About Us

Austin Northern Surgical Association  

 

ANSA is the trainee-led association of the Austin-Northern Surgical training hub.

 

ANSA, formerly known as the Austin Surgical Trainees Education Commitee (ASTEC), was established in 2016, which has since grown to incorporate our Northern trainees in its expanding community.

The committee was created initially as a means to fulfil three main roles:

 

  • Provide a platform to foster non-technical competences espoused by the RACS, such as communication, collaboration and teamwork, management of leadership, professionalism and ethics, health advocacy, and scholarship and teaching.
  • Generate a consciousness of charity and instill the ethos of giving back to the community from which trainees benefited.
  • Develop a counter-balance to surgical supervisors by creating a community of trainees that would advocate for trainees and hold the future supervisors and institutions accountable

ANSA has since grown into a vibrant community with now over 50 active members from JDOCS to SET trainees. In addition to its primary roles aforementioned, the agenda for 2021 includes:

  • Welcome Session
  • Education Program: comprehensive program which includes tutorials, simulations, Fellow Exam Preparation Workshop
  • SET application workshop and interview practice
  • Access to private assisting opportunities
  • Gratias Cena dinner

We welcome all to the ANSA community.

For more information or if you had any questions, please contact us.

Meet the Team

Chair

Tess Howard

Dr Tess Howard is a SET 4/5 general surgical registrar with an interest in upper GI, breast, and emergency general surgery. She dedicated towards surgical education and teaching and has previously been on the ANSA committee in 2022 as one of the educational officers and in 2023 as the deputy chair.

She has 2 children, a 6 month old and a 3 year old, and is a passionate advocate for women in surgery, flexible training and surgical parents.

Outside of medicine, she enjoys spending time with her family, their two sheep dogs and developing her dream “inner city farm” home.

Deputy Chair

Sonia Gill

Dr Sonia Gill is a GSET2 surgical registrar with a keen interest in colorectal surgery & surgical service provision in regional/rural communities. She is passionate about global health, stemming from a trauma elective in South Africa; trainee well-being & surgical education of junior doctors and medical students. As the co-chair of VERITAS 2022, Sonia is also a strong advocate for collaborative trainee-led research. Outside of the hospital, Sonia enjoys cooking, spin classes & travelling the globe.

Treasurer

Abid Khan

Dr Abid Khan is a SET 4 general surgical registrar with a strong interest in colorectal, emergency general surgery and trauma. He enjoys teaching and thoroughly enjoys the opportunity to teach and guide medical students particularly those with a strong interest in surgery. One day he hopes to bring back his skills and knowledge to the Western Region to give back to the area in which he grew up in.

Outside of medicine, he enjoys playing squash, travelling, watching musicals and plays and playing games, riddles and quizzes. He loves escape rooms having done over 40 and still counting!

Secretary

Carlos Cabalag

Dr. Carlos Cabalag is a SET 5 registrar currently rotating through the Northern Hospital. He has a strong interest in Upper GI surgical oncology and is passionate about bench-to-bedside clinical translational research. In his free time, he enjoys swimming and eating out with his family. 

Sponsorship Officers

Roshini Nadaraja

Dr Roshini Nadaraja is a GSET 2 surgical registrar with special interest in rural and colorectal surgery. She spent one year rotating through Northwest Regional Hospital as a NSET trainee in 2020/2021. She advocates for work life balance and prioritises mental well-being in surgical training.

Outside work, she enjoys being active with activities such as cycling, hiking, running and swimming and has recently ventured into the journey of becoming a triathlete!

Gratias Cena Convenors

Sonia Gill

Amar Lakhani

Nastassia Schulmann

Dr Sonia Gill is a GSET1 surgical registrar with a keen interest in colorectal surgery & surgical service provision in regional/rural communities. She is passionate about global health, stemming from a trauma elective in South Africa; trainee well-being & surgical education of junior doctors and medical students. As the co-chair of VERITAS 2022, Sonia is also a strong advocate for collaborative trainee-led research. Outside of the hospital, Sonia enjoys cooking, spin classes & travelling the globe.

Dr Amar Lakhani is currently a GSET1 surgical registrar at Austin and Northern Health services. He has a keen interest in emergency and bariatric surgery which he hopes to pursue in the future. Amar has demonstrated his passion for teaching and education as the educational officer for ANSA in 2022. Furthermore he has a strong research background being involved in numerous collaborative trainee-led research projects. In his spare time you will find Amar on the golf course, walking his dog or with his camera as he travels the world.

Dr Nastassia Shulman is an unaccredited general surgery registrar working at Austin Health.
Nastassia was previously one of the education officers for ANSA and enjoys being involved in medical student teaching, as well as concurrently completing a masters in surgery.
Outside of medicine she enjoys swimming, travelling and spending time with her beautiful dog.

Subcommittee

Education Officers – Northern Hospital 

  • Candy Cheng – Rotation 1
  • TBD – Rotation 2

Education Officers – Austin Health

  • Frank Uo – Rotation 1
  • TBD – Rotation 2

Fellowship Exam Coordinator

  • TBD

RACSTA Representative

  • Nick Lyons

Alumni Coordinator 

  • TBD

Social Media Coordinator

  • Harleen Aurora

Website / IT Officer

  • Wae Jamel

Laminas Editors

  • Samantha Wong
  • Maneesha De Silva

Membership Officers

  • Hamza Ashraf

Welfare Officer 

  • Tiffany Cherry
  • Zee Kuah

GSA Representative

  • TBD

Private Surgical Assistant Coordinator 

  • Sara Mohammed Jinnaah
  • Tony Kao

NSET Selective Interview Practice

  • Candyce Cheng
  • Sonia Gill