It’s time to get back to core business, says the woman at the centre of the college’s latest controversy.
The woman at the centre of the furore at the Royal Australasian College of Physicians has called for the cancellation of another expensive and futile extraordinary general meeting, and a return to the college’s “core business”.
On 31 October the RACP held an EGM focused on ousting president-elect Dr Sharmila Chandran, thanks to a proposal supported by 100 members. That meeting saw that proposal defeated, with 64.86% of members supporting Dr Chandran.
Despite that result the RACP is now preparing for another AGM on 26 November, again focused purely on whether Dr Chandran should remain in her position or be ousted. The only difference? Now the ouster will need only 50% of the vote instead of 75%.
However, this second EGM is now receiving mass criticism from members.
Futility has been the buzzword surrounding this new EGM, with the simple majority rule projected to have no impact along with the EGM carrying a $200,000 price tag.
“As soon as the EGM results came out on the 31 October, we were being inundated,” Dr Chandran told Dermatology Republic .
“So myself, all the board members, and the college were being inundated by calls from members asking for the fourth EGM to be stopped.
“Members set up a petition – within 24 hours 160 people put their names down on this petition asking the college to do whatever it takes to stop a fourth EGM.
“Unfortunately, this has not been endorsed by the board, and we can’t continue [with the petition].”
At the forefront of the EGM’s discourse has been how the college will need to repair its reputation with members.
“We’re not having any time to focus on core priorities, we’re so sucked into this mess,” Dr Chandran told DR.
“We’re not doing our core priorities. We should be focusing on our trainees and fellows.
“They’re asking us to look at how the fees are being spent, maybe asking us for education and training and we’re not doing any of that.
“It just needs to stop. I really want to move on, we all want to move on.
“We’re meant to be doctors, right?”
Dr Chandran has also told DR that she had reached out to former board director Dr John O’Donnell, who is believed to have initiated the second EGM.
Dr O’Donnell is an open supporter of current RACP president Professor Jennifer Martin.
“Members who know Dr O’Donnell have reached out to him, I wrote to him, asking him to retract the EGM, but of course, he hasn’t been willing,” Dr Chandran told DR.
“When you take up this role, you don’t take it for yourself. You take it to serve members, and that’s what we need to be accountable for.
“The money belongs to members, doesn’t belong to us personally, and we are here to serve members, not personal agendas, and that’s when it will end.”
