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RACS leadership
Meet our new vice president: Dr Lawrence Malisano Dr Lawrence (Lawrie) Malisano, a former president of the Australian Orthopaedic Association (AOA) and Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Councillor, is the College’s new vice president. Dr Malisano is a Senior Orthopaedic Consultant at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Medical Director of the Brisbane Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Centre and operates out of the Brisbane Private Hospital. The son of Italian migrants, Dr Malisano always thought he would become a carpenter until his parents came back from a parent-teacher interview when he was in year 11 and asked him to consider going to university. “I started to read about careers and I found myself gravitating towards anatomy, but I also liked engineering. I was accepted into both medicine and engineering and I remember sitting at the front steps of the J D Storey Administrative Building at the University of Queensland wondering which option to take. I had 10 minutes to make up my mind and medicine it was. “I enjoyed medical school and chose intensive care and general medicine terms in my intern year before I applied to RACS for my primary examination and subsequently for the surgical training program. I was very well supported by surgeons who encouraged me to apply for the orthopaedic surgical training program.” After receiving his FRACS in 1988, Dr Malisano gained post-Fellowship training through an appointment in Hip and Knee Arthroplasty at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, London; a Trauma Fellowship at the Ruhr-University of Bochum hospital, Germany; and a Reconstruction and Trauma Fellowship at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada. Dr Malisano’s career could have taken another very different path. When he was 13 and 14 years old, he held the Queensland and Australian Age Swimming
records and was a state championship finalist in several other events. His best event was the 100 metres backstroke, followed by the 200 metres backstroke. He qualified to represent Australia in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich but was unable to go due to lack of funding. His father was invited by the Italian government to relocate the family to Italy – they offered a house and employment on condition that young Lawrie represented Italy in the games. He didn't take up the offer. Italy’s loss remains Australia’s gain, with Dr Malisano’s three children also achieving success in their careers and education. His eldest son holds a PhD in materials engineering from Oxford University, his second son is about to finish his dentistry program in university, and the youngest, a daughter, is about to complete her master’s in molecular biology. Dr Malisano joined the College Council in 2012 and served until 2018, during which time he became Chair of the College’s Professional Standards Committee. He rejoined the Council in 2019 as a Fellowship Elected Councillor. When asked about his new role, Dr Malisano said that the College is an institution he had always been interested in serving. “As a previous president of the AOA and its vice president for two years, I have a large knowledge base to draw upon. I understand what the role of vice president entails—predominantly to assist the president in achieving the RACS’ strategic plan and working closely with College personnel.” When asked about his ambitions for the College, Dr Malisano said he would like to continue the ongoing work to cement relationships between the College and its specialty societies and improve digital outcomes. “I strongly believe in the ongoing need for the College and surgical societies to continually strive to improve communication and cooperation, and
Dr Lawrence Malisano
build on the important work that has occurred in recent years. “As a College we managed our response to the COVID-19 pandemic remarkably well and our COVID response included a rapid transition to digital platforms, which coincided nicely with the One College Transformation program. This is an area that we need to continue growing as it will be critical in strengthening our links with each other.” Dr Malisano also has a keen interest in governance. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. “I remember my first day at RACS Council. I went to all the meetings and was very impressed with the processes of the committees and how they were run,” he recalled. “I left the meeting thinking I needed to learn more about governance, and I went on the company directors course. It stimulated a lot of interest in how companies and boards work and developing strategies. It also brought out the understanding that boards set the strategic direction and management implements it. More importantly, it really helped highlight that micromanagement isn’t something a board should do. “I really enjoy corporate governance and I think it is an area I will continue to work in as part of my own professional development.”
