About us

The Executive

The AMPS executive structure is different to other associations. Our elected executive consist of a President, Vice-President and Treasurer who must all be doctors, these executive members make all policy decisions for AMPS. The Secretary is appointed by the executive under the constitution and does not make policy decisions. Instead, the Secretary sees to the day-to-day operations of the organisation on behalf of the executive.

The executive

Your executive team

Dr Duncan Syme
President

Dr Duncan Syme

Dr Duncan Syme graduated from Monash University in 1987, and has been in clinical practice for 34 years, initially in the UK and then later in Australia, he achieved his GP fellowship in 1997. He also has a Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Diploma of practical dermatology. For the past 10 years, he has been working in a large public hospital in their Hospital in the Home program as a consultant. In that role he developed a particular interest in complex wound management, receiving funding to commence a clinical project in which he was the principal investigator of a randomised control trial for a wound healing device.

Developing a clinical experiment from scratch provided a good understanding of the ethics approval process for a clinical trial. In addition, he sat on the low-risk ethics committee for the last 2 years reviewing other proposals for clinical studies as well as working for a pharmaceutical company in their pharmacovigilance section monitoring adverse events for clinical trials.

Dr Varghese Zachariah
Vice President

Dr Varghese Zachariah

Dr. Zachariah is an Australian-trained general practitioner with 25 years of experience in the Australian healthcare system. Working across a broad range of disciplines, including emergency medicine, paediatrics, orthopedics, surgery, and general practice, he has gained a wealth of knowledge in the field of medicine, making him a well-rounded physician. Over the last decade, he has shifted his focus to functional and lifestyle medicine, aiming to help people recover from their chronic health conditions and shift from disease to wellness.

Dr. Zachariah believes that healthcare needs a big U turn from disease centric care to a health and wellbeing centered practice. In addition, his stance is that the medical profession should be founded & based on the core principles of patient-directed healthcare with informed consent and refusal, scientific medical practices driven not by ideology but independent data and research. His position is that medicine should be restored back into the hands of doctors and healthcare professional and away from bureaucrats, profit hungry pharmaceutical corporations and ignorant politicians.

Kara Thomas
Secretary

Kara Thomas

Kara Thomas specialised in perioperative nursing early in her career, undertaking postgraduate specialty education and learning multiple specialties over nearly two decades. For Kara nursing is more than a job, it is a calling and a passion. To be able to serve the community during times of vulnerability and to see what is possible with evidence-based best practice is a great privilege. “Team leading a busy tertiary obstetric and gynaecology theatre was a challenge that I cherished. I loved my job.” Kara has also undertaken a Masters of Community and International Development and has used her knowledge to research and contribute to policy discussion. Truth and transparency in policy development are critical to ensuring we build a healthcare system that creates public confidence and safety. Trust in practitioners and our institutions relies on professional integrity, open scientific discourse, and accountability. Kara was motivated to get involved with AMPS because it has no political affiliations and is dedicated to fighting for the best possible health system for practitioners and the patients/clients they serve.

Dr Jeyanthi Kunadhasan
Treasurer

Dr Jeyanthi Kunadhasan

Dr Jeyanthi Kunadhasan was a Consultant Anaesthetist at a major regional Victorian public hospital, and was in practice for more than 12 years. She has a clinical interest in Patient Blood Management where she spearheaded many initiatives that sustainably brought down the unnecessary transfusion rates in major surgeries, leading to improved patient outcomes and lower cost to the health system.

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