AMA celebrates Dr Marrwah Ahmadzai as Doctor in Training of the Year
The Australian Medical Association’s Doctor in Training of the Year Award has been awarded to Dr Marrwah Ahmadzai for her outstanding work in women’s healthcare, the provision of culturally safe healthcare and her work to stamp out racism in our healthcare system.
AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen congratulated Dr Ahmadzai on her passionate advocacy on providing culturally safe reproductive medicine.
“It’s so inspiring to see the next generation of doctors in training emerging as passionate leaders in the delivery of healthcare, and Dr Ahmadzai’s passion, commitment, and ingenuity in looking at how culturally safe healthcare can be enacted is wonderful,” Dr McMullen said.
“This award is another in an already impressive list of achievements including the Australian Capital Territory Multicultural Individual Champion Award in 2021 and finalist in the 2022 Australian of the Year Awards for the Australian Capital Territory.
“Dr Ahmadzai was the medical lead in the ACT’s first public antenatal education program specifically designed for women with limited English language proficiency. She has participated in health promotion in the Muslim community by giving talks on women’s health in Ramadan to her local mosque community and online.”
Dr Ahmadzai collaborated with Jean Hailes for Women’s Health to develop guidance for clinicians working with culturally diverse communities in sexual and reproductive health. She was a trainee representative on the Royal Australian New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists cultural safety steering group and delivered a talk on women’s health inequity in the Australian context for the college’s International Women’s Day event in 2023.
She has also participated in advocacy more broadly, with her writing featuring in The Guardian, and with SBS and the ABC. She has spoken about the power of storytelling in breaking down barriers in a TEDx talk. Dr Ahmadzai also serves on the Australian Islamic Medical Association and the O&G magazine advisory group.
Dr Ahmadzai said it was her life’s work to advocate for women’s health, anti-racist medicine and health leadership.
“I was initially hesitant to talk about my experiences with racism in medicine. But doing so led me on a journey of learning and raising awareness in my own small way about the impact of structural racism on health outcomes,” Dr Ahmadzai said.
“As clinicians, we all have a responsibility to name it and dismantle it where we see it as healing cannot occur without justice.
“Whilst I feel that my work so far has been a drop in the ocean compared to the many eminent researchers and activists in this field, I am grateful for every opportunity that I have been given and will continue to dedicate time to this work. There is a perception that you must wait until you are a consultant to be able to have an impact but our experiences and voices as doctors in training carry weight and it is never too early to engage in advocacy.”
