An obstetrics registrar who developed her own training program for gynaecological surgery after returning to work from maternity leave has been named the AMA Doctor in Training of the Year for 2019.
Dr Rebecca Ryder, a senior registrar at Sunshine Coast University Hospital, was presented with her award tonight by AMA President, Dr Tony Bartone, at the AMA National Conference in Brisbane.
"Dr Ryder has all the attributes of a great clinician and a great leader, with her commitment to learning, training, mentoring, and safe practice," Dr Bartone said.
"Her colleagues, who nominated her for this award, describe her as a natural leader, as approachable, compassionate, sensible, and decisive.
"She is passionate about the wellbeing of doctors in training, and is currently completing a research project on trainee resilience. In the first study of its kind, she has surveyed every obstetrics and gynaecology trainee in Australia and New Zealand.
"She aims to use her study as another platform to advocate for the fair treatment of trainees, and for workplace reforms to reduce bullying.
"She has also put her own experiences to practical use in training and teaching. When she returned to work in 2017 from maternity leave, she recognised that her prior gynaecological surgical experience was limited, and developed her own upskilling program.
"Her template is now used to teach laparoscopic surgical skills to other junior trainees.
"She has also, in her own time, assisted in surgery with a private gynaecologist, giving her experience in procedures she would not see in a public gynaecology setting.
"She has been actively involved with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG), as a trainee representative and a hospital re-accreditation team member.
"She has run the RANZCOG basic obstetrics skills workshop for junior registrars for the past two years, leads a monthly education meeting with the group practice midwives, and is a strong advocate for collaborative maternity care practices.
"Dr Ryder has been an effective mentor to junior registrars, and meets monthly with her fellow registrars to check on their wellbeing.
"She also put her impressive organisational and negotiation skills to excellent use in 2018, organising a ball for Queensland Trainees and Fellows in aid of White Ribbon, the domestic violence awareness charity.
"The event was sold out, and raised more than $9,000 for White Ribbon. RANZCOG Queensland has undertaken to run a similar fundraiser every two years, and Dr Ryder has agreed to coordinate the organising committee for the next one.
"Somehow, she manages to balance her responsibilities as the mother of two young children with her high workload as a senior registrar, and her mentoring and charitable work.
"While she is an outstanding clinician and leader, she remains humble, friendly, and responsive to feedback.
"With her outstanding skills, work ethic, achievement to date, and her potential, she is a very worthy winner of the AMA Doctor in Training of the Year Award."
