Meera Agar

Professor Attila Brungs Vice-Chancellor and President, Associate Professor Joanne Gray and Dr Phillip Newton Associate Deans Faculty of Health, members of University Council, distinguished guests, graduates, family and friends. Before I begin may I also acknowledge the traditional custodians of this place upon which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, and pay my respects to their elders past and present, and extend that respect to any aboriginal people who are present today.

Graduates, I am honoured to share this significant day with you, and your family and friends who have supported you during your time at University. Congratulations on this significant milestone in both your professional careers and your lives; representing hours of contemplation and hard work. Education is one of the zigsaw pieces that shapes who you are, and will be a critical stepping-stone to who you will become.

This morning I would like to open a window into the world of opportunities awaiting you, to shape not only the health of our nation, but also the world. I hope I can convince you that a career in health will be one of great privilege. Your qualification entrusts you to stand alongside people at times of great joy, such as the birth of a child or a curative operation; but also in times of great difficulty as they face health challenges. You will witness extraordinary human courage, dignity, humility and equanimity. As the emerging health professionals for our future you hold the keys that can open the world of “the possible” for people living with illness, helping them to harness their strengths and empowering the community who supports them. There are many challenges facing health care in the 21st century; our population is aging, people are living with multiple illnesses, and consumers are clearer about what is important to them. We also still have many areas of disparity in health outcomes, where we need to rapidly close the gap.

You would be forgiven in thinking a career in palliative medicine is dark one, full of sad moments and depressing days. It is quite the conversation stopper at a barbeque or in a taxi, when you are asked the “what work do you do” question.  I must say for a time it was tempting to have long list of fictional occupations that could be pulled out to answer the question to avoid the awkward silence that ensues!

William Ross Wallace, the American poet (1819-1881) said "Every man dies - Not every man really lives." As health professionals you can ensure the care you deliver harnesses all opportunities for a person to ‘live well’, even if they are facing a progressive illness or it is no longer possible to ‘live longer’. We each can make our hospitals places of kindness and joy, and community services ones where people are nurtured and cared for. The moments I cherish in my work have included facilitating a patients wedding in the palliative care unit grounds, ensuring a discharge to home happened now not tomorrow when it would be too late, admiring an older lady as she sat on her hospital bed typing rapidly to complete her Masters thesis in history, and supporting the establishment of a fresh cook kitchen which now provides a range of cultural diverse nurturing foods.

A relative wrote to Dame Cicely Saunders, the founder of the modern palliative care movement, aptly describing St Christopher’s Hospice in London: “ St Christopher’s is not just a building, but a way of living – an attitude towards people, their life and their death – that is so remarkable. St Christopher’s is a happy place in spite of its sadness …..marked by a feeling of serenity and calm, as well as with humour and laughter”.

Alongside the human elements of care, we also have been able to undertake ground-breaking research to ensure people who have far advanced illness receive the best care they can, so they can focus on living their lives to the full. They cannot afford not to have the best evidence to guide the management of their symptoms or the configuration of their health care; as for most we have one chance to get it right.

As UTS graduates, you have a strong grounding in equity, diversity and social justice; and there is truly exemplary work being done by the Faculty of Health to support improving maternal, child and health outcomes in developing nations. Be global citizens, don’t turn a blind eye; validate and support the tireless work of our colleagues from our Asia Pacific neighbours, as they work to tackle their health challenges. I have been fortunate to spend time with colleagues in Myanmar, through the Lien Collaboration for Palliative Care, to spearhead palliative care capability and champions in the region. With the exception of Japan and South Korea, opioid availability continues to be low throughout most of Asia making unrelieved cancer pain a reality for far too many of the 4.4 billion people in this region, who make up approximately 60% of the world’s population. To be by the bedside of a person with severe cancer pain in a 200-bed cancer ward supporting the advocacy, policy change and clinical care by the first palliative care service in Yangon, that results in adequate pain relief being offered for this person is truly inspirational.

As I reflect on a career working in medicine, it is our mentors, collaborators and being truly interdisciplinary in your spirit and intent, that will offer you the support, drive and resilience you need to be the best you can be regardless of the challenges. Let the questions “What would be the best care possible for this person” and “is there a way we can do this better” be the driver for your clinical care, and be engaged in advocacy and policy. Inspire others around you to ask questions and be curious, like the toddler who is constantly asking WHY? Take care of yourselves and each other – this may seem like rhetoric, but we cannot authentically promote wellbeing and health unless we take steps to find out what restores us.

In conclusion, I extend my heartfelt congratulations and admiration to the health professionals of the future, and may you follow your hearts and minds to have a truly exceptional career.