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Pattern Background

Education & Training

NZAGS delivers General Surgery training through a Service Agreement with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS). Governance of General Surgery training in New Zealand is administered by the Aotearoa New Zealand Committee in General Surgery (AoNZCiGS). The College (RACS) is the principal body for the training and education of surgeons in New Zealand and Australia. Accreditation is given by the New Zealand and Australian Medical Councils to the College and standards for education and training are established by the College.

General Surgery Education Training (GSET)

The overall objective of the GSET Programme is to ensure that the graduating General Surgery Trainee has the competencies and skills required to undertake core General Surgery procedures, be able to participate independently in an acute on call General Surgery roster and be competent across the RACS Core Competencies.

Successful Trainees are selected for the five-year training programme each June.

For more information regarding the requirements for this process: click here.

Curriculum

General Surgery is, by necessity, a surgical discipline that covers many surgical conditions. The curriculum should be taken as a guide as to what the Trainee is expected to cover. The Trainee should not necessarily be limited to the areas and conditions listed. The list is not meant to be prescriptive and all-encompassing but is meant to provide an indication of the breadth of knowledge required. No specific texts are prescribed; Trainees should read widely, and material should include contemporaneous journal articles.

The GSET Programme is covered by the GSET Programme Curriculum. A copy is available: here.

GSET Programme Regulations

The Training (GSET) Regulations encompass the rules, procedures, policies, administrative processes and principles for the control and conduct of the GSET Programme in General Surgery. These Regulations are developed in accordance with the policies and strategic direction of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. At times these Regulations may refer directly to a generic RACS policy.

The five-year training programme is structured into two stages:

Core – GSET Levels 1-3, focusing on the foundation skills relating to General Surgery.

Principal – GSET Levels 4-5, where trainees’ involvement and clinical complexity increases.

All Trainees, Surgical Supervisors, Surgeon Trainers, Sub Committee and Committee in General Surgery Members are required to comply with these Regulations.

A copy of the GSET Regulations is available: here.

EPAs and PBAs

The following documents are available as a guide to assist Trainees, Supervisors, and Trainers in undertaking the Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) and Procedure Based Activities (PBAs) for the GSET Programme.

These are reference documents only. Assessments must be completed via the Surgical Online Logbook Application (SOLA).

GSET Performance Based Activities (PBA) can be found [insert link: here.]

GSET Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) can be found [insert link: here.]

Accuracy

The information in these Regulations and documents is as accurate as possible at the time of publication. The Committee in General Surgery (AoNZCiGS) reserves the right to make reasonable changes to these Regulations at any time.