7 - 9 May 2010, Carey Park Christian Camp, West Auckland

The Christian Medical Fellowship National Conference 2010 brought together Christian doctors and medical students from around New Zealand with a passion for practising medicine with Christ-inspired authenticity. Over a hundred and thirty Christian medics met together to explore in depth what our calling in medicine means, caring for our patients as ourselves in the light of Jesus' teachings.

Main Speaker

Dr Alan Gijsbers, Specialist in Addiction Medicine

Alan Gijsbers is the immediate past chairman of the Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship of Australia. He is also national President of HealthServe Australia, an organisation of health professionals who seek to provide health and development overseas in the name and spirit of Christ.

Alan's work in Addiction Medicine has brought him face to face with people who are struggling with complex issues. Situations rife with self consciousness and condemnation cry out for the mercy of Christ. Alan brings these issues to his talks at this year's National Conference and reflects that...

"...we who are recipients of God's mercy in Christ are also agents of that mercy in the way we conduct our clinical care. In these three studies we will want on the one hand to reflect deeply on the truths of Scripture and on the other hand grapple with the issues confronting us a clinicians. What does God's mercy mean for us in our own Christian walk? What does being merciful mean to the broken who come to consult us? What would a merciful Christian ethic look like? How will we be changed by encountering afresh God's great love in Christ? The issues are not just those of propositional correctness but of a winsomeness of character, a Christlikeness that we bring to our clinical encounters. This calls on us to develop our spirits and our hearts as well as our minds..."

Devotional Speaker

Brian Smith, Principal Emeritus of Carey Baptist College

For fifteen years Brian Smith was a missionary in northeast India, where he taught theology and was involved in a translation of the New Testament into a tribal language. In 1976 he joined the staff of the New Zealand Baptist Theological College (now called Carey Baptist College), becoming Principal in 1984.

Brian has spent a great deal of his retirement thinking about our faith in Jesus Christ and what His teachings have to say to modern day New Zealand practices. As devotional speaker at the Christian Medical Fellowship Conference 2010, Brian proposes the fostering of a personal faith that can be a light in a rapidly morphing 21st century healthcare system.

Seminars

Contemplating the End

Life-threatening diseases such as cancer bring patients to an often abrupt realisation of their own mortality. Our seminar speaker talks about being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, the resulting challenges to her dependence on God, and a doctor’s opportunity in encouraging a patient to journey well.

Medical Ethics in a Biblical Context

From its essential Judeo-Christian foundation, Western clinical medicine has moved to a state-based secular model, with faith seen as irrelevant or dangerous. We review the assertion that Christians must conform to this thinking, and offers ways for Christians medics to practise with inFrom its essential Judeo-Christian tegrity.

Making the Most of Being a Medical Student

You’ve embarked on a career in caring for others—but is a medical degree sufficient to make you a good doctor? How can you become a doctor with a practice rooted in Christ and make the most of the years on campus?

The Junior Doctor

The junior doctor years can be hard on our faith, with heavy work loads, ethical challenges, lack of continuity in church relationships, and pressure on us to further our training. Will you be squeezed by the expectations from different quarters? How will you stay firm and practise according to your calling in Christ?

Discipling Tomorrow's Doctors

As the face of medical practice continues to change, what will the next generation of doctors look like and on what foundations are they now building their practice? Be challenged to invest in fellow doctors and medical students and develop a practice of mentoring which will help to guide the healthcare leaders of tomorrow.

Medics in a Needy World

Serving In Mission’s has firsthand experience of both the hidden complexities of overseas mission and also the tremendous effect of the gospel lived out. SIM leads a discussion on what mission means, what the pitfalls for Christian medics can be, and how we can best respond to the Great Commission.

Married to Work, Married to Your Spouse?

With only twenty-four hours in one day, how to you balance the good that you can do in medical practice with the paramount duty to spend time with your family? We explore life with marriage and medicine, and share their experiences of how one can enrich the other.

Welcoming Jesus into the Consultation

We look at a significant question that Christian medical students often ask Christian doctors first—how and where does sharing Christ fit into the consultation? How can we bring Christ’s gospel? Is it professional to preach the good news?

A Culture of Life

What does it mean to take a stand for life as in a clinician? Embark on a journey of grace and mercy, showing that we need not abandon Godly principles to satisfy current perceptions of best practice, but rather work towards a culture of life.