What is IMSANZ?

IMSANZ represents over 900 Consultant Physicians and trainees in Internal Medicine (also known as General Medicine or General and Acute Care Medicine) within Australia and New Zealand. The Society provides a mechanism for developing the academic and professional profile of general medicine and seeks to advocate for, and sponsor the educational training, research and workforce requirements of general internal medicine. IMSANZ is a separate and freestanding body but is closely aligned with and works in harmony with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP). This is especially relevant for our trainees in General and Acute Care Medicine who are the most rapidly growing group within the RACP.

IMSANZ encourages Associate Membership for Acute Medicine Allied Health Workers practicing in general medicine, acute medicine or chronic disease, not meeting the membership criteria under other rules. We also have established links with similar organisations for general physicians in Europe, England, Canada and America.

What does IMSANZ do?

IMSANZ is the professional specialist society that supports and advances the practice of general internal medicine (GIM) along with practice in the areas of acute medicine and chronic disease management. IMSANZ provides a focus for general physicians with a broad range of skills and experience to meet in a collaborative forum and maintain skills and knowledge essential to their chosen field of general internal medicine. The society provides a mechanism for developing the academic and professional profile and culture of general physicians, and seeks to articulate, advocate for, and sponsor the educational, training, research and workforce requirements of general internal medicine. Since its inception, IMSANZ has publicised these issues in the production of training guidelines, policy documents, newsletters, and journal articles. It has also set up databases containing information on the geographic distribution, skills base, academic interests, and specialty affiliations of the general physician membership.

What are the roles and functions of IMSANZ?

Since its inception in 1997, IMSANZ has expended considerable effort in defining and publicising the role and attributes of the general physician, and acting as advocate for specialist practitioners of GIM within both government and college circles. The role of the general physician and of GIM in medical specialist care in Australasia is currently undergoing a renaissance as state and federal governments seek out consultant physicians with broad skills who can provide specialist care in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams to populations with complex, chronic, multi-organ system problems.

Events continue to reflect the need for the specialist workforce to maintain adequate numbers of physicians who practice GIM as well as satisfactory levels of competency in GIM skills for all physicians regardless of specialty and particularly to encourage dual training for physicians in general and acute medicine along with another specialty. The drivers for this return to generalism are outlined in the "Restoring the Balance" document available here for download. Also available for download is the presentation given to the NZ Ministry of Health, "Restoring the Balance - The Importance of General Medicine in the NZ Health System"

In addition to this move towards generalism the last few years has seen a resurgence of interest in the interface between emergency and internal medicine with the development of acute medicine as an area of interest in practice for general physicians and with this the development of acute medicine units. These units encourage a multidisciplinary approach to patient management with this and the role of general physicians in the team care of chronic disease, it has been determined by the membership of the Internal Medicine Society of Australia and New Zealand to open up its membership to all healthcare professions working in these specialist areas.