Surgical Education

The following key articles illustrate the course of surgical education in Australia and New Zealand:

In 1933, Professor F. Gordon Bell devoted his Syme Oration to the problems associated with the training of surgeons. He discussed methods of staffing, the use of hospitals to study “certain important diseases”, and ways of utilising hospitals for the better training of surgeons. His discussions included the role of university hospitals, compulsory health insurance, and the need for hospitals to promote research and education.

On Hospital Problems and Surgical Education

F. Gordon Bell
DOI: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1933.tb02603.x (Volume 3 Issue 1 (July 1933) p 1-23)

In 1934, Alan Newton explained a new set of reequirements for admission to fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. It was a definitive move away from a senior surgical degree or diploma obtained from a university towards a more practical college-based system under the guidance of the Censor-in-Chief.

The System of Admission to Fellowship of the College

Alan Newton
DOI: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1934.tb03449.x (Volume 4 Issue 1 (July 1934) p 77-80)

In 1949, Hugh Devine provided a brief but useful summary of the progress of the system of admission to fellowship.

Fellowship of the Royal Australisian College of Surgeons

H. B. Devine
DOI: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1948.tb06335.x (Volume 18 Issue 1 (July 1948) p 57-60)

In 1986, E Durham Smith, who was then Chairman of the Court of Examiners for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, outlined the nature of the final fellowship examination and discussed the need to better accommodate the development of specialty interests.

The College Examination System — A Time For Flexibility

E. Durham Smith
DOI: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1986.tb01847.x (Volume 56 Issue 12 (December 1986) p 880-883)

In 1988, John Heslop gave the Gordon-Taylor Memorial Lecture on the history of basic surgical science examinations in the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Initially, examinations were held in Melbourne by the English College. The first primary exam run by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons was held in melbourne in November 1949. After much discussion, a multiple choice exam was introduced in the early 1970’s. This enabled greater flexibility and breadth in the material that was examined.

The History of Basic Surgical Science Examinations in the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

J. H. Heslop
DOI: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1988.tb06189.x (Volume 58 Issue 7 (July 1988) p 529-536)

In 2007, the Dean of Education and others detailed a new Surgical Education and Training programme. It places emphasis on competency-based education and training, better integration between basic and specialty training, and new approaches towards selection and assessment. It represents a major evolutionary step in the training of surgeons in Australia and New Zealand.