Monash Health’s very own Steve Nicholls has been announced as the next president of The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand.
The director of both Monash Health Heart and the Victorian Heart Institute said he was honoured to be chosen for the new appointment.
“I was very excited – I’ve been a member of the society for decades, working my way up as a trainee, a consultant cardiologist, and then serving on the board,” Professor Nicholls said.
“It’s a great opportunity to be able to be involved in steering a society that really represents all the healthcare professionals in the cardiology space, including allied health professionals, nurses and researchers – it’s not just cardiology specialists.”
The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand is the professional body for cardiologists and those working within cardiology and assists with training, research and practice in cardiovascular medicine and surgery while also promoting prevention and control of cardiovascular disease in people.
Professor Nicholls, who has been a cardiologist for 22 years, said it would be very important to help navigate the organisation into a post-pandemic world.
“We’re going to have to navigate the whole profession through the COVID-19 recovery, which will involve how we continue to provide only the highest quality care to our patients and how we tackle the lasting complications of COVID-19,” he said.
“We will be working on any missed opportunities we may have had to prevent heart disease due to being unable to see patients as frequently due to lockdowns, as well as continuing to become more digital and promote diversity in the field.”
The new president said he is passionate about heart health because of the positive impact that he can make in people’s lives.
“During my career as a clinician, I’ve been able to lead trials and bring new therapies into the clinic and have the once in a generation opportunity to work with an incredible group of people to build the only heart hospital in the country which will open next year,” he said.
“Putting that all together, I’ve been really fortunate.”
Professor Nicholls’ presidency will start in mid-2022 and run for 24 months.
