Dr Sebastian Leathersich was the recipient of the Jean Murray Jones Scholarship in 2024. A subspecialist in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (CREI), Dr Leathersich undertook a two-year clinical research fellowship in Spain at Dexeus Mujer and the University of Barcelona with the support of the scholarship.

The College interviewed Dr Leathersich to learn more about his experience and how it has influenced his clinical practice upon his return to Western Australia.

What inspired you to apply for the Jean Murray Jones Scholarship?

As he reached the end of his FRANZCOG training and was partway through his CREI subspecialty training, Dr Leathersich was eager to gain an international perspective on clinical practice that he was unable to access within Western Australia. “I also wanted the opportunity to engage in more clinical research that I felt wasn’t really available in Australia.”

Through researching international opportunities, he identified the two-year combined clinical research fellowship at internationally acclaimed institution Dexeus Mujer, in Barcelona. As is the case with many international fellowships, Dr Leathersich would be required to obtain external funding. This is where the Jean Murray Jones Scholarship enabled him to take 18 months away from clinical work in Australia to pursue research in Spain, which is forming the basis for his PhD.

What did you enjoy the most about the experience of working in Barcelona?

In addition to the joys of living in a beautiful Mediterranean city and polishing his Spanish language skills, Dr Leathersich valued working in a unit that produces extensive clinical research.

It gave me the opportunity to learn and understand how to run clinical trials, how to design and implement clinical research. That’s something that I’ll certainly be bringing back into my practice here.

During his two-year fellowship, Dr Leathersich worked under the supervision of internationally recognised reproductive medicine leader Professor Nikolaos Polyzos. He reflects that he developed and cemented “global relationships with collaborators that I hope to continue to work with throughout the rest of my career.”

Having an international network of academic and clinical colleagues is invaluable. “I can pick up the phone any hour of the day to talk through similar problems that we might encounter here within our clinical work or in implementing clinical research programmes.”

What are some of the skills that you developed overseas that you’ve brought back to your clinical practice in Western Australia?

Dr Leathersich emphasises that one of the most beneficial skills he acquired through his international experience was learning different ways of approaching clinical problems.

Working within a health system that has very different regulation and very different structure, in Spain, allowed me to understand different ways of managing common problems within infertility and reproductive endocrinology that we don’t have here in Australia.

What are your key tips or recommendations for anyone considering applying for the Jean Murray Jones Scholarship?

Anyone who is reaching the completion of their training in Western Australia should consider if the scholarship could benefit them, Dr Leathersich says.

“Consider what your priorities are, what you’d like to achieve with your fellowship…and consider how your fellowship is going to contribute back to the WA community when you return.” He encourages applicants to think “outside the box [about] how you can gain something that you wouldn’t get within WA or within Australia.”

How to apply

The Jean Murray Jones Scholarship opens on Thursday 30 April 2026 to any Western Australian-based RANZCOG Fellows or FRANCOG Trainees who have completed all requirements of core training. If you are interested in applying for the 2026 scholarship, now is the time to explore opportunities you would like to pursue outside of WA.

Additional eligibility criteria and application information is available on the Jean Murray Jones Scholarship page. Applications close on Tuesday 30 June 2026.

For further queries, please contact foundation@ranzcog.edu.au.

°”ÍűTV has issued a formal apology to Māori trainees and Fellows who have experienced culturally unsafe, racist, and inequitable conditions during their training.

This follows the findings of RANZCOG and Allen+Clarke’s Māori Trainee Recruitment and Retention Research, which highlighted the systemic barriers, racism, and isolation faced by Māori trainees.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, this apology marks an important part of Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations and RANZCOG’s responsibility to support Māori trainees and Fellows in safe and respectful training environments.

Discussions are also underway about conducting similar research into the experiences of First Nations trainees in Australia, which may be alongside other medical colleges. While still in development, this work represents a broader commitment to equity and cultural safety across the College.

Tēnā koutou katoa,

To all Māori trainees and Fellows who have trained or are currently training in obstetrics and gynaecology, and to Māori whānau and communities. We acknowledge and deeply regret that Māori trainees and Fellows have experienced culturally unsafe, racist, and inequitable environments within the FRANZCOG training programme.

