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Australia and NZ Surgical Skills Education and Training (ASSET)

ASSET is a practical and highly interactive, skills-based two-day course teaching surgical skills. Class size is up to 18 participants and the course is taught by experienced surgeons.

On this page

Registration platform

We have a Training & Services platform, where you can search, register and pay for courses.

You will be able to register in a few easy steps:

  • You will have to sign in to eHub to register (please refer to the quick reference guide (PDF 568.52KB) for detailed steps, or watch this video on how to navigate your way through the platform)
  • Complete the registration form
  • Select pass
  • Agree to Terms and Conditions
  • Make payment via card or PayPal
  • Your place is not confirmed until payment has been processed
  • Please use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge
  • If unable to proceed on the registration page, try a hard refresh (Ctrl F5)

For more information, please refer to the frequently asked questions (PDF 130.53KB).

Course objectives

By completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Demonstrate integration of incision, tissue handling, instrument, suture and needle selection, and suturing/tying skills
  • Safely practice electrosurgery
  • Display competence in a variety of basic practical skills relating to different endoscopic environments and the mechanics of instrumentation
  • Understand traumatic wound assessment and management skills
  • Understand simple bone manipulation techniques

RACS recognises that the ASSET course is equivalent to the Intercollegiate Basic Surgical Skills (BSS) course delivered by the following Colleges:

  • Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
  • Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
  • Royal College of Surgeons of England
  • Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland

Eligibility

To register, applicants must be post-graduate year (PGY) 1+ registered medical graduates (e.g. MBBS).

ASSET caters to:

  • Junior doctors aspiring to a career in surgery
  • SET Trainees of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (training requirement for all specialties except Neurosurgery and Paediatric Surgery)
  • RANZCOG Trainees
  • International Medical Graduates

Course schedule

Please visit the 2025 ASSET Course schedule (PDF 57.41KB).

Current fees

  • Australia – AU $4,350 (including GST)
  • New Zealand – NZ $4,865 (including GST)

Australian SETs who are mandated to complete the ASSET course are exempt from GST on Australian courses only.

Courses conducted in New Zealand will be invoiced in NZ dollars, regardless of the residential country of applicant.

Included in your fees:

  • Access to 10 eLearning modules
  • Access to online course manual
  • Certificate upon completion
  • Catering

Waitlist

Once the course is full, you will be placed on a waitlist. You will be contacted if a place becomes available and given an opportunity to register.

Cancellation policy

In the event that a participant withdraws from a Skills Training course, the following refund criteria are applied:

  • Withdrawal more than 10 weeks prior to course: 95% refund of course fee
  • Withdrawal less than 10 weeks prior to course: 50% refund of course fee
  • Withdrawal less than 6 weeks prior to course: No refund of course fee

This policy will apply to all courses and participants. We encourage registration to local courses.

In the event that RACS is required to cancel a course, participants will receive a full refund of their course fee.

If a participant is not able to attend the course for compassionate reasons (e.g. sickness or bereavement) the refund amount will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Please contact [email protected] as soon as possible if you are not able to attend the course.

Please do not attend a RACS event if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or are awaiting a test result.

As of November 2024.

Withdrawals and transfers

 To withdraw from your allocated course, please login to eHub and follow the steps given below:

  • Click your profile name on the upper right-hand corner of the page.
  • Click My Registrations. This will display a list of all courses you are enrolled for.
  • Click CANCEL button for the course you want to withdraw from.
  • You will receive an email notification confirming your withdrawal.
  • If you are eligible for a refund, you will be refunded by the payment method used at time of purchase, you will receive an email confirming the credit has been processed.
  • For eligible refunds through payment method of PayPal, if payment was made over six months ago, PayPal will decline the refund. Our Finance team will contact you for an alternative refund method.

Transferring fees to an alternative course is not currently available.

Sponsorship

The College welcomes partnerships with stakeholders in support of the successful running of the ASSET program. The College greatly appreciates the generous in-kind contributions made by sponsors each year to provide medical equipment and supplies for surgical training courses.

The College and the ASSET Committee gratefully acknowledges the generous contributions of the following sponsors:

  •   Applied Medical
  • Ansell Healthcare
  • B. Braun
  • BSN Medical
  • Bio Serve •
  • Halyard Australia
  • Jackson Allison
  • Karl Storz
  • Medline Industries
  • Multigate
  • Olympus
  • REM Systems
  • Stryker

Contact

Australia and NZ Surgical Skills Education and Training