Supervisors: the unsung heroes

Supervisors of training: the unsung heroes

Supervisors of training play a critical role in the training of future surgeons and are highly regarded by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and the Specialty Training Boards. Yet there is a perception that this role is thankless and unrecognised. We need to do something about this perception as it is far from the truth. The role of surgical supervisor has evolved over the years. The demands of the role have increased and supervisors are expected to be leaders, educators, trainers, assessors and mentors. Training programs have likewise developed with a move towards competency-based training and workplace-based assessments. These innovations have resulted in increased requirements for clear documentation, feedback to Trainees and assessment of Trainee performance. Many surgeons become a supervisor to ‘give back’ to their profession and to contribute to the training of our future surgeons, just as others did for them. RACS appreciates this dedication, but also recognises that support for these people is necessary. To quote one supervisor, “I found myself in the role with very little training, save for a few email attachments, as to the expectations of the position.” In recognition of the importance of the surgical supervisor role and the need to provide support to our valued supervisors, the RACS Education Portfolio is undertaking a supervision project. This project has the endorsement and support of both the Education Board and the Council. There are four pillars to the project: 1. Advocacy: RACS recognises the need to advocate for the resources required to support supervisors in undertaking their role. We will be looking at ways to achieve this. 2. Recognition and valuing: RACS is reviewing ways to recognise the value we place on this vital role and taking into consideration the suggestions that have been made by supervisors. 3. Identification of competencies: many supervisors have asked for clarification

about the competencies required of a supervisor and RACS is currently working on identifying these clearly. 4. Support: A dedicated supervisor portal is being developed to make it easy for our supervisors to access resources to support them in their role. The portal will provide access to: - relevant policies and procedures - professional development to assist supervisors in achieving the competencies in the supervisor framework - templates to use in the role - contact people within RACS to answer questions. In addition, a recent survey of supervisors highlighted some excellent suggestions for resources that our supervisors would like to see in place to support them. Many indicated that they would like a mentoring program, or some way to connect with other supervisors, to learn from their experiences. Facilitating these connections will assist our regional and remote supervisors, along with those new to the role. The project will be looking at how best to facilitate provision of these resource suggestions. We are keen to hear from our supervisors about other ways we can support you. We will be keeping you up to date on the progress of the supervision project and will be providing you with an opportunity to provide us with your feedback and suggestions. We encourage you to work with us to achieve these valuable outcomes. To all the supervisors reading this article, we thank you for your ongoing work. We see you as the pillars of the surgical training program and a precious resource. You are significant contributors to the ongoing wellbeing of our populations. We value what you do and we are committed to improving our support for you in this important role.

Professor Phillip Carson Censor-in-Chief

New Western Australian office

Excitement is building as fit-out work progresses at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) new office in Perth, located on the ground floor at 216 Stirling Highway, Claremont in Western Australia (WA). Boasting a range of in-house space for training courses and workshops, as well as a broad array of meeting rooms to increase engagement with Fellows, Trainees and Specialist International Medical Graduates, the new office is scheduled to be complete and ready for relocation in early September 2020. The office premises will have the following spaces available: Meeting room Maximum capacity Boardroom 20 Meeting room 1 6 Meeting room 2 14 Training room 1 30 Training room 2 30 Training rooms combined 70 Please note that due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, capacity numbers will be impacted and will be reduced accordingly from the maximum capacity numbers above. Please contact the WA office from September onwards to find out the adjusted capacity numbers. RACS WA is looking forward to utilising this new space and we encourage those in WA to take advantage of the facilities. Contact RACS WA: college.wa@surgeons.org +61 8 6389 8600