Research commissioned by RANZCOG and conducted by Allen + Clarke, into the experiences of Māori in the FRANZCOG training programme, confirmed what Māori have voiced for years:

• That systemic racism, stereotyping, and cultural dismissal have caused harm
• That unsafe training environments have isolated and undermined Māori trainees
• That RANZCOG has failed to provide consistent cultural safety and support
• And, that this harm has extended beyond individuals to whānau, hapĆ«, iwi, and Māori communities

We acknowledge the findings of this research and on behalf of RANZCOG, we take responsibility for these failures.

We recognise that they reflect not only individual behaviours but also the structures, policies, and cultures of the College and hospitals where training is delivered.To Māori trainees, Fellows, and whānau, we apologise unreservedly for the hurt, loss of trust, and additional cultural burden you have carried.

This apology is part of our ongoing commitment to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to upholding our vision of excellence and equity in women’s health.

But words alone are not enough. The goal of the research was to identify ways to improve the recruitment and retention of Māori in the FRANZCOG training programme. And the research provided clear evidence of where we need to improve.

This apology is underpinned by clear commitment to action outlined in RANZCOG’s Te Rautaki Māori me te Ara Whakamua (Māori Strategy and Action Plan). Actions include:

• Develop recommendations on providing a culturally safe environment in hospital placements for Māori trainees, that can be incorporated into hospital accreditation standards and used as a guide for placing trainees
• Review the RANZCOG complaints process to identify and recommend improvements for responding to those relating to cultural safety, racism, and discrimination
• Consider developing a proposal for a kaiāwhina role to provide dedicated support for Māori trainees and assist them with navigating the challenges of cultural loading and culturally unsafe workplace environments
• Continue to work on alleviating cultural load for Māori Fellows and trainees, including considering insights from Te ORA research in this area
• Investigate ways to provide greater flexibility in training, including flexibility in training timing to support parenting, whānau and iwi commitments, or those who wish to study te reo Māori or tikanga Māori

With the stewardship of He Hono Wāhine, RANZCOG continues to monitor closely progress against Te Rautaki Māori me Te Ara Whakamua and will be providing updates at hui-ā-tau. In addition to the actions in Te Rautaki Māori me te Ara Whakamua, we plan to take a hard look at our own organisation. Te Kāhui Oranga ƍ Nuku has agreed to explore a racism audit.

We know that we cannot undo the harm caused, but we are committed to learning, listening, and transforming the College so that current and future Māori trainees are safe, supported, and valued.

If you are currently experiencing racism, an unsafe environment, or the research and this apology have raised past experiences that are troubling you, we encourage you to reach out now.

°”ÍűTV firmly believes that growing the Māori O&G workforce is vital to better meeting the needs of the wāhine and whānau of Aotearoa.

We are committed to working to ensure the FRANZCOG training experience supports this by valuing and nourishing Māori trainees.

Dr Gillian Gibson
°”ÍűTV President
On behalf of the RANZCOG Board

Earlier in August, I represented RANZCOG at the inaugural meeting of the Medical Workforce Advisory Collaboration (MWAC) in Canberra. RANZCOG is one of only three non-GP specialist colleges elected to join this Collaboration for the next three years. Both Dr Martina Mende and I – as RANZCOG’s Chair and Deputy Chair of the College’s Workforce Working Group – look forward to advocating on behalf of College member’s views and interests during this time. Other members of the MWAC include key stakeholders involved in the training, management, and employment of the medical workforce, such as federal and state governments, universities, the Medical Board, private hospitals, the Australian Medical Association, the Australian Medical Students Association, and other medical colleges.

The meeting was opened by Minister Butler, the Federal Health and Aged Care Minister, who outlined MWAC’s objective: to align medical workforce planning with community needs. This includes a comprehensive review of the entire medical workforce pipeline, from training and recruitment to distribution and retention.

MWAC’s action plan focuses on several key areas:

• Enhancing data collection, sharing, and governance related to current and future workforce needs and training.
• Improving supervision models for junior doctors and international medical graduates.
• Reviewing the selection process for training and the roles of junior and career medical officers.
• Increasing the role of generalists and the GP workforce.
• Revising selection processes to boost trainee numbers from rural areas.
• Expanding the First Nations medical workforce and fostering culturally safe environments while addressing racism and discrimination.
• Evaluating the distribution of the medical workforce and exploring incentives for working in underserved areas.

