-based medical & health policies and practices & to address issues of public concern.
 * Provide mentorship and support for aspiring academic clinicians and clinically focused researchers. Encourage and assist in developing professional linkages as part of the initial and continuing education and training of health and medical professionals. Encourage the generation, development and translation of new knowledge in the health and medical sciences.
 * Provide advice on education of health and medical scientists at all professional levels.
 * Provide an environment for debate and dissemination of knowledge in the field of medical sciences and research. Provide a forum for bringing together leaders from different domains of health and medical sciences and related fields, to meet the objectives of the Academy and to develop partnerships across disciplines.
 * Assist the Australian government and other agencies to promote improvements in health to the Asia Pacific region by applying health and medical science in the regional context.

These objectives are reduced to practice through three areas:

The academy mentorship scheme
The Academy mentoring program pairs Health and Medical Researchers in training with experienced health and medical researchers who are Fellows of the Academy. The pairing is one-on-one, voluntary for both parties, and aims to facilitate the career development of the mentee. Once pairing has been arranged through the Academy, further arrangements for mentorship are made between the mentor and mentee.

The Academy expects that the mentee write a report once a year updating their progress within the mentorship program. It is envisaged that mentorship would be for between 2 and 4 years, generally 3 years. Mentor and mentee will wherever possible be located in the same state, but to avoid conflicts of interest will not be located in the same facility. In addition to one-on-one mentorship, the Academy will arrange for a mentorship day in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Academy, at which both mentors and mentees will have the opportunity to participate in group sessions designed to facilitate the mentorship program, and the training of the mentee.

Mentees accepted into the mentorship program will be Associate Members of the academy for their period of mentorship. A small annual fee will entitle them to attend state and annual scientific meetings, and receive communications from the Academy.

The academy state and federal scientific meetings
Fellowship activities at the state level are actively encouraged and participation at this level will be expected of candidates for council office. Fellows are encouraged to appoint a state coordinator, to organize local meetings, to a timetable convenient to the fellows, and to encourage new fellows to present their interests through a series of talks, with discussion. These meetings could be made open to potential future fellows, candidates for mentorship, and other interested parties. The annual scientific meeting will be an opportunity for new fellows to present their work to the academy, and in addition there will be invited local and international speakers round a theme of interest to the fellows. The meeting will be planned by a committee of fellows, and will rotate from state to state each year. Attendance will be included in the fellowship, and (apart from the AGM) will be open to other interested parties for a nominal fee.

Academy reports
Academy fellows will prepare reports relevant to the objectives of the academy and within their area of expertise, in response to requests from government or outside agencies, or as suggested by the fellowship or council. These reports will be scholarly, will evaluate evidence, and consider where further evidence is needed. Some will be produced rapidly in response to emerging need, while others will be considered in depth. They will reflect the views of the fellowship and hence of the academy, but will not be intended to lobby for particular political action.