Business View Oceania | May 2022

27 28 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 5 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 5 Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Supporting Specialist Plastic Surgeons F ounded in 1970, the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is Australia’s peak national body for specialist plastic surgeons working in both reconstructive and cosmetic surgery spheres. Established to provide specialist plastic surgeons with an avenue to continue their education following their fellowship with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), ASPS has since evolved to support 93% of specialist surgeons in the industry through advocacy, public education, standards regulation, information and resource distribution, and professional development and networking opportunities. President Dan Kennedy begins with a note on ASPS members. “We represent about 500 members including specialist surgeons, students, and retirees. In addition to the standard member benefits, we involve our members in the understanding of our ever- changing political landscape, whether it be in response to Medicare, legislative, or government changes, Covid-19 restrictions, etc. And we are very supportive of our student and honorary members; we want our students to take part in the educational opportunities 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 AT A GLANCE AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF PLASTIC SURGEONS (ASPS) WHAT: Peak body representing Australian specialist reconstructive and cosmetic plastic surgeons WHERE: ASPS is headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales WEBSITE: https://plasticsurgery.org.au/