These resources (for consumers, clinicians and health service organisations – transvaginal mesh and sacrocolpopexy) are very useful and I hope you can share them with your patients or friends when considering cosmetic surgery.
As a general practitioner, researcher and medical educator, I have been advocating for good patient care, consumer awareness, health literacy along with education and adequate training of the profession who provide these services, over many years in my roles on a variety of Expert Advisory Groups.
This range includes the research and advocacy regarding Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery (here, here, here), Therapeutic Goods Authority (TGA) Post Market Devices – Breast Implant Expert Advisory Group, The Cosmetic Surgery – Technical Expert Advisory Group Taskforce (AHPRA and TGA led), the Transvaginal Mesh Expert Advisory group lead by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care ( ACSQHC), and now as an expert advisor to the Australian Medical Council’s (AMC’s) Technical Advisory Group for Cosmetic Surgery Programs of Study.
See https://www.health.gov.au/news/be-informed-before-having-cosmetic-surgery
As AFMW, we also submitted to the National Cosmetic Surgery Review in 2022 and the outcome of the National Cosmetic Surgery review can be accessed here.
Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis AM is the Immediate Past President of the AFMW (2020-2023), former President of VMWS (2013 & 2017-2020) and current AFMW National Coordinator (2024-2026). She is a full time clinician who also holds positions on several not for profit organisations, driven by her passion for bridging gaps across the health sector. She is a leading women’s health expert, keynote speaker, climate change and gender equity advocate and government advisor. Magda is member of The Australian Health Team contributing monthly articles.
Magdalena was awarded a lifetime membership of the RACGP for her contributions which include past chair of Women in General Practice, longstanding contribution to the RACGP Expert Committee Quality Care, the RACGP eHealth Expert Committee. She is regularly invited to comment on primary care research though mainstream and medical media and contributes articles on various health issues through newsGP and other publications.
Magdalena has represented the RACGP at senate enquiries and has worked on several National Health Framework reviews. She is author of the RACGP Guide on Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery and co-reviewer of the RACGP Red Book Women’s Health Chapter, and reviewer of the RACGP White book
Both an RACGP examiner and University examiner, she undertakes general practice research and is a GP Educator with the Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence, which develops education tools to assist the primary care sector identify, respond to and manage family violence . Roles outside of RACGP include the Strategy and Policy Committee for Breast Cancer Network Australia, Board Director of the Melbourne University Teaching Health Clinics and the elected GP representative to the AMA Federal Council. In 2022. she was award the AMA (Vic) Patrick Pritzwald-Steggman Award 2022, which celebrates a doctor who has made an exceptional contribution to the wellbeing of their colleagues and the community and was listed as Women’s Agenda 2022 finalist for Emerging Leader in Health.
Magdalena has presented at the United Nations as part of the Australian Assembly and was appointed the Australian representative to the World Health Organisation, World Assembly on COVID 19, by the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) in 2021. In 2023, A/Professor Simonis was included on the King’s COVID-19 Champion’s list and was also awarded a Member (AM) in the General Division for significant service to medicine through a range of roles and to women’s health.
