RACS Post Op Podcast

When Dr Emilia Dauway decided to relocate to regional Queensland from Texas, she didn’t intend for it to be permanent.

The 40-bed Queensland hospital she relocated to was a far cry from the 700-bed academic hospital in the US where she was Chief of Breast Surgery and Director of the Breast Cancer Program.

Now, based permanently in Harvey Bay, Dr Dauway’s committed to raising funds and educating women in regional Queensland on breas...

The Surgical Education & Training (SET) One-Year scholarship that Dr Jamie-Lee Rahiri received is an opportunity she says to help continue her passion to promote health equity among Indigenous people, particularly among the Maori and Pacifika community of Aotearoa New Zealand.

That passion is exemplified by many things she’s done, including her PhD research, which focused on investigating equity in access to bariatric surgery f...

This month, we welcome the College’s new president, Associate Professor Kerin Fielding. Based in the New South Wales regional centre of Wagga Wagga since 1992, Assoc Prof Fielding has been a role model to younger surgeons working in rural areas. 

She was the first woman in New South Wales to become an orthaepedic surgeon, and only the third in Australia. She’s also an associate professor with the University of Notre Dame. 

Assoc Pr...

Specialist International Medical Graduates (SIMGs) with formal postgraduate specialist qualifications in surgery who wish to work in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand can apply to RACS for an assessment of their qualifications and experience.

Graeme Campbell, Clinical Director for SIMG Assessment & Support at RACS, explains the application process, which includes exams for some, supervised practice and face-to-face interviews....

The 2023 RACS Annual Scientific Congress will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on 1-5 May. There’s been a lot of work behind the scenes to prepare for what should be an exciting event, with a variety of topics and speakers. The theme this year is ‘Equity in Surgery’. Convener of the 2023 RACS ASC is Professor Amal Abou-Hamden, who discusses the event’s details in this episode.

2023 RACS 91st Annual Scientific Congress:
...

RACS’s Trauma Committee has been pivotal in helping prevent acute trauma in the community. That includes encouraging surgeons to pursue a trauma specialty.

Instrumental to its success is Dr Li Hsee, who stepped down as Chair of the Aotearoa New Zealand Trauma Committee in late 2022, after eight years in the role.

Among other leadership roles in trauma both at home and internationally, Dr Hsee’s responsible for the development and i...

Dr Mat Brick’s journey into the world of surgery wasn’t the most conventional.  He studied at medical school, but shifted direction to focus on running and cycling. He is a two-time world champion duathlete and he’s represented Aotearoa New Zealand at the world championship level in cycling. That passion for sports and activity-related injury enticed him back to the medical fold as an orthopaedic surgeon.

Today he’s one of just a h...

WorldPride is the biggest event on the world’s LGBTQIA+ calendar. This year, it’s being hosted by Sydney – the first time WorldPride is held in the Southern hemisphere – coinciding with the iconic Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. This year, RACS is participating in WorldPride alongside several other medical colleges. The involvement has come about through the advocacy of a new LGBTQIA+ community, Pride in Medicine.

Two key figu...

Economically, it’s a tough time right now. Interest rates are rising, there are labour shortages, residential rents are up, house prices are down, almost everything is more expensive – all these issues are exacerbated by world events including the war in Ukraine.  And that means cash flow is tight for everyone, including those in the medical profession. That’s according to Nick Fennessy, Director and Partner at the The Bongiorno Gr...

A new novel shines the light on excessive workloads faced by junior doctors and specialist trainees. The Registrar is written by debut author, Dr Neela Janakiramanan, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon specialising in hands and wrists. She tells the story through protagonist Emma Swann, a surgical registrar who not only is overwhelmed by a punishing schedule, she’s also confronted by bullying and harassment.

To purchase a copy fr...

An Australian-first study investigating fertility and pregnancy complications among Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand doctors discovered greater pregnancy complications than the general population.

Dr Jasmina Kevric was one of three doctors who conducted the survey of 1099 doctors. She says training requirements have delayed family planning and subsequently increased age-related pregnancy complications. She discusses what measure...

In 2019, Norway’s capital of Oslo recorded just one death from a traffic accident. From a peak of 570 annual roads deaths in the 1970s nationwide, in recent years Norway’s toll has been reduced to just 80 deaths a year. 

Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Council for Road Safety Bard Johansen says its success has been a multi-faceted and integrated approach. It includes lower speed limits, safer vehicles, safer roads, better technolog...

Dr Samantha Pillay graduated from the University of Adelaide Medical School in 1992 to become the first female urological surgeon in South Australia.  From a very early age a physical condition prevented Dr Pillay from being able to walk. But it’s made her all the more determined to pursue her dreams and to help others in need. 

Dr Pillay is the founder of Continence Matters, an online resource to educate the medical professional a...

Ben Bravery was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in his late 20s. That led to many months of treatment and much of his time in hospital wards and doctors’ clinics. He was confronted with over-worked and stressed medical staff and a health system which placed grades over patient bed-side manner. Once treated, he decided to enact change in the health system by becoming a doctor himself. He’s written a memoir about his experience, The...

There comes a time in a surgeon’s career when they’ll start to think about obtaining their own medical practice. It’s a big decision, with a substantial financial outlay. There’s much to consider, including the location, the size of the space, and whether to obtain a room on their own or with others. Also important are the tax implications, structure considerations, and the option of buying rooms via a self-managed super fund. Simo...

Technology in surgery continues to evolve in leaps and bounds, particularly the advances of robotics. A little under 20 years ago, Professor Tony Costello performed the first radical prostatectomy using robotics in Australia.

Since then, he has performed 2,500 robotic procedures and has trained dozens of international robotic surgeons at International Medical Robotics Academy (IMRA), an institution he founded and of which he is cur...

The incidents of domestic violence resulting in trauma (injury) would probably shock a lot of people. In Australia, a report from the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare showed that more than 29,000 people had at least one hospital stay due to family and domestic violence in the seven years between 2010-11 and 2017-18.

In fact, the leading cause of homicide in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand is domestic and family viole...

Since 1996, the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) has worked closely with governments and communities to meet the health needs of people across the Pacific region. The PMA helps boost the workforce of Pasifika healthcare professionals and to increase the number of Pacific people in leadership roles. It also provides disaster support for Pacific countries, and helped with the COVID-19 response, both within Pacific countries and Pas...

First published in 1931, the ANZ Journal of Surgery is a prestigious publication serving the surgical community in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia It’s purpose? To publish articles that further the art and science of all of surgery. It’s the job of Professor Julian Smith, Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Editor in Chief of the ANZ Journal of Surgery, to painstakingly sort through and select the cream of the submissions crop. Professor...