RACS Post Op Podcast

For nearly 20 years, general and acute care physician Dr Simon Quilty has witnessed up-close the poverty that inflicts indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. The conditions are exacerbated by systems failures and lack of health care. Despite the incredible challenges, there are opportunities. Dr Quilty commends the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons’ attempts to encourage surgeons to work in remote parts of the country. Dr Quilty has been instrumental with Purple House, an initiative which provides Aboriginal communities with much needed medical and social support.

When Dr Emilia Dauway decided to relocate to regional Queensland from Texas, she didn’t intend for it to be permanent.

The 40-bed Queensland hospital she relocated to was a far cry from the 700-bed academic hospital in the US where she was Chief of Breast Surgery and Director of the Breast Cancer Program.

Now, based permanently in Harvey Bay, Dr Dauway’s committed to raising funds and educating women in regional Queensland on breast cancer treatments, through ‘Restore More’ a non-profit she founded in 2018.

The Surgical Education & Training (SET) One-Year scholarship that Dr Jamie-Lee Rahiri received is an opportunity she says to help continue her passion to promote health equity among Indigenous people, particularly among the Maori and Pacifika community of Aotearoa New Zealand.

That passion is exemplified by many things she’s done, including her PhD research, which focused on investigating equity in access to bariatric surgery for Māori, and also understanding how health benefits could be optimised for Māori post-surgery.
Having a safe and supportive workplace – that’s inclusive of everyone – is an important step, she says, for the greater good of patients. 

This month, we welcome the College’s new president, Associate Professor Kerin Fielding. Based in the New South Wales regional centre of Wagga Wagga since 1992, Assoc Prof Fielding has been a role model to younger surgeons working in rural areas. 

She was the first woman in New South Wales to become an orthaepedic surgeon, and only the third in Australia. She’s also an associate professor with the University of Notre Dame. 

Assoc Prof Fielding discusses what her priorities are, and what she hopes to achieve in her role as President.

Specialist International Medical Graduates (SIMGs) with formal postgraduate specialist qualifications in surgery who wish to work in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand can apply to RACS for an assessment of their qualifications and experience.

Graeme Campbell, Clinical Director for SIMG Assessment & Support at RACS, explains the application process, which includes exams for some, supervised practice and face-to-face interviews.