Business View Oceania l January 2023

21 22 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1 AUSTRAL I AN SOC I ETY OF PLAST I C SURGEONS (ASPS) we provide, and we recognise that our honorary members have had long and fruitful careers that put them in a unique position to contribute to the conversation around controversies, industry challenges, and changes.” ASPS is run by eight paid employees and a plethora of passionate volunteers. The team regularly liaises with other societies and industry bodies throughout the healthcare sector, the most prominent of which being the RACS, Mr. Kennedy says. “Our strongest collaboration is with the RACS. We provide the trainers for their specialty training program, and we attain an incredibly high standard of training for those emerging plastic surgeons across the entire spectrum of plastic surgical practice. That scope includes cosmetic surgery, reconstructive surgery, skin cancer surgery, head and neck Surgery, hand surgery, burn surgery… surgery of the superficial tissues of the body is the typical way to define plastic surgery. We have broad fields of practice, and most practitioners narrow down their practice to a more defined scope as a result. Our members have to meet a set of very stringent criteria to be connected with us, which includes holding a specialist qualification from RACS, and being Fellows of the College. Our members must also have undertaken a minimum of 12 years’ medical and surgical education. Those 12 years include a minimum of five years of postgraduate training. So, our relationship with the RACS is integral to our operations as an organisation.” Mr. Kennedy shares an outline of ASPS’s core values and philosophies. “One of the things that we always say in medicine in general is ‘First Do No Harm’. And what we would say is the most important thing in the doctor-patient relationship is to provide professional advice and assistance that doesn’t have a commercial edge to it. An appropriate professional approach should think first about what is best for the patient and shouldn’t cloud any decision with commercial factors. That is something that our members are very proud to uphold.” In addition to promoting Dan Kennedy Australian Societ for Plastic Surgeons ASPS