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Vice president’s perspective Another year is rapidly coming to an end and despite the accompanying challenges and disruptions, I hope that you and your families are safe and well. It is heartwarming to see Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand emerging from difficult circumstances and into a sense of normality as vaccination rates increase and a decrease in the severity of COVID-19 cases. I would like to highlight a few thoughts in this message to you. We recently conducted an evaluation of the short-term outcomes of the RACS Building Respect and Improving Patient Safety initiative. The evaluation focused on program governance and oversight, awareness of standards of respectful behaviour, and identifying program deficiencies. This would not have been possible without the contribution of our Fellows, Trainees and Specialist International Medical Graduates (SIMGs) whose insights will be invaluable in formulating the upcoming Action Plan. RACS extends its gratitude to all who contributed. The evaluation found that more than 90 per cent of members support our work in this area, the leadership role that RACS has taken and the commitment to improve the culture in the surgical workplace. This aligns with community awareness and expectations of the need to improve workplace behaviour, which is increasingly part of workplace policies. Almost all (99 per cent) Fellows, Trainees and Specialist International Medical Graduates (SIMGs) believe in the need to demonstrate respectful behaviours, and 96 per cent recognise the need to address unacceptable behaviour in colleagues and peers. However, there is a knowledge and behaviour gap as while knowledge of respectful behaviours is widespread, and attitudes are changing, ‘calling it out’ is a challenge for many. We recognise that behaviour change is a long-term goal, but many of us need more confidence to act when witnessing
or experiencing poor behaviour. There is another extremely important relationship, that I would like to highlight: that of between Fellows and staff. Council has guided the evolving governance structures and it is important to explain the implications for Fellows and staff. Your Board represents members and delegates the responsibility to progress board set strategic direction to boardrelated committees. Many committees are predominantly operational and are critically reliant upon the diligence, support, and high-level expertise of RACS staff. Our staff are the engine room of our strategy delivery, and my experience of board governance reflects the importance of the team in developing and maintaining relevance for our members, and more importantly to our community. A recently held workshop, facilitated by an industry expert external reviewer provided an update of appropriate governance of RACS, our roles and how to best add value. Fellows must lead by example in acceptable standards of behaviour and interactions with Trainees, SIMGs, other healthcare workers and RACS staff. I have observed the lack of appreciation of power differentials that exist in these relationships and perhaps it is time to recognise the effect this has upon those with whom we interact. Being aware of nuances such as these is a sign of respect. I am saddened by reports of poor behaviour by Fellows towards staff, and we need to appreciate the negative impacts of this behaviour on their function and physical wellbeing. I highly commend College staff who, despite the difficulties imposed by the pandemic, have performed above expectations, for the benefit of the College. RACS staff are highly trained and qualified professionals, experts in their field and employed to progress College goals and aspirations. RACS staff are the ether for the College's success.
We recently achieved the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) basic accreditation and aim for full accreditation, which will create new funding opportunities. As we continue to meet the evolving regulations and standards of DFAT, we need to ensure compliance with DFAT and institutional donor requirements to attract funding for our growing programs in the Asia-Pacific region. A recent independently facilitated donor-mapping activity involved Fellows and staff as part of a strategy to grow programs and diversify funding sources. RACS has a highly skilled team with more than 100 years of development expertise, which we Fellows can harness for a brighter future. Together, we can make this happen. As we look into the future, it is increasingly important for RACS to explore surgeons’ growing interest in robotic assisted surgery with implications for training, standards and accreditation. Surgery delivery is changing as are the barriers to adoption of robots such as cost and availability. I have little doubt that in the future, Trainees and surgeons will become increasingly technology dependent. RACS has a responsibility to develop our members with the necessary skill sets for the digital future. We are working with the Australian Medical Robotics Academy in Melbourne to explore future relationships. On other Council matters, the proposed name change for the College was mentioned in my message in the October 2021 issue of Surgical News. A working party scoped a proposed College name and recommended to the Council to put this forward to members. The working group identified two viable alternative names: • Royal College of Surgeons of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (RCSAANZ) • Royal Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand College of Surgeons (RAANZCS)
