Anthony Sparnon, an Adelaide paediatric surgeon, has beenelected the next President of the Royal Australasian College ofSurgeons (RACS) by a vote of the RACS Council in Melbourne.
Dr Sparnon replaces President John Batten and will formally becomePresident of RACS at the Annual General Meeting to be held on 9 May2019 in Bangkok, as part of the 88th RACS Annual ScientificCongress.
Dr Sparnon has been the RACS Censor in Chief since 2017 and waspreviously Chair of the RACS Court of Examiners and Chair of theRACS Morbidity Audits Committee, among other roles.
Dr Sparnon practices at the Women's and Children's HospitalAdelaide and Mount Barker District Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, aswell as the Stirling, St Andrew's and Parkwynd private hospitals.He is also a Senior Lecturer University of Adelaide's Women's andChildren's Hospital.
Dr Sparnon acknowledged the work of his predecessor, JohnBatten.
"I applaud President John Batten for his strong advocacy effortsaround important issues such as cultural change, leadership andimproving surgical education.
I am excited about this opportunity to continue the focus on thecore education, training and advocacy programs, better supportingtrainees, international medical graduates and surgeons to deliverexcellence in contemporary patient care. This year will be one ofmaximising the opportunities for RACS and its membership. A unitedapproach with our surgical speciality societies will be crucial inorder to achieve and embed change. I look forward to working withmy fellow Councillors, the specialty societies and trainingcommittees, the staff at the College and external stakeholders andpartners."
Also elected by the RACS Council as Vice President is RichardPerry, a general surgeon specialising in colorectal and endoscopicsurgery.
Mr Perry, an elected member of the RACS Council, has chairedvarious committees at RACS including the Professional Developmentand Standards Board, the Fellowship Services Committee, and theAustralian Surgical Skills Education and Training Committee, andled a surgical workforce capacity building team in Myanmar.
Mr Perry has a long-time interest in governance as a CharteredMember of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand and a GraduateMember of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
