Medical Assurance Society (MAS) staff at the OMS 150th celebrations, from left Charlotte Blood, Tracy Coleman, Jayden Smith, Angie Brown and Katie Heron.
Generous support from the Medical Assurance Society (MAS) and the Medical Protection Society (MPS) helped create a memorable celebration for all those attending the Otago Medical School’s 150th anniversary.
Held over King’s Birthday weekend, the anniversary drew more than 300 alumni, staff, students and guests from around Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and the United States, for three days of reconnecting with old friends at social events and a programme featuring the School’s history, medical education today and research displays.
Gold and Gala Dinner Sponsor for the 150th, MAS is a member-owned insurance and investment company.
MPS Medicolegal Consultant Sam King
Sponsorship and Events Manager Tracy Coleman says it was great to be at the conference engaging with their members and hearing their stories.
“Many of our members are presenting and it’s lovely to see where they are in their careers. It is quite special,” says Tracy.
“MAS was started in 1921 by doctors for doctors, we’ve been supporting doctors for 104 years. So, [the weekend] is about celebrating the success of the medical school and MAS has always been there in the background supporting the medical community.”
She enjoyed hearing about life as a medical student, and the presenters’ thoughts about what’s next for the profession.
MPS, a Gold Sponsor for the 150th, offers members professional medicolegal support and advice, including a 24/7 emergency phone line, access to complimentary counselling, and a full risk management education programme.
MPS Medicolegal Consultant Sam King, who is also an Otago medical graduate and continues to practice as a GP, says MPS dates back 160 years and indemnifies around 85 per cent of doctors in New Zealand. The organisation also indemnifies medical students for free.
“We’re really invested in not just helping doctors when they go through a complaint or regulatory process, but preventing doctors going through those processes, so we have quite a strong education component to what we do.”
Sam says most of the MPS advisers have a legal qualification, so they can bridge the gap between medics and lawyers.
“It’s a privilege to be able to help our colleagues.”
Medical Protection Society medicolegal consultant Lucy Gibberd (middle) chats at the OMS 150th Gala Dinner. (Clive Copeman Photography).
Lucy Gibberd, Medicolegal Consultant for MPS, also has a personal connection with Otago. Although Lucy did her medical training at Cambridge and Bristol universities in the UK, her mother (Margaret Sidey) was an Otago medical student, graduating in 1954.
“There were very few girls in her class – and mum had four daughters, so her four best friends are all our godmothers.”
Lucy is also a GP, and teaches a medicolegal workshop to fourth year Otago graduates in Wellington.
She says the MPS system is like a peer support system, with a doctor on the end of the phone to help with medicolegal support when needed.
MAS Chief Distribution and Marketing Officer Matt Harvey
“When doctors have the worst day of their career and they pick up the phone to talk to us, they are talking to another clinician who really understands.”
The New Zealand Medical Education Trust was also a Gold sponsor of the 150th. The Trust was established on 27 November 1973, in celebration of the Otago Medical School’s centenary, to promote and advance postgraduate medical education across New Zealand.
It operates as a charitable organisation dedicated to pioneering and fostering independent research, innovation, and development in the medical field and provides scholarships and grants for continuing education, supports investigations in remote areas, and works to expand access to medical knowledge.
Chair of the 150th organising committee Emerita Professor Dawn Elders says, “We value all our sponsors for their support of this event. The Otago Medical School, nurtures students studying medicine and undertaking research in health sciences.
“After graduation, MAS and MPS play important roles supporting our alumni as they move forward in their careers through offering a range of insurance coverage, investment advice and medicolegal support. Their support also for this 150th Anniversary celebration is greatly appreciated.”
The Director of the Development and Alumni Relations Office, Shelagh Murray, thanked MAS, MPS and the New Zealand Medical Education Trust for their generous sponsorship.
“We’re very grateful for their support, which helped create a special weekend for all the alumni, staff, students and guests who gathered to celebrate this milestone anniversary.”
Shelagh also thanked the Otago Medical Research Foundation, the Otago Medical School Alumni Association and the University Book Shop for their support.