UWA Clinical Training and Evaluation Centre (CTEC) Chief Technician and 2022 Fay Gale Fellowship recipient Shellen Redman was recently inducted as the sole WA member of the General Committee for the Australasian Institute of Anatomical Sciences (AIAS).
UWA graduate Shellen, who holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Science, said she was excited to be inducted as a member and looked forward to representing UWA and Western Australia in contributing to the direction of the AIAS.
Shellen was appointed to the AIAS General Committee after UWA’s Fay Gale Fellowship provided her with the means to attend and present at the December 2022 AIAS Conference at The University of Queensland.
The Conference was attended by a cross-section of Anatomy professional staff across Australia and New Zealand including technicians, embalmers, bequest secretaries, program managers and allied staff. CTEC Technician and fellow UWA graduate Nathan Brouwer joined Shellen and a representative from Murdoch University in flying the flag for Western Australia at the Conference.
“This unique meeting afforded Nathan and I an invaluable opportunity to learn, share and network amongst technical staff, in the first AIAS face to face Conference held since 2018,” said Shellen.
“Attendees shared updates within their Anatomy Schools or Faculties, shared solutions to professional situations, discussed the challenges of managing busy multidisciplinary laboratory spaces and the ways in which anatomical teaching can remain current and relevant.
“As Chief Technician of CTEC it provided an important opportunity to remain abreast of advancements occurring in anatomical and surgical teaching Australia-wide and throughout the region. CTEC is fortunate to be the major recipient of the generous bequests made to The University of Western Australia’s Body Donation Program, the only program of its kind in WA. I look forward to utilising the knowledge I gained in CTEC’s medical and surgical teaching programs for Western Australian medical professionals.”
More than 50,000 medical professionals have trained at CTEC since it was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000. Situated within The University of Western Australia’s Medical School, and supported by the Department of Health WA, CTEC is acknowledged as an Australasian hub of medical training and simulation knowledge.
In 2022 alone CTEC trained more than 2000 medical professionals across 140 training workshops.
CTEC Director Professor Jeffrey Hamdorf said it was pleasing that a