Women in ethnic majorities and minorities are often not given information in their language or even in English which they can understand. With the removal of several common hormone therapy treatments from the PBS, the health and well being of women from Culturally And Linguistically Diverse ( CALD) communities and with socioeconomic struggles, will be even further comprised.
Menopause is often branded “the change of life” as it marks the end of a woman’s reproductive life, but with it come an array of symptoms physical and psychological. It has long been a taboo subject that many people still find uncomfortable to talk about especially women with limited English. During the talk I gave to the Greek women, I helped unpack the various stages of menopause and offered expert advice to help women experiencing this transition as well as increase their understanding of what it means to be menopausal.
There’s not enough discussion around menopause, beyond hearing about hot flushes and maybe from a TV reference or some jokes that are made by women and men, little is known about it. Doctors rarely bring it up, and too often, patients dismiss the symptoms. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking at the Food for Thought Network (FFTN) and with The Greek Australian Women and Friends Around the World forum. Further conversations have been sparked off and I am hoping to change all that some interesting initiatives that involve the CALD groups of women.
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.
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.
