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 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.
Wednesday 20 August 2025
Time: 6pm - 7pm AEST
Topic: Robot-assisted surgery in surgical education
Presenters: Dr Helen Mohan, Dr Jade Elmohamed and Dr Sophie Tissot
More information coming soon. To save your spot, click here to register now.
Tuesday 9 September 2025
Time: 5pm - 6pm AEST (Note: Webinar commences 1 hour earlier than other sessions)
Topic: Reimagining Medical School Admissions: Shaping the Future of Healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand
Presenter: Dr John Mutu-Grigg
About the Topic:
In Aotearoa New Zealand, we have always selected for medical school based on "merit", but the conversation has begun to shift toward what we actually mean by that term. Historically, merit was defined by narrow and often exclusionary standards. Today, we recognise that many of the traditional criteria we used to measure merit may no longer reflect what is truly needed to be a good doctor. Is a disproportionately high IQ a mandatory requirement? Is selecting the “best” individual — based on academic scores or other narrow parameters — really serving the needs of our health system? We find ourselves with some specialties oversubscribed, turning away excellent candidates after years of training, while other areas of medicine receive few or no applicants, so critical areas of the system remain chronically understaffed.
This raises a fundamental question: do we continue selecting individuals based solely on traditional definitions of excellence and hope they end up where they're needed? Or should we take a broader, system-wide view — identifying the kinds of doctors our healthcare system actually requires, where the holes are and selecting those with the right mix of skills, values, and motivations to fill those roles?
Our health system already suffers from inequity, shaped by socioeconomic factors, ethnicity, geography, and barriers to access. Any reform must reduce — not worsen — these disparities.
Government and the profession must work together to ensure any changes are equity-focused, future-ready, and fair. We need to build a system that doesn't just produce the most academically accomplished individuals, but assembles the right team to meet the evolving health needs of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Dr John Mutu-Grigg (Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Whatua) is an Orthopaedic Surgeon based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. He is the Chair of RACS Māori Health Advisory Group, Ngā Rata Kōiwi (Māori Orthopaedic Surgeons), Ngāti Kahu Health Portfolio, RACS Indigenous Health Committee, NZOA Board, NZOA Education Committee, and the NZOA Specialty Orthopaedic Training Board. He is also the Indigenous Editor of the ANZJS.