Dear Prevocational Colleagues and JDocs Subscribers,
Welcome to the last JDocs newsletter of the year and my first as the new Chair of the Prevocational Skills and Education Committee (PSEC). I am a vascular surgeon in Adelaide. My most recent prevocational involvement has been as an Early Management of Severe Trauma (EMST) instructor for a long time, but I also well remember the concerns and anxieties as an unaccredited registrar, so this is an area that I am passionate about and feel that we can do better in.
The College has faced significant challenges recently, including a range of important measures to restore stability to our financial position, and major regulatory changes, including an updated Constitution. Hopefully some of the changes resulting from these challenges will end up making things easier for you. We recognise that the difficult process of applying to SET is made more difficult as a result of differing and changing selection criteria across surgical specialties. Although there will never be complete uniformity across speciality applications, there are so many factors that are common between us as surgeons, that there is a push to find more common ground.
We are also acutely aware that while we need to change things for the better, whenever we change SET selection regulations, this can have dramatic effects on prevocational doctors; just when you think you have maximised your CV points, the ground shifts and those points don’t apply anymore. We intend to improve things, in consultation with the specialty societies, and will try to do this carefully and with as much notice as possible. Part of this includes improving diversity, equity and inclusion and an increased rural focus – no one should feel that any of these factors would affect their chances of being a surgeon.
Enrolment for the Generic Surgical Sciences Examination (GSSE) in February 2025 is opening soon. All specialty training committees and boards have now mandated successful completion of the GSSE as an eligibility requirement for SET selection. A link to register for the GSSE is included in the newsletter below.
If you are applying for selection to the 2026 SET intake in January 2025, a link to further details is also included below.
I have had my first look at the JDocs ePortfolio and resources this week. JDocs ePortfolio has the potential to be a great resource, but again this is an area that needs work. This site should be one place where you can find information about pathways to SET and learn and practice many skills important for surgeons, based on the College’s 10 competencies. These should be tasks that can be ticked off, so that as you learn there is also a record and evidence of your learning and a clear process for you to progress through. I also look forward to this site being a useful resource as your CPD Home.
If you haven’t already, we would love to hear your feedback about your experience as a JDocs subscriber in our JDocs Feedback Survey. It should take no more than 10 minutes to complete and we will be rewarding one respondent with a Prezzee voucher.
Finally, we are aware that despite everyone’s best efforts, not all prevocational surgical registrars will end up as surgeons. That shouldn’t mean that all that time and experience is wasted. We would love for this time to result in a meaningful achievement that may be valuable to you if you apply for other training positions or for roles where you may be undertaking minor surgery as a generalist, for example. We are not yet at the point of a definite announcement about what this would look like, but watch this space.
In summary, The College does cares about your journey towards a surgical career and has a genuine desire to streamline it, so that it is shorter, clearer and more meaningful.
Best wishes,
on for Surgery is to strive for a world where all children, families and communities can access quality surgical care when they need it most. The Foundation raises funds that support activities in RACS Global Health, Indigenous Health, rural and remote health, Younger Fellows and more. Each year, the Foundation runs 2-3 main campaigns. One to coincide with the end of financial year, one during Spring, and one to coincide with End of Year and subscription renewals. Donors may donate at other times throughout the year also. 
