Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is the body responsible for training and examining surgeons in New Zealand and Australia. The head office of the College is in Melbourne, Australia.

RACS was formed in 1927. Its major roles are in training surgeons, continuing education, and setting standards for surgical practice. The members of the College fall into two categories: Trainees (doctors training to be surgeons) and Fellows, (who possess the fellowship of the College - FRACS). Currently there are over 7,100 members of whom 1,650 are trainees.

The College is a non-government body and this independence has led to conflict with government. It is also independent of universities. The College is funded through fees paid by Trainees and Fellows.

The College trains in nine surgical speciality areas:
# general surgery
# neurosurgery
# vascular surgery
# otolaryngology or ent surgery
# cardiothoracic surgery
# paediatric surgery
# orthopaedic surgery
# plastic and reconstructive surgery
# urology

Some surgical specialities receive their training from separate colleges, these include: Ophthalmic surgeons who are examined by the (RANZCO), Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons who are examined by the (RACDS), and Obstetrics and Gynecological surgeons who are examined by the (RANZCOG).

The major activities of the College are surgical training and examination, setting of standards for surgical practice, continuing professional development and government and media relations. The Surgical Education and Training Program (SET), with its first batch

Role in Surgical Education in Australia

In the 1990s there was some controversy over the control of surgery by the RACS, following the publication of a report into Australian surgical workforce. ["A Cutting Edge: Australia's Surgical Workforce 1994", Peter Baume, commissioned by the Australian federal health minister for human services and health, Dr Carmen Lawrence, in June 1993] Amongst other things, the report claimed that there were excessively tight controls exercised by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons on the supply of surgeons. The report was also disputed strenuously. ["British Medical Journal", 4 March, 1995, letter from Thomas Hugh]

Links

[http://www.surgeons.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home RACS website]

References