Surgical Training

Surgical Training in Australasia Overview

Surgical training in New Zealand Australia is undertaken through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS). The RACS has a community responsibility to define minimal training requirements for surgeons and to ensure by examination and training that required standards have been attained.

Trainee surgeons undergo Basic Surgical Training (usually three to four years) in a number of specialty areas followed by Advanced Surgical Training in a specialty area such as Neurosurgery (usually four to five years). Entry into Basic Surgical Training and Advanced Surgical Training is a competitive process only open to those who have completed an undergraduate medical and surgical degree.

Trainee surgeons who have passed the examinations of the RACS and who successfully complete Advanced Surgical Training undertaken in hospital based accredited positions may be accepted by Council as Fellows of the RACS and as such are recognised as fully qualified surgeons through the award of the Diploma of Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) in their trained specialty. Fellowship of the RACS leads to automatic registration by the various registering authorities as a specialist surgeon in the relevant particular field of surgery.

Basic Surgical Training

Mr Law commenced his surgical training at the New Zealand University of Otago, graduating in 1989 with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery. Mr Law successfully complete the RACS Basic Surgical Training Program including the hospital appointments listed below and the prescribed examination and assessment requirements.

Year	Position	Specialty	Hospital	Location
1989	Trainee Intern Elective	Medicine	R.I.P.A.S Hospital	Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei Darussalam
1989	Trainee Intern	Medicine	Wellington Hospital	Wellington New Zealand
1990	House Officer	Orthopaedic Surgery	Hutt Hospital	Wellington New Zealand
		Medicine	Wellington Hospital
		Neurosurgery	Wellington Hospital
		Psychiatry	Wellington Hospital
	General Practice Locum	General Medicine	Tararua Medical Centre	Levin New Zealand
1991	Resident Medical Officer	Relief Orthopaedics & Accident and Emergency	Sir Charles Gairdner	Perth WA Australia
		Accident and Emergency	Wanneroo Hospital
		Neurosurgery	Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital
		Neurology	Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital
1992	Surgical Registrar	General Surgery	Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital	Perth WA Australia
		Leave Relief General Surgery, Plastic Surgery and Vascular Surgery	Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital	Perth WA Australia
		Cardiothoracic Surgery	Wellington Hospital	Wellington New Zealand

Advanced Surgical Training in Neurosurgery

Following completion of Basic Surgical Training Mr Law was selected on the the RACS Advanced Surgical Training Program in Neurosurgery. The Training Program consisted of four years intensive training in Neurosurgery in a number of different hospitals throughout Australia and New Zealand as detailed below.

Year	Position	Specialty	Hospital	Location
1993	Surgical Registrar	Neurosurgery	Wellington Hospital	Wellington New Zealand
1994	Surgical Registrar	Neurosurgery	Dunedin Hospital	Dunedin New Zealand
1995	Surgical Registrar	Neurosurgery	Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital	Perth WA Australia
			Royal Perth Hospital
			Princess Margaret Hospital for Children
1996	Surgical Registrar	Neurosurgery	Royal Prince Alfred Hospital	Sydney NSW Australia
1996	Surgical Registrar	Neurosurgery	Princess Alexandra Hospital for Children (New Children’s Hospital)	Sydney NSW Australia

After successfully completing eight years of training in surgery, including Basic Surgical Training and Advanced Surgical Training in Neurosurgery, Mr Law was awarded his surgical qualification, the Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in Neurosurgery (FRACS).

Surgical Training