SCMA Annual Meeting and AGM 2019 – Living our Faith at work

On Saturday 26 October 2019, SCMA held our 2019 autumn meeting and AGM entitled “Living our faith at work”.

Dr John-Paul O’Sullivan, SCMA Chairperson, opened the meeting with a brief overview of the day and introduced our presenter, Dr Dermot Kearney, a Consultant Cardiologist from Newcastle upon Tyne. Dr Kearney is also the current President of the UK Catholic Medical Association.

Dr Kearney took attendees through his thoughts on “‘Living our faith at work”. He outlined what it means to live our faith at work, and how we can support Catholics in our work place. Identifying as a Catholic, and letting others know about our faith is important as it allows those who may feel in need of support to find colleagues who can help. Sharing experiences of difficult situations involving faith can also help others be better informed about what is and also what is not acceptable. This can be especially important for those beginning their career.

Dr Kearney gave some examples of the difficulties young Doctors face when finding their way. He reminded all of the need to be authentic, and encouraged everyone to share uncertainties and confusion as part of providing a high standard of ethical healthcare to all our patients.

The Scottish Catholic Medical Association thanked Dr Kearney for his thought provoking talk.

This was followed by the AGM, where, amongst other things, we discussed the practical application of helping Catholics to live their faith in terms of providing resources on specific topics. SCMA agreed to create working parties looking at specific issues faced by Catholic medics. Those interested in becoming part of a working group, or  who have suggestions on topics to focus on, should email: scottishcma@gmail.com