Tri-state webinar series

Topic: Navigating surgical consent with Avant




Topic: Women and leadership in the sciences
About: RACS Fellow Dr Roxanne Wu, vascular surgeon and her daughter Dr Helen Buschel, a RACS Paediatric surgical Trainee joined us to discuss their leadership experiences throughout their careers, the challenges they have faced and examined how we could further achieve gender equality and empowerment of women and girls in science. RACS presents this webinar in support of the UN goal of full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls; this webinar highlights the success of Australian women.

Topic: The evolution and benefits of telehealth: A surgeon's perspective
About: Dr Ian Smith, urological surgeon, provides urology services to Tamworth, Armidale and the surrounding regions. He provides robotic and laparoscopic surgery, prostate cancer management and treatment, and the treatment of general urological conditions. As a regionally based surgeon, Dr Smith has had to actively use telehealth to manage follow up patient appointments. He will discuss the evolution of telehealth, how he uses it, the challenges and benefits of using it, and how it can become the norm.

Topic: Importance of the social emotional well-being model in First Nations communities
About: Dr Mikayla Couch is an obstetrics and gynaecology registrar, women’s health expert and proud Bundjalung woman. From a young age, Dr Couch dreamed of having a profession where she could help people every day. Combining her propensity for science and innate ability to help people feel understood, she pursued a career in medicine. Dr Couch is a powerful voice in Australia’s medical community. She is dedicated to furthering the health of all women and takes particular interest in bringing awareness to Indigenous health issues. As an Aboriginal woman herself, she has a personal understanding of the disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

Topic: The Benefits and Risks of AI in Surgical Leadership 
About: Hear from Affiliate Assoc. Prof. Cooper. An accomplished digital health and health information management expert with a diverse background in medical research, digital health, organisation change, bioinformatics, and tertiary education. Assoc. Prof. Cooper is currently serving as a sessional Unit Chair (School of Medicine) and a Senior Research Fellow with the Deakin University Institute for Health Transformation where one of his current interests is increasing the pace of digital transformation in Australian healthcare and reducing the impact of the digital divide on Australia's ageing society. He co-hosts the Ai-in-Healthcare Meetup group. The webinar will cover topics such as AI benefits in leadership, the use of generative AI in surgery, AI advantages for the College, risks of using AI in leadership, and ensuring safe and ethical use of generative AI in surgery.

Topic: Leadership Reinvented
Speaker: Professor Benjamin Thomson
About: Professor Benjamin Thomson,  Head of the Department of General Surgical Specialties at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and appointed Victorian Chief Surgical Advisor in April 2022, he steered the medical community through unprecedented times, exhibiting exceptional leadership qualities that set his approach apart from other leadership positions. With a distinguished background, including Director of the Upper GI Tumour Stream for multiple renowned hospitals, an Honorary Clinical Professor at the University of Melbourne, and various leadership roles in surgical education, Professor Thomson's expertise is unparalleled. 

Watch the webinar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmkoGvMjY10