The RACS Activities Report was released recently and weaves an insightful story of our surgical workforce along with surgical training and exams from 1 January to 31 December 2022.

Did you know female surgeons in active practice increased by more than five per cent in the last year, with women making up over 15 per cent of the active surgical workforce? Also, just over 23 per cent of those obtaining RACS Fellowship in 2022 were women.

In 2022, RACS admitted 268 new Fellows to the College and the latest data shows we have 1264 surgical Trainees.

Applications for the surgical education training program remain highly competitive with 799 applications across the nine specialties received in 2022. Of these, 284 applicants were offered a training position.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, the surgical snapshot reveals the pipeline of surgeons, with 215 doctors currently undergoing surgical education and training—a 31 per cent increase since 2012. There was an increase in Māori Trainees in the Surgical Education and Training program (SET) with 29 Trainees identified in 2022 compared to 18 in 2021.

Disparities in access to quality healthcare for people living in remote, rural, and regional areas of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand were highlighted in the report. Nearly 86 per cent of Fellows are in metropolitan areas in Australia, while only 72 per cent of the Australian population live in the cities.

If you need the surgical workforce data, head to the Activities Report. The information and data within the report was gathered extensively from across the College and underwent detailed analysis.

There are many more insights to discover within the 76 pages of the report and you can find it on our website.