‘A long time in the making’: Countdown to WONCA

Five years, one pandemic, and thousands of planning hours later, WONCA is nearly here.
 
Bringing together the best of the best in general practice, the 2023 Sydney World Conference is now just days away, featuring a jam-packed program of workshops, presentations, and social events.
 
This year’s theme: ‘Recovery, reconnection, and revival. A celebration of primary care’.
 
With the countdown to kick-off now officially beginning, newsGP sat down with Host Organising Committee Chair and former RACGP President Adjunct Professor Karen Price for a sneak peek behind the scenes.
 
‘There’s been a huge amount of work from an enormous number of people who’ve been beavering away putting their heart and soul into this,’ she said.
 
‘We applied for WONCA … in 2018 and it was won with great celebration. But then of course, there was COVID.
 
‘We’ve been completely adaptable, ready for anything and planning everything – but that’s generalists for you. We are ready for anything. Anything can walk in through our consulting door, and we adapt our practices accordingly.’
 
Officially beginning on 26 October after a day of clinical workshops, the event will mark the first time Australia has hosted the conference since 2002, after it started life as the Fifth World Conference on General Practice in Melbourne in 1972.
 
‘It’s a great hat tip to the Australians who had such a vision back then to unite the world and that message is still needed, stronger than ever,’ Adjunct Professor Price said.
 
‘There have been so many changes in general practice, society, technology, and so on … but we still face many of the same challenges, such as access to and affordability of healthcare, and how we distribute resources.
 
‘How do we develop a great system that allows patients to be seen by doctors who are enjoying their career and not leaving the profession in droves? These are still questions that we will be wrestling with in a modern context.’
 
Medicine has come a long way since the conference’s early days.
 
This year, the 800 presentations and workshops will include an array of topics ranging from aged care to women’s health, dermatology, general practice, and many more.
 
Keynote speakers will travel from across the globe to share their wisdom and experiences, including presenters from Brazil, the United Kingdom, Spain, Norway, and, of course, Australia.

Many more from a host of other countries, including South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Japan, Canada, Barbados, Turkey, the US, Colombia, Ghana and Nigeria will also share their knowledge.
 
With 132 member organisations in 110 countries and territories, and membership of around 500,000, WONCA is a truly global group.
 
Adjunct Professor Price said these presentations bring with them a ‘sense of optimism and hope’ for the future of the profession.
 
‘It’s inspirational and life-changing, because you get such a fantastic perspective of what other family doctors around the world have got to deal with,’ she said.
 
‘You see the similarities in how dedicated we are to our patients and the communities that we serve, but you also see the influence of systems, resourcing, and funding. It can be quite humbling to hear from other doctors from around the world, but also very affirming.’
 
She said it is also a chance for general practice to prove its importance in the political sphere, and advocate for its place in decision-making.
 
‘I think we’ll come away with a lot of inspiration, a lot of validation and a lot of determination to really make sure that generalist healthcare is considered and placed in political circles, as a discipline with excellent expertise in high-quality healthcare,’ Adjunct Professor Price said.
 
And as the final touches are placed on speeches, presentations, workshops, and travel plans, the world’s largest meeting of GPs is almost ready to get underway.
 
Saturday will mark Green Day at the conference, promoting the need for climate action and its links to healthcare – guests are asked to wear green for the occasion.
 
Entries are also open for a photo competition, with delegates encouraged to submit their own photographs of a place they love and would like to preserve, demonstrates the impact of the environment on their local area, or celebrates nature.
 
For last-minute attendees, there is still time to book your tickets.
 
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