Applicant: Evangeline Woodford

"My goal for the WSS as President in 2023 is firstly to solidify its contribution to education and camaraderie in the Surgical Department and secondly to optimise communication with its members and stakeholders. I aim to further build the sense of community and improve exposure within our society through consistent updates, reinforcing regular educational and varied social events, further exploration of charitable opportunities and ongoing engagement with stakeholders in the WSS."

The President directly oversees the running of the Society and guides its vision and direction, being the official spokesperson and contact of the Society. The role includes liaising with all committee members in achieving their goal as well as liaising directly with the Department of Surgery and Western Sydney Surgical Skills Network for representation of junior and unaccredited trainees .

The role of President requires strong leadership skills, excellent communication skills and a dedication to represent and promote surgical personal and professional skills in line with Western Sydney Surgical Skills Network and RACS Surgical Competencies. 

The President role includes but is not limited to: 

1. Overseeing the administration and running of WSS

2. Ensure all Executive members fulfil their roles

3. Guide the vision and direction of WSS 

4. Chair meetings and oversee the Executive Body

5.  Guide and assist the Executive in their portfolios 

6. Closely liaise with other hospital departments, senior members of surgical departments and all other relevant representative bodies of the medical community 

Applicant: Saimurooban Muralidaran

"As a new addition to the Western Surgical Society committee, I would be interested in applying for the role of Vice President which predominantly requires me to support other members of the committee with their tasks. As such, it would allow me to understand the inner workings of the society, enabling me to take a more active role as I become comfortable within the committee. It would also provide me with the opportunity to interact with the Department of Surgery and the Western Sydney Surgical Skills Network and develop ideas for the ongoing progress of the society. Furthermore, the role also focuses on wellbeing, an aspect of junior medical training that I am particularly passionate about, because I have come to understand that without first ensuring our own health and wellbeing, we would not be able to provide comprehensive care for our patients.  As an individual, I believe my enthusiasm and dedication would be a great asset to the committee. As well as this, I would bring a fresh perspective into the role which would be useful in furthering the society’s vision. Over time, I have developed the ability to keep my focus on the bigger picture while ensuring that finer details are attended to, an attribute that will be incredibly useful in the role of Vice President, overseeing the management of various subcommittees. Overall, I feel like these characteristics would make me a great candidate for this role."

The Vice President is also required to fulfill the role of the President if a situation arose wherein the President was unable to uphold their role. Therefore, the Vice President is required to work closely with the President and provide assistance as needed in order to fulfill the President role as needed. 

The Vice President overseas wellbeing within the Society and acts as the Wellbeing Officer for the Committee. The Vice President should support all committee members through their roles and be approachable to provide assistance within the society. 

The Vice President role includes but is not limited to: 

1. Assist the President in all duties and management of the society

2. To act as President in their absence 

3. Manage and guide all subcommittees

4. Develop, maintain and implement all subcommittee portfolios 

Applicant: Mike Wu

"As society secretary, I would keep things running smoothly and ensure all documentation and correspondence is performed meticulously. I bring an attention to detail and an ability to get along with everybody."

The secretarial role for the Westmead Surgical Society primarily involves administrative tasks such as organising and documenting for committee meetings, as well as distribution of emails/documents required for the smooth running of the Society. Whilst mostly administrative, it is a relatively low intensity position, allowing you to contribute and assist others in the executive committee, or pursue your own ideas about how to grow the Society. 

The Secretary role includes but is not limited to:

1. Responsible for the general administration of the society; this includes organising and coordinating meetings and keeping minutes

2. Works closely with other committee members to organise and coordinate society events and initiatives

3.  Manages society correspondence 

4. Works with Media and Communications Officer to manage Society Facebook page, Instagram and Website 

Applicant #1: Rowan Klein Nulend

"I have a passion for education, and experience in both coordination of teaching, as well as private/group tutoring. Coming into resident year and hoping to build towards surgical PGY3 jobs, I am very keen to become more involved with WSS. Happy to discuss further or to be considered for other roles also."

Applicant #2: Christopher Bell

"I am interested in this position. I have been involved in various surgical education events during PGY1 year, both as an attendee and as an organiser e.g. Surg / Radiology Scan club, SRMO interview practice, attending GSSE and general tutorials help by SRMOs, etc. I found my involvement in these events rewarding and feel as a PGY1 I learned a lot from the teaching provided. I would like to continue to give this opportunity to my fellow RMO/JMOs next year, and I feel this position would facilitate this. Thanks for your consideration!"

The Education Officer is a vital part of the Society team and is directly responsible for the continuing education and professional development of WSS through weekly teaching, research and mentoring opportunities 

Included in the role are tasks such as: 

1. Helping recruit and advertise for any existing/available teaching posts for unaccredited trainees

2. Helping advertise and coordinate current existing education initiatives. For example:

   • Consultant led – Tuesday 0700am teaching, Wednesday afternoon trauma teaching

   • Unaccredited Trainee led – GSSE teaching, Wednesday night Surgical Skills JMO teaching 

   • Organise yearly SET information night 

   • Organising currently running mentorship programs 

3. Liaising with Medical Schools to help establish opportunities for medical student teaching, lectures and events (e.g. suture workshops, OSCEs) 

4. Helping gather information/being attuned to the education and teaching needs for all WSS members in order to guide the creation and development of further initiatives 

Whilst this is a busy role requiring ongoing effort and dedication, it provides you with an excellent opportunity to build positive working relationships with your colleagues and senior staff.

Applicant: TBD

The Events and Charity Officer oversees the organisation, promotion and execution of all social events within the Society as well as actively organising various charitable events throughout the clinical year. 

The Events and Charity Officer role includes but is not limited to:

1. Responsible for the organisation of all social, charity and fundraising events within the Westmead Surgical Society calendar. 

2. Co-ordinates the creation of event-specific organising teams.

3. Provides support, guidance and oversees event-specific organising teams.

4. Promote and publicise all events with the communication and medical officer.

5. Liaises closely with charity groups and maintains a working relationship between charity groups and WSS 

Applicant: Sonia Nair

"I would love to get involved in the surgical society, specifically as communications and media officer, as I can bring my previous experience in coding and web design to the society, as well as collaborating with others to promote society events.   I previously have had a similar role throughout med school, and really enjoyed the collaborative experience with other members of the society! I was responsible for creating the society website, maintaining the Facebook message board, and assisting other members with promotion of events.  I would like to build on the previous work done by past council members and bring in new ideas to continue to push the society forward in a positive direction.   Also very keen to make some cool looking posters for next year :D"

The role of the Communications and Media Officer is to oversee the social media accounts (Facebook page and Instagram account), respond to enquiries made on the social media platforms and generate content to be posted on these platforms to promote various social, education and charitable events. The role further involves the maintenance of the Westmead Surgical Society website (https://surgsoc.westsurgtraining.net/home). This role involves closely working with the Education Officer and the Events and Charity Officer, as well as the general committee.

Role includes:

1. Responsible for distribution of information to society members and the general public

2. Creation and management of all social media accounts

3. Design and ongoing maintenance of official website

4. Promote events in conjunction with other Committee members 

Applicant: Bayan Minasian

"I would like to apply for the Treasurer position as I believe this role serves one of the important functions of the society as a whole, by helping facilitate and execute proposed education and social events, whilst also managing budget limitations and funding, through teamwork with other society members. I have served as a Treasurer previously in the UNSW Medical School Society and the UNSW Surgical Society and I believe I will be able to effectively contribute to this role having been familiar with many of the operating systems and requirements of previous roles. I am eager to contribute further to Westmead’s strong Surgical Network culture by working alongside other society members through the Treasurer position."

The treasurer role is a very important role within the Society and has been a great learning experience. Main responsibilities include overseeing all fiscal input and outputs of the Society. By doing, you will interact with other leaders within the Society to guide and support the Society’s multiple endeavours. Fiscal accountability, transparency and efficacy of the Society plays a big role which means developing important administrative skills and identifying potential savings and sources of income to allow the Society to operate at the most economically efficacious manner. A key aspect also involves developing future strategies to ensure the Society continues to be economically viable. 

The Treasurer role includes but are not limited to:

1. Ensure fiscal accountability, transparency and efficiency of Westmead Surgical Society (WSS)

2. Administrative duties relating to the finances of the Society, including reimbursements, sale of merchandise, the use of money for regular activities and generating invoices on behalf of WSS.

3. Coordinates bank account provision, taxation compliance and audit. The treasurer is an official signatory of the WSS bank account.

4. Oversee and audit the finances of all WSS committees.

5. Produce yearly financial reports that must be available to all members and affiliated parties