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
Matthew Ng
Matthew Ng is a post-exams SET5 surgical registrar currently working at Bendigo Health. He has interests in colorectal surgery and oncoplastic breast surgery, and is looking to explore these interests through fellowships in the future.
He is passionate in improving and expanding the scope and activities of ANSA and is actively working to improve the success and welfare of the trainees of the Austin Northern Training Hub.
Outside of medicine, he enjoys playing badminton and has previously played viola with Corpus Medicorum, the doctor’s orchestra of Melbourne.
Co-Deputy Chair
Georgina Riddough
Dr. Georgina Riddough is a surgical registrar who recently completed a PhD in tumour recurrence in the regenerating liver post hepatectomy.
George is passionate about clinical research, surgical education and in the future hopes to see ANSA expand its role in trainee wellbeing.
George recently spoke to The Time Out podcast about all things surgery including flexible working arrangements for all surgical trainees.
Co-Deputy Chair
Steve Kunz
Dr. Steve Kunz is a senior general surgical trainee with an interest in upper GI/thoracic surgery, trauma, critical care and surgical education. He is a clinical lecturer with the University of Melbourne, RACS EMST instructor, and has taught in Timor Leste.
He has undertaken successful research projects in optimising critical surgical outcomes, trauma education in medical students, and the epidemiology of pancreatitis. He is also passionate about improving the wellbeing of trainees as they progress, and is a staunch advocate of flexible training.
Outside of work he enjoys cooking, rock-climbing, and spending time with his cats (and spouse).
Treasurer
Zarif Yahya
Dr. Zarif Yahya is the current Deputy Chair of ANSA and a SET 5 general registrar. He is one of the colorectal registrars at the Austin, doing flexible training in 2021. He is an advocate for trainee well-being and worklife balance in surgical training.
Outside of surgery he enjoys running, playing soccer and spending time with his wife and 4 year old daughter.
Secretary
Nelson Chen
Dr. Nelson Chen the current Secretary of ANSA and a SET 4 general surgical registrar. He will be rotating through Northern Hospital and Echuca Regional Health throughout 2022.
Outside of medicine he enjoys playing badminton, exploring places to eat and has an interest in photography.
Sponsorship Officers
Candyce Cheng
Patrick Tang
Dr Patrick Tang is a NSET surgical trainee, c0-leading our sponsorship team this year.
Gratias Cena Convenors
Sonia Gill
Roshini Nadarajah
Sara Mohammed Jinnaah
Dr Sonia Gill is a pre-SET 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 & medical 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.
In her free time, Sonia enjoys cooking, running, F45 training & pole fitness.
Dr Roshini Nadaraja is a NSET 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!
Dr. Sara Jinnaah is SET3 General Surgical Registrar. Currently working with the Vascular Unit at the Austin Hospital. She is interested in Trauma surgery, Teaching and Trainee wellbeing.
Outside of work, Sara enjoys the constant entertainment of parenting a 5 year old, travelling and tea (the beverage)!
Subcommittee
Education Officers – Northern Hospital
- Matt Marino – 1st half
- Nastassia Shulman – 1st half
- Tess Howard – 2nd half
- David Chung – 2nd half
Education Officers – Austin Health
- Daniel Cox – 1st half
- Amar Lakhani – 1st half
- Basilie Teoh – 2nd half
- Maneesha de Silva
Fellowship Exam Coordinator
- TBD
RACSTA Representative
- Nick Lyons
Alumni Coordinator
- TBD
Social Media Coordinator
- Frank Luo
- Hamish Morgan
Website / IT Officer
- Abid Khan
Laminas Editors
- Simon Bennett
- Tatiana Hitchen
Membership Officers
- Victoria Jenkins
- Wael Jamel
Welfare Officer
- Dora Huang
- Maneka Britto
GSA Representative
- Jason Wong
Private Surgical Assistant Coordinator
- Carlos Cabalag
- Hein Maung
NSET Selective Interview Practice
- Candyce Cheng
- Sonia Gill