We aim to use this Collaboration to assist in our shared goals with the government and ensuring that decisions and policies developed are within the best interest of our trainees and members, and the women and their families for whom we care. This includes training within both the public and private setting, the role and value of both Associate and Fellow Members and that patients can access all models of care, both public and private, irrespective of where they live and reside.

°”ÍűTV is proud to have already identified and started addressing many of these issues including:

• Supporting Associate Procedural members and training pathways, who provide the backbone of rural obstetrics.
• Supporting the ongoing RANZCOG Workforce Working Group and Private Practice Committee, ensuring the private sector’s role in training and patient’s access to private care in all areas.
• Streamlining the SIMG review and selection process.
• Developing and implementing RANZCOG’s Rural Strategy.
• Collaborating with Murdoch University on the Mapping Project and Yarning Circles to assess the distribution and access of obstetrics and gynaecology services for rural and First Nations women and their families.
• Continuing our significant review of the FRANZCOG training section process.
• Creating the FRANZCOG Rural O&G Specialists (FROGS) advanced training program to support training of rural obstetricians and gynaecologists.
• Supporting the PVOGs program and O&G curriculum development with universities.
• Reviewing College policies and supervision models for all trainees and SIMGs.

Further MWAC meetings are scheduled for November, with several subcommittees set to work on the action plans. We are also looking forward to the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care’s detailed 20-year workforce modelling for obstetrics and gynaecology, to be released in September, which will guide future policy development.

Yours sincerely,

Associate Professor Jared Watts
°”ÍűTV Board Director

Feedback

For any feedback or suggestions to be taken to the Collaboration, please contact us through workforce@ranzcog.edu.au.

The RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation is pleased to announce the successful grant and scholarship recipients, who have been awarded research and travel awards commencing in 2024.

The RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation proudly supports promising medical researchers and scientists pursuing high-quality, innovative research and training in women’s health. Research scholarships, fellowships and travel grants are awarded annually across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand in recognition of those committed to continuous improvement in the fields of obstetrics, gynaecology, and the reproductive sciences. The Foundation strives to recognise researchers at different stages of their careers, particularly young researchers, to assist them as they progress their careers.

The RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation is pleased to announce its successful grant and scholarship recipients commencing in 2024.

Ella Macknight Memorial Scholarship

Recipient:ÌęDr Katayoun Taghavi
Institution:ÌęInternational Agency for Research on Cancer
Project:ÌęDNA methylation testing and vaginal microbiome analysis for detection of cervical pre-cancer treatment failure among women living with HIV in Zimbabwe

Fotheringham Research Fellowship

Recipient:ÌęDr Sean Carter
Institution:ÌęNational University of Singapore – Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
Project:ÌęTargeted analysis of maternal plasma cell-free RNA as a minimally invasive test for fetal lung maturation

Robert Wrigley Pain Research Scholarship

Recipient:ÌęDr Tarana Lucky
Institution:ÌęThe Royal Women’s Hospital
Project:ÌęProfiling microbiota in women with endometriosis — a case control study

°”ÍűTV NSW State Committee Fellow Research Grant

Recipient:ÌęDr James Brown
Institution:ÌęWestmead Hospital
Project:ÌęDeveloping a modular antenatal risk stratification algorithm to improve safety, cost effectiveness, and patient choice

Recipient:ÌęDr Hillary Hu
Institution:ÌęWestmead Hospital
Project:ÌęeHealth interventions for Preeclampsia

NSW State Committee Travelling Scholarship

Recipient:ÌęDr Kumar Praneel
Institution:ÌęPort Moresby General Hospital

°”ÍűTV offers its congratulations to Dr Fiona Li, recipient of the NSW State Committee Trainee Research Grant 2023/24, and Dr Tarana Lucky recipient of the Brown Craig Travel Fellowship 2023.

The RANZCOGÌęWomen’s Health FoundationÌęawards scholarships, fellowships and travel grants annually across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand to promising researchers committed to continuous improvement in the fields of obstetrics, gynaecology and the reproductive sciences.

Dr Fiona Li has been awarded theÌęNSW State Committee Trainee Research GrantÌęfor her research project entitled ‘Discrete Choice Experiment: Determining Patient Decision-Making Factors in Management of Postmenopausal Vaginal Symptoms’.

Dr Tarana Lucky has been awarded theÌęBrown Craig Travel FellowshipÌęto undertake a three-month clinical fellowship at IFEMESO Clinique Tivoli – Ducos Bordeaux, France.

Tarana Lucky

°”ÍűTV has welcomed funding in last night’s Federal Budget for the establishment of a National Advisory Council for Women’s Health.

The Federal Government has committed $1.6 million over four years to fund RANZCOG to establish the Council to evaluate and monitor the implementation of the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020-2030.

As outlined in , the Council will bring together representatives of key women’s health organisations, including the voices of consumers and priority populations.

°”ÍűTV President Dr Benjamin Bopp said: “RANZCOG thanks the Federal Government for this funding, and looks forward to working with the different organisations who are involved in the delivery of initiatives within the National Women’s Health Strategy.”

Funding for endometriosis

°”ÍűTV has also welcomed funding for maintenance of the Australian Endometriosis Guideline so it can continue to reflect up-to-date clinical evidence, and further measures to improve the health outcomes of people suffering from endometriosis.

Specialist training in regional, rural and remote areas

While RANZCOG welcomes the Government’s budget commitment to encourage more specialists to undertake their training in regional, rural and remote areas, more needs to be done. RANZCOG’s statement called for more sustainable, innovative models of care which also reinforces the lifestyle that attracts health care workers to work in rural, regional, and remote areas, including the introduction of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Education and Training (OGET) Program.

°”ÍűTV is piloting the OGET program in 2022-23, with the aim of developing a scalable and sustainable framework for maternity care in rural and remote Australia through ongoing capacity-building and upskilling opportunities. RANZCOG believes that a targeted, consistent approach towards upskilling and supporting medical professionals in rural and remote Australia is crucial to the delivery of high-quality maternity care.

Background

°”ÍűTV hosted a Women’s Health Summit at Parliament House, Canberra in May 2021, and engaged with over 200 organisations from across the country to develop a statement identifying key themes and recommendations around Women’s Health. The College has also been in ongoing discussions with the Federal Government on the most effective way to deliver some of the initiatives outlined in the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020-2030.

The RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation is pleased to announce successful grant recipients commencing exciting women’s health research projects in 2022.

The RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation proudly supports promising medical researchers and scientists pursuing high quality, innovative research and training in women’s health. Research scholarships, fellowships and travel grants are awarded annually across Australia and New Zealand in recognition of those committed to continuous improvement in the fields of obstetrics, gynaecology, and the reproductive sciences. The Foundation strives to recognise researchers at different stages of their careers and in particular young researchers, to assist them as they progress their careers.

The RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation is pleased to announce its successful grant recipients commencing in 2022.

°”ÍűTV NSW State Committee Trainee Research Grant
Recipient: Dr Komal Chohan
Institution: Royal North Shore Hospital
Project:ÌęThe use of chorionicity specific growth charts to improve pregnancy outcomes

Recipient: Dr Zanna Franks
Institution: University of Newcastle
Project:ÌęInvestigating the associations between chronic disease and infertility – A window for change

Recipient: Dr Cansu Uzuner
Institution: Nepean Hospital
Project:ÌęContrast Enhanced Ultrasound with Pulse Inversion Technology in Gynaecology

NSW State Committee Travelling Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Philip Cellich
Institution: Port Moresby General Hospital, PNG
Project:Ìę6-month clinical Fellowship working in general obstetrics and gynaecology in a low resource setting.

Robert Wrigley Pain Research Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Supuni Kapurubandara
Institution: University of New South Wales
Project:ÌęWomen with persistent pelvic pain a lived experience

UroGynaecological Society of Australasia (UGSA) Research Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Ellen Yeung
Institution: Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital
Project:ÌęHistological analysis and Imaging of explanted pelvic mesh

A RANZCOG Foundation Global Health grant funded Dr Hamura’s important research into the timing of antenatal care in Papua New Guinea, informing education and improving outcomes for local women.

In 2017, Dr Nancy Hamura from Papua New Guinea – then a trainee – was awarded a RANZCOG Foundation Global Health research grant to support her Master of Medicine research project, an integral part of her O&G training.

Dr Hamura’s research explored the factors associated with the timing of initiation of antenatal care at Port Moresby General Hospital. Her research findings have informed development of education for women about the importance of booking early for antenatal care.

Now a Pacific Associate member of RANZCOG, we look forward to the continuing role Dr Hamura plays in furthering women’s health research and education in Papua New Guinea, and improving equity of access to quality health care.