Page 17 - FSANZ Autumn 21 Volume 95 Amended

Collaboration across all ART disciplines
The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed complex challenges on all disciplines in assisted reproductive technology.
However, the restrictions on people gathering for meetings and conferences has opened up new opportunities for on-line connection and the Australian and New Zealand Infertility Counsellors Association (ANZICA) has played a leading role in contributing to this engagement.
In spite of a global pandemic, using a variety of on-line platforms and sponsors, the FSANZ webinar series has allowed for continuing education and discussion among all of the professional groups – counsellors, doctors, scientists and nurses alike.
ANZICA Chair, Rebecca Kerner, said the forums had been welcomed with very enthusiastic responses.
“ANZICA has welcomed this fantastic opportunity to collaborate and work alongside the other FSANZ professional groups, learning from each other in our continued shared goal of the pursuit of excellence and best practice for all our patients,” Rebecca said.
Topics addressed in the ANZICA led on-line webinars to date have included:
Simplifying and Summarising Surrogacy: How to keep your patients safe and your practice legal and ethical. Presenters were surrogacy lawyer Stephen Page and fertility counsellor Miranda Montrone.
Biological, Psychological and Legal Parents: What’s the Difference? Implications for ART clinics. Presenter: Barrister Rachel Oakeley.
Borderline Challenges: Working with borderline personality disorder in ART. Presenter: Clinical psychologist Elizabeth Webb.
In addition, ANZICA contributed to the multi-disciplinary FSANZ webinar on The Practice of Patient Centred Care in Infertility Treatment presented by Dr Michael Alper, a Reproductive Endocrinologist at Boston IVF and a Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School; fertility nurse Jan Mackenzie; and Rebecca Kerner.
ANZICA particularly thanks clinical psychologist and infertility counsellor, Dr Iolanda Rodino, for supporting the webinar initiative at FSANZ Board level.
Despite the disappointment of having to cancel the planned “mid-year” workshop in March due to COVID- 19, Rebecca said it was intended to continue the online forums as a way for ANZICA to connect with its membership.
“We are in the process of planning an alternative online meeting in lieu of our mid-year workshop,” she said.
For more information, go to Rkerner@fertilitysa.com.au
Rebecca Kerner
Succeeding Kate Bourne: An outstanding leader
Rebecca has succeeded Kate Bourne as a long serving Chair of ANZICA. Kate has been a dedicated infertility counsellor over the past two decades and she has served as a Board Member of our Society. She is Senior Community Education Officer at the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA).
Kate has a keen interest in helping people through surrogacy and to feel comfortable sharing their stories with their children. She runs an annual Time to Tell seminar in Melbourne and has written Sometimes it Takes Three to Make a Baby explaining egg donation to children.
Kate had been an outstanding leader of ANZICA, a great contributor to education in infertility counselling and a passionate advocate for families.
Rebecca is a UK-trained psychotherapist and counsellor with over 20 years experience specialising in infertility, grief and relationship issues.
She trained at Spectrum, the largest training centre in the world for humanistic psychology.
Rebecca spent eight years living in Christchurch, New Zealand where she worked collaboratively with general practitioners while running the Canterbury Support Group for Fertility New Zealand. She also served as a Board Member of FNZ until 2010.
Since moving to Adelaide in 2012, Rebecca has consolidated her private practice as well as in her role as Senior Counsellor at Fertility SA.
Kate Bourne
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