Emerging Leaders Forum (ELF) 2024
Break-off brainstorming sessions at the 2019 ELF in Sydney.
The ELF provides an opportunity to support the development of future leaders in the health sector and to nurture relationships with early-career members of our own (and other) invited surgical societies. This premium event is a chance for delegates to be inspired by guest speakers from a variety of backgrounds and network with colleagues and experts from the broader health sector.
Delegates are nominated to attend the ELF based on specified criteria. It is comprised of orthopaedic nominees from every AOA state branch, our trainee association (AORA) and Orthopaedic Women’s Link (OWL), as well as nominees from kindred surgical groups, such as the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association, the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand, the Australian Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia and the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association.
AOA members interested in being nominated or presenting at a future ELF are encouraged to contact aoa@aoa.org.au
Dates and timings
The ELF is an annual event and rotates around the states/territories. To date, six ELFs have successfully run from 2014 to 2019. With a short hiatus due to the pandemic, the ELF is back for 2024 and annually hereafter.
ELF 2024
When: 10.30am-late Friday 28 June
9am-4.15pm Saturday 29 June
Where:
Melbourne CBD
Ian Incoll
Conjoint Professor,
School of Medicine and Public Health,
University of Newcastle
Adrian Cosenza
AOA CEO
Keynote speakers
Prof Flavia Senkubuge
Prof Peter Choong
Anne Garlick
Matt Hanrahan
Michael Johnson
Viren Naik
Jason Frank
Keynote speaker bios
Professor Flavia Senkubuge is the acting deputy vice-chancellor and vice-principal student life and deputy dean stakeholders at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa. She is a medical doctor and specialist in public health medicine with a PhD in public health and an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School, UK. She is the 20th president of the Colleges of Medicine South Africa (CMSA) and the first black woman to hold the position. The CMSA is the apex body of medicine in South Africa.
She is the current chair of the WHO/Afro-region African Advisory Council on Research and Development (AACHRD), president of Women in Global Health (WGH) South Africa and interim vice-president of the East Central and Southern African (ECSA) College of Public Health Medicine. She is a fellow of the prestigious Kofi Annan Global Health Leadership program and was recognised as one of 50 powerful women in South Africa by the Mail and Guardian’s Power of Women in 2021. In 2022 she was recognised by Harvard Public Health as one of the 25 standout voices in African public health.
Professor Peter Choong, a distinguished leader of surgery, education, and research, is the Sir Hugh Devine professor of surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, head of the University of Melbourne Department of Surgery and associate dean of Innovation and Enterprise in the Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences.
Professor Choong has shaped the landscape of orthopaedic and orthopaedic oncology surgery for decades. His dedication to patient care and clinical excellence is exemplified through his leadership of the Bone and Soft Tissue Tumour Service at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Department of Orthopaedics at St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, and as President of the Australian Orthopaedic Association (2014).
With an academic and leadership journey spanning Australia, Sweden, and the United States, Professor Choong's vast experience enriches his multifaceted contributions ranging from fundamental science and bioengineering, to surgical technique and clinical epidemiology. A recipient of numerous accolades, Professor Choong was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2022 for distinguished service to orthopaedic medicine, to research and tertiary medical education, and to professional associations.
Anne is a recognised leader in technology and cyber risk management and has led and delivered transformational technology and business change during her career. She achieves these outcomes through strong people leadership whilst leveraging a risk mindset. Anne helps others understand the increasing complexity of the digital, cyber, and regulatory risk landscapes. A particular passion is promoting the development of an inclusive work environment with a strong focus on gender and cultural diversity.
Anne has experience working with boards both within financial services and as an independent director of education organisations. She is a director of volunteering on the Central Coast Committee and a current member of the Australian Orthopaedic Association Board Audit and Risk Committee, the Macquarie University Board Audit and Risk Committee and Information Technology Management Committee. She is a past director of the Central Coast Grammar School where she held the roles of deputy board chair and chair of the ICT subcommittee.
Anne has a Masters of Management from Macquarie Graduate School of Management and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Matt Hanrahan is a highly accomplished healthcare executive and is currently the CEO of Healthe Care. Healthe Care is private hospital organisation, which operates across 18 sites in NSW, VIC, and TAS.
Before joining Healthe Care, Matt served as the deputy national chief executive officer at Calvary Health Care. Throughout his career, Matt has held several senior management positions in various healthcare organisations, both in the public and private sectors. Notably, Matt has served as the chief executive of Central Coast Local Health District (NSW Health), where he demonstrated exceptional leadership skills in managing the district, overseeing the delivery of high-quality healthcare services to the local community. In addition, he also served as the CEO of General Practice NSW.
Matt's educational achievements also reflect his commitment to excellence in healthcare management. He holds a Masters in Health Administration and a Bachelor of Applied Science, allowing him to integrate scientific principles with practical healthcare management strategies. Furthermore, Matt is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Dr Viren Naik serves the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) as its CEO, after serving as its chief assessment officer. He is a professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and has over 25 years of experience as an educator, researcher, and leader.
In 2001, Dr Naik obtained a Masters of Education from the University of Toronto, and a fellowship in education from The Wilson Centre for Research in Education. Following his training, Dr Naik was recruited to St. Michael’s Hospital, where he started a research fellowship program in simulation, and three years later, he was appointed medical director of the Allan Waters’ Family Patient Simulation Centre.
In 2009, he was recruited from the University of Toronto to establish the University of Ottawa Skills and Simulation Centre (uOSSC) as the inaugural medical director. Dr Naik has focused his career on the integration of simulation into CanMEDS for postgraduate education and continuing professional development. He has over 140 peer reviewed publications and grants, and in 2007 and 2013, received honour awards from the Canadian Anaesthesiologists' Society.
Between 2014 and 2017, he served as vice president in education for the Ottawa Hospital, one of the busiest academic health sciences centre in Canada. Between 2017 and 2022, Dr Naik served as the director of assessment for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the R.S. McLaughlin Professor of Medical Education at the University of Ottawa, and oversaw the credentialing of specialist training and the assessment, including examinations, for all medical specialties in Canada.
Dr Jason Frank is a clinician-educator focusing on all aspects of health professions training.
He is a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine as well as an attending physician at the Ottawa Hospital. He currently serves as the founding director for the Centre for Innovation in Medical Education at UOttawa (cIMED). Formerly, he worked as the director of specialty education, strategy, and standards in the office of specialty education at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Born in rural northern Canada, Jason obtained his MD from the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine and an FRCPC in Emergency Medicine at the University of Toronto. His masters of education is from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. He is known for his work on all aspects of medical education, particularly the CanMEDS Project since 1994, and as one of the pioneers of competency-based medical education (CBME). He is the founder and chair of the International CBME Collaborators consortium and the Competence By Design project. He has contributed to health professions systems worldwide.
A past finalist for Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, he has been recognized for his contributions to medicine and teaching. He is the recipient of the 2013 Council Award honouring outstanding physicians, from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and was made an honorary fellow of the Australian Orthopaedic Association in 2015 for his contributions to surgical education. In 2020, he was given the Ian Hart Award by the Association for Medical Education in Europe, one of the highest international honours for contributions to health professions education.
Michael currently serves as the president of the Australian Orthopaedic Association and previously, president of the Spine Society of Australia. Michael is the chair and principle investigator of the Australian Spine Registry.
Michael obtained his fellowship of the Australasian College of Surgeons in orthopaedic surgery in 1986, marking the beginning of his career. Between 1986 and 1989, Michael sought further spine surgery training at prestigious institutions across the world, including Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London. To build on his knowledge, he also completed additional fellowships in Germany and the United States.
After returning to Melbourne in 1989, Michael dedicated his practice exclusively to spinal surgery, particularly the treatment of deformity and degenerative conditions of the thoracic and lumbar spine.
What's on?
- A two-day forum with a cocktail hour and networking dinner on day one.
- Cabaret-style seating.
- A mix of presentations, panel discussions, group activities, guest interviews, debate-style sessions, networking, and team building opportunities.
Themes
Day one
- The art of purposeful leadership
- Leadership, effective teams and followship
- The foundation of conflict and effective communication
- Artificial intelligence in the modern world
- Indigenous leadership perspectives
- Fostering a successful business and practice
Day two
- Team building and working in teams
- Leadership and clinical governance
- Medical leadership – 'From the dark side to centre stage'
- Advocacy and leadership
- Understanding of how leadership interacts with organisational responsibility
- International perspectives on leadership
- Wellness in leadership
- The great debate — 'Leaders are made and not born'
Sponsors
AOA values the contribution of our sponsors of the ELF which make it possible for this event to run.
Major industry sponsors:
Trade exhibition sponsors:
Dinner sponsor:
A dinner sponsor position is available with a range of sponsor benefits. For more information, contact aoa@aoa.org.au
Are you a business interested in sponsorship of the 2025 or future ELF? Contact
aoa@aoa.org.au