2 MINUTE READ
from Luke’s Journal 2020 | #CMDFAlyf | Vol. 25 No. 1
Although there is no formal branch of CMDFA in Tasmania, there are many members in the state, five of whom attended the last National Conference.
For decades, there have been informal gatherings of Christian doctors in various regions intermittently, coordinated by a number of enthusiastic individuals. In 2019 a number of different activities took place in different parts of Tasmania. I will list those that I am aware of, bearing in mind that there could well have been others.
In the south, the Hobart Christian Doctors Network has been meeting on an occasional basis for several years, although this was not possible in 2019. Some of the junior medical students have recently started meeting regularly for prayer and it is hoped that this will continue in the future.
In the north, where I am based, a weekly prayer meeting for doctors takes place in the local hospital. Apart from being a great time of sharing, fellowship and prayer for the hospital patients and staff and the Christian medical community in our area, it has also become a forum for planning other gatherings.
Over the last two years, we have held welcome BBQs to connect with incoming 4th year medical students who have come up from Hobart for the last two years of their course. Several dinner gatherings were also held during the year in a local home for students and residents to connect with local Christian doctors. We were also able to sponsor several 4th and 5th year students to attend the April 2019 IMPACT conference in Sydney.
During this last year, two Saline Process courses were facilitated in Launceston. The first, in July, was attended mostly by doctors, with some medical students and one or two allied health professionals. The second, in November, was the opposite: a few doctors, but the majority of the 25 participants were from a wide range of health professions, including physiotherapy, speech pathology, occupational therapy, nursing, pharmacy, support workers, hospital pastoral care workers, dental mechanics and others. It has been exciting to see this growing interest in the Saline process and there are plans to run several more courses next year.
Dr Phil Andrew
Dr Phil Andrew, originally from Sydney, moved to Tasmania, after completing medical school training. He has practised in Launceston as a GP but has also spent 20 years as a medical missionary in Nigeria serving with SIM. Now retired, he continues to serve support, shape and strengthen SIM’s medical ministries.
Back to issue: #CMDFAlyf
