Flexible training

RACS supports flexible surgical training. It increases diversity in the surgical workforce by increasing the appeal of surgical training to more candidates and enables Trainees to broaden their focus and pursue wider interests while training.

Flexible training refers to less than full time training and may be of interest to all Trainees, regardless of gender. Increasing numbers of surgical Trainees in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are benefiting from training in a flexible manner.

This information aims to assist surgeons and Trainees to create flexible training posts, including suggestions about opportunities, challenges and solutions. It draws on the expertise and experience of many of the Fellows and Trainees who have already made flexible training a reality in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Download the toolkit (PDF 2.2MB). 

If you’re interested in the perspective of surgeons and Trainees who have made less than full time roles work well, read these interviews: 

• Professor Deborah Bailey, proactively set up a stand-alone flexible role
• Dr Adelene Houlton, senior Trainee in a flexible role, who supervised a full time unaccredited registrar
• Dr Melissa Bochner, Mr Robert Whitfield and Dr Eu Ling Neo – getting the most out of an established flexible, stand-alone role
• Mr Jonathon Karpelowsky, former Chair of the Board of Paediatric Surgery, on job share and flexible roles.

Flexible training increases diversity in the surgical workforce by enabling Trainees to broaden their experience and pursue wider interests and opportunities while progressing towards Fellowship. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Trainees' Association (RACSTA) supports trainees pursue more flexible training if required.

In this episode of the RACS Post Op Podcast we hear from two surgeons who have taken advantage of flexible training: Dr Winnie Gill, a Hepatobiliary Fellow at Royal Melbourne Hospital; and Dr Tim Sladden, a general surgery SET 2 Gen Search Trainee at Brisbane’s Mater Hospital.