Educator Studio Sessions
On this page
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.
Wednesday 2 July 2025
Time: 7pm - 8pm AEST (Note: Webinar commences 1 hour later than other sessions)
Topic: Flexible Training in Practice – A Panel Discussion
Panelists: Dr Ngoc Hoang Ha, Dr Tim Bright, Dr Patwinder Gill and moderator Dr Richard Bradbury
About the Topic:
Flexible training, a major advocacy piece for RACSTA over the past few years, gave rise to the Flexible Training Toolkit. This toolkit draws on the expertise and experience of many Fellows and Trainees who have already made flexible training a reality in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. In collaboration with RACSTA, this panel discussion will explore real world experiences from multiple perspectives a few years on – the wins, the unique challenges and the way forward. Surgical educators will find this session enlightening as it aims to continue the conversation around the importance of accommodating flexible training.
Tuesday 22 July 2025
Time: 6pm - 7pm AEST
Topic: The Incidence and Characteristics of Fatal Non-technical Errors: An 8-year Audit of Australian Surgical Mortality
Presenter: Mr Jesse Ey
About the Topic:
This session explores the findings of an 8-year audit of surgical mortality in Australia, focusing on the incidence and characteristics of fatal non-technical errors. Non-technical skills—such as communication, decision-making, and leadership—are critical to surgical safety, yet failures in these areas remain poorly understood.
Non-technical skill education and improvement has become a priority for surgical training organisations across the world including here in Australia as evidenced by the inclusion of non-technical skills in the RACS core competencies. However, there is very little evidence to guide non-technical skill improvement initiatives because there are very few published studies that have explored how, when, and why failings of non-technical skills occur.
Drawing on data from the Australian and New Zealand Audit of Surgical Mortality (ANZASM) (inclusive of all surgical mortalities in Australia excluding NSW between 2012-2019), this research provides a large-scale, standardised analysis of how non-technical errors contribute to patient deaths, offering vital insights to guide future training and policy.
Jesse Ey is a final-year medical student and PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide, working under the supervision of Professor Guy Maddern, Professor Martin Bruening, and Dr Adam Wells. His research focuses on surgical non-technical skills, an area of growing importance in improving patient outcomes. Jesse’s work has been recognised with the 2025 Jenepher Martin Surgical Education Research Prize, and he is passionate about advancing surgical education through evidence-based approaches.