Building Respect

We’re building a culture of respect in surgery. In Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, surgeons understand the link between respectful practice and patient safety. Together, we’re converting awareness of the impact of unprofessional conduct on patient safety, into action to prevent it. 

  • what are we doing

    What we are doing

    Agencies across the health sector in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand have embraced the need for cultural change. At RACS, we are drawing on all the work we’ve done to strengthen professionalism and civility in surgery. We are investing in leadership, training and education, and strengthening a feedback culture. We’re redoubling our efforts to foster a more diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. RACS Building Respect Action Plan 2022 steps out this long term work .

    More about what we are doing
  • what can you do

    What you can do

    We can make positive changes together, to build a culture of respect. Each of us can foster professional behaviour to keep our teams performing at their best and our patients safe. RACS is investing in leadership, strengthening a feedback culture in surgery, building diversity, addressing racism and forging partnerships. All the effort is aimed at supporting surgeons to meet the high professional standards we all aspire to.

    More about what you can do
  • what have we done

    What we have done

    The surgical community has worked steadily since 2015 to build a culture of respect. Our work has been guided by independent experts, who have held us to account. We have been honest about the challenges we have faced and forged partnerships to strengthen patient safety, through cultural change. We are confident that we have built strong foundations for our ongoing work. Explore this section to learn more about the challenges we have been set by two independent expert advisory groups, and what we have done as a community to meet them.

    More about what we have done
  • info and updates

    Information and updates

    All our work to build a culture of respect has been informed by a robust evidence base. We’re keen to share it, along with some of the fact sheets we’ve developed.

    Access resources