Halloween has been set as the date for the RACP’s Extraordinary General Meeting, which is projected to set the course for the college amidst leadership struggles.
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians has not pulled itself out of the muck just yet, with only three directors left on its board as the college announces its long-awaited Extraordinary General Meeting.
It has been a tumultuous few months for the college, with recent leadership disputes led to the RACP president urging members to call for an EGM.
This has mostly stemmed from the vote of no confidence in the RACP president-elect Dr Sharmila Chandran.
An RACP email to members, which was later posted to social media site Reddit, detailed alleged adversarial behaviour by Dr Chandran as the reason behind the vote.
“The issues are not about disagreement on policy,” the email read.
“They are about conduct.
“The president-elect has engaged in adversarial and disrespectful behaviour, contributed to a toxic culture that has led to the early departure of directors and diverted significant time and resources away from the College’s core purpose and reform agenda.”
As reported in Australian Doctorand discussed on Reddit, RACP president Professor Jennifer Martin has now informed members that an EGM will be held on 31 October, with over 30,000 college members eligible to vote.
Dr Chandran, who has rejected the claims against her, has remained on the board along with current president Professor Martin and interim Honorary Treasurer Dr Nick Buckmaster.
At time of writing, these are the only three RACP board members left.
Voting will aim to address two major issues facing the college, one being a resolution on reform to separate the board chair and president roles along with two member-led resolutions to “remove board directors.”
No further specifics have been provided as of reporting with more expected to come out as the EGM date looms closer.
“We are highly aware of the frustration, anger and sadness many of you are feeling in relation to the events of the last three weeks,” Professor Martin wrote to college members.
“We apologise again to you, and to our college team.
“These are complex governance and interpersonal matters and for privacy, legal, or reputational reasons, we are currently unable to provide information to the level you wish to see.”
