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Overseas And Australian Medical Graduates Association [OAMGA] (Incorporated in NSW, 1992)
What is OAMGA?
OAMGA is an association of doctors in Australia, which works as an instrument to protect and enhance the professional interests of its members, and promotes harmonious relationship among its members, between its members and members of other medical associations in Australia and helps create a good citizenship among its members. Membership is open to all doctors, whether qualified in an overseas medical school or an Australian medical school.
Objectives & Activities:
- To help enhance the knowledge of medical and allied health sciences among its members
- To protect the honour, interests and well being of its members
- To promote a cohesive work relation between its members and other professional medical bodies.
- To organize regular CME meetings and other meetings, one of which is the Annual General Meeting [AGM], along with annual dinner. Office bearers are elected in the AGM.
- To publish CME newsletters
- To organize conferences, both national and overseas, to enhance and maintain the professional standards of its members.
- To promote better understanding between its members and states & federal medical institutions and other professional associations.
- To liaise with other professional bodies like State Medical Boards, Australian Medical Council [AMC], Australian Medical Association [AMA], National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition [NOOSR], Ethnic affairs Council, [now called Community Relations Council], and other associations like Australian Doctors Trained Overseas [ADTO] to help achieve a fair go for its current and potential future members.
History of OAMGA:
Many doctors, who have qualified overseas, have migrated to Australia especially since 1970. A big proportion of these doctors hail from Indian subcontinent, Middle East, South East Asia and East- European countries. Many of the migrant doctors have faced the obstacles in getting a fair recognition of their qualifications, leading to a denial of registration to practice. This also affected overseas trained specialist doctors with substantial training in developed world. The specialist qualifications were often not recognized which led to denials in getting appointments in the public hospitals. Up to early 1970s, there was no formal process of assessment for Registration by examination. Subsequently, Australian Medical council was established which started not only conducting examinations for overseas doctors but was also given a role in assessing the Australian Medical Schools.
Around this time, overseas trained doctors were feeling a sense of being treated unfairly. It was felt that they needed an organization, which could assist and represent them with the concerned governmental authorities. After considerable discussions, way back in 1984, “Overseas Medical Graduate Association” [OMGA] came into existence, with membership from various countries. At that time, OMGA membership not only included medical practitioners of various countries, it also included Doctors from all over Australia. At its inception, the OMGA was a truly national body. As time went by, the problems of overseas trained doctors have been addressed largely. This has some effects on the numerical strength of OMGA membership. Currently, the association has members mostly from Indian sub-continent.
OMGA was incorporated in 1992. As the Incorporation process was underway, the Victorian members felt to have a separate entity and incorporated an OMGA in Victoria. No other state has followed this step.
In 1996, OMGA had changed its name to “Overseas And Australian Medical graduates association” [OAMGA], to broaden the scope of its membership. This was done to help cater to the interests of doctors who have qualified from the Australian Medical schools and have wanted to become member of The OAMGA.
OMGA worked very hard to have a fair process for the registration of overseas trained doctors. It had numerous consultations with the Australian Medical Council [AMC] to formulate a fair pattern of the AMC examinations. Recognizing the contributions from OMGA, AMC appointed one of our members [Dr Hemchander Rao] to its appeals committee. Unfortunately, as the number of unregistered doctors increased and their problems multiplied, some of these doctors have now formed another association called ADTO to address their specific issues. The ADTO has been our affiliate body, on and off.
OMGA has always liased with Ethnic Affairs Council [now called Community Relations Council] and NOOSR, to facilitate the fair recognition of overseas qualifications.
OMGA, in collaboration with others, had worked hard in achieving portability of the registration in all states and territories in Australia for the overseas-qualified doctors who are registered in any state/territory.
Australian Medical Association has recognized the significance of OAMGA and a nominee of OAMGA is co-opted as a member to the AMA NSW council.
Executive Team
Current Executive Committee
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| President | Vice President |
| Dr K Wu | Dr.M.Srinivasa |
| Secretary | Treasurer |
| Dr K Malia | Dr N.C Patel |
| Assistant Secretary | Assistant Treasurer |
| Dr Govindan | Dr Usha Borkar |
| Public Officer |
| Dr K Malia |
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| Past executive teams |
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| President | Secretary |
| Dr Adisheshan (deceased) 1983-84 | Dr G Marcar [Resigned) |
| Dr J.Parikh (acting President) 1984-85 | Dr D Malhotra |
| Dr M Azmi [deceased] 1985-86 | Dr Adisheshan [deceased] |
| Dr N Ahmad 1986-87 | Dr Hemchander Rao |
| Dr Hemchander Rao 1987-88 | Dr Deepak Malhotra |
| Dr Hemchander Rao 1988-89 | Dr Ravi Sahasrabuddhe |
| Dr Hemchander Rao 1989-90 | Dr G Harinath |
| Dr Hemchander Rao 1990-91 | Dr W Gayed |
| Dr Hemchander Rao 1991-92 | Dr N.C Patel |
| Dr SP Bhatia 1993-94 | Dr NC Patel |
| Dr Hemchander RAO 1995-96 | Dr NC Patel |
| Dr S Borkar 1997-99 | Dr P Sawarikar |
| Dr K Wu 2000-01 | Dr KM Malia |
| Dr M Srinivasa 2001-03 | Dr P Sawarikar |
| Dr S Orekondy 2003-05 | Dr V Nagamma |
| Dr V Nagamma 2005-06 | Dr Y Singh |
| Dr V Nagamma 2006-07 | Dr S Borkar |
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