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Brisbane ushers in a successful RACS 90th Annual Scientific Congress
Brisbane played host to the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons 90th Annual Scientific Congress (RACS ASC). More than 2600 participants attended the Congress either in-person or virtually. We kicked off RACS ASC on Sunday, 1 May with a gala dinner hosted by the Foundation for Surgery at the Birrunga Gallery to thank the extraordinary generosity of our donors. On Monday, 2 May we proudly welcomed our new Fellows in the evening at the 2022 Convocation ceremony. The Fellowship pledge recital was a powerful and engaging moment, highlighting that the future of surgery is in the best of hands. Our sincerest congratulations to the new Fellows. Tuesday’s plenary session was opened by RACS president Dr Sally Langley followed by a calendar full of interesting presentations. A moving Indigenous health breakfast was the highlight of the day on Wednesday, with many past presidents in attendance. Dr Langley presented awards to several recipients before Dr Justin Cain led a panel discussion entitled ‘future dreaming’. All panellists spoke optimistically about the future, noting that it was reassuring to see the College’s continued commitment to Indigenous health and representation in surgery. This year’s RACS Women in Surgery breakfast and annual business meeting was opened by chair, Dr Christine Lai. Dr Langley acknowledged medical student Denna Fryer who was the winner of the Women in Surgery essay competition entitled The myth of meritocracy: What RACS can do to dismantle it. Denna received a RACS grant, which included entry to the RACS ASC 2022, flights and accommodation in Brisbane. The last day of the Congress featured various presentations, including one by Australian Orthopaedic Association’s President and RACS Councillor, Dr Annette Holian on ‘Women who lead’. Dr Holian shared numerous stories from her personal and professional lives and the lessons she learned throughout her journey. She encouraged the audience to remember to be kind to themselves and to take ownership of mistakes.
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Some statistics from the RACS ASC 2022
Our first in-person congress since the pandemic was an amazing experience for us. Here are some facts and figures: • more than 2600 participants (in-person and virtual) participated • total live stream viewed minutes: more than 250,000 • 664 presentations • 1712 e-poster views • average number of steps during a congress day – 8000 • representatives from more than 25 countries: Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Norway, the UK, USA, Japan, Israel, Malaysia, Belgium, Greece, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Botswana, South Africa, Brazil, Canada, India, United Arab Emirates, and Papua New Guinea to mention some.
