This December Surgical News will be my last communication as we head into our pre-centenary year of 2026. It's a time for reflection as well as optimism and some relaxation for us all but also a vigilance and determination to position us well for the future.

It's hard to believe that just two-and-a-half years ago Associate Professor Kerin Fielding and I took our roles as president and vice president of RACS on a unity ticket, to help steer the College out of troubled waters to safer harbour. We achieved a financial recovery, governance reform, medical council reaccreditation, and have done significant work on specialist international medical graduate pathways. With strong Council support and a new skills-based Board, I believe we been successful in dealing with what were existential threats to our College and are well placed for the future. 

But by no means are we done. 

I’ve engaged with many of you collectively and had multiple individual conversations. What I hear is concern for our Trainees, our livelihoods as surgeons, and more importantly our profession as a whole. We all want to see surgery grow and thrive so we can continue delivering the highest standards and providing surgical care that is affordable and accessible to all. While the RACS of today looks very different, that collective vision remains the same as it did almost 99 years ago, when 40 surgeons came together in Ōtepoti Dunedin to establish our College.

And yet, there has perhaps never been a time in our College’s history where our aims have been under so much threat. There are those, particularly in government, who do not understand the benefits of a profession-led system of standard setting and surgical education and training that has made us the envy of countries worldwide. There is focus on the tiny minority engaged in unprofessional behaviour or egregious charging and use these to justify an agenda of wholesale reform. 

We don’t accept the narrative being perpetuated and will continue to be steadfast in our defence of our members and our profession. We are advocating for system-level change, which is desperately needed. For that to occur, we will need to be part of the solution, working with government and our regulators to convince them. This is the direction our advocacy is taking and while such advocacy is difficult, we will be persistent. 

To Trainees, we have not done enough in the past to communicate the critical role RACS, the specialty societies and our Fellows together play in your education and training. It’s a collaboration that is important for you to understand. The investment we make in your career is significant and we need to increase the transparency  of all that goes into producing the end product—world-class surgeons.

It's on the ground and in hospitals where you develop your technical skills and other attributes that will make you excellent surgeons. Specialty training boards/committees and societies deliver the program. RACS provides the surgical training framework, ensuring the program meets bi-national accreditation and professional standards, and awards FRACS. This comes with significant legal and regulatory requirements. The College also provides support and advocates for you—including through our Trainees’ association, and surgical advisory and support services throughout your professional lives.

To our Fellows, it is you who make our College great. It is no accident Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand surgery has arrived at where it is today with prominence and esteem nationally and internationally. The FRACS post-nominal is recognised as a mark of excellence, professionalism and lifelong learning through the pro bono contributions, passion and commitment of our members. I acknowledge that members felt let down when we faced such financial difficulties two years ago and it is for you that we have worked so hard to put RACS back on firm ground. 

Through leadership change—including the amazing and energetic CEO Stephanie Clota and her talented executive leadership team—, governance reform, organisational efficiencies and more, we’re transforming the College into an agile, member-centric, modern organisation. I hope you’re starting to see the difference, and I know there is much planned in 2026, which will bring these improvements even more to the fore.

I'm not a perfect person—I doubt many of us are. In my wildest dreams I could never have imagined being president of your College, nor have I ever aspired to it. But it is a responsibility I accept and humbly hold dear. I’m working hard to do the best by you, our membership. And I strongly believe that as a profession we are stronger together. By standing as a united College, we have our best chance of upholding the vision of our forebears for the next hundred years.

I want to conclude on an absolute note of optimism, for certainly, ‘tis the season for goodwill. Please have a safe and restful holiday period, a wonderful Christmas if you’re so inclined and a very happy New Year. For those who will be working or on call over the holiday period, my sincere thanks for the critical care you continue to provide to our patients, and for enabling your colleagues to take time for rest and recuperation. I hope each of you is able to find a moment of pause and renewal in the weeks ahead.

I look forward to continuing our work together in 2026.

Warm regards, 
Professor Owen Ung
President