Educator Studio Sessions
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Educator Studio Sessions
Please note all Educator Studio Sessions are recorded and will be available to be viewed below in Past Educator Studio Sessions for Academy of Surgical Educators members. To join the Academy, click here.
CPD Hours: This educational activity has been approved in the College's CPD program. Participants with a RACS Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirement can claim one hour of CPD under the Education category, which will be uploaded by RACS on your behalf.
Tuesday 10 November 2026
Time: 6 pm - 7 pm AEDT
Topic: Jewish Experiences in Australian Healthcare: Preliminary Report
Presenter: Professor David Slucki and Dr Benjamin Lewis
About the Topic:
As the first session in an ongoing Educator Studio Session cultural awareness series, this presentation aims to foster greater understanding of the diverse communities within the healthcare workforce. The session provides an overview of the Australian Jewish community and the Monash Initiative for Rapid Research into Antisemitism (MIRRA), before exploring findings from the Jewish Experiences in Australian Healthcare: Interim Report. Drawing on interviews with healthcare professionals, regulators and administrators, the presentation examines themes of identity, workplace belonging, perceived antisemitism, and inclusion, highlighting opportunities to strengthen cultural awareness and create more supportive healthcare and educational environments.
About the Presenter:
Professor David Slucki
Professor Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation
David Slucki is the Director of the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, and the Loti Smorgon Chair of Contemporary Jewish Life and Culture. He is a historian who has written widely on Jewish life and culture after the Holocaust, and is an expert on antisemitism and Jewish life and culture in Australia.
He is project lead for the Monash Initiative for Rapid Research into Antisemitism.
Dr Benjamin Lewis
Research Fellow Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation
Benjamin is a Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation at Monash University, where he is currently contributing to the Monash Initiative for Rapid Research into Antisemitism. He also holds a position as an Associate Lecturer at the Centre for Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. Benjamin completed his PhD in 2024, focusing on inter-faith relationships within the Australian Jewish community.
Tuesday 24 November 2026
Time: 6 pm - 7 pm AEDT
Topic: How to run sustainable operating theatres
Presenter: Dr Soni Putnis
About the Topic:
Operating theatres are the most resource intensive area of every hospital. This webinar is a conversation around best practice in operating theatres to achieve the triple bottom line of best financial, environmental and social performance. We will discuss what happens when a green-naïve Hospital commits to undertake a sustainability overhaul within a two year time period, with drivers including NSW Health policy which underpin NSW's net zero commitments, international and college guidelines for theatres, staff drivers and other ideas for sustainable theatre practice. We will discuss results of strategies to reduce low-value care, streamline packs and equipment used for each operation, strengthen collaboration with industry, and address system-wide challenges such as waste management, linen services and procurement. This work has been undertaken at Wollongong Hospital, NSW and has resulted in a NSW Checklist for Theatre Sustainability which could be disseminated across all Operating Theatres.
About the Presenter:
Dr Soni Putnis is the Medical Co-Director of Surgery at the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District in NSW. Soni is a UK trained Colorectal and General Surgeon who moved to Australia in 2009 to complete a Colorectal Fellowship before moving to Wollongong as a VMO. She was the Head of General Surgery between 2015-2020 and Director from Surgery from 2024. Soni has been the lead surgeon for the NSW Health Net Zero Hubs Program since 2024. She has worked with a Theatre Nurse Unit Manager and Consultant Anaesthetist at Wollongong Hospital to set up and report on best practice in Operating Theatre Sustainability. Together they have developed a Surgical Checklist for Sustainability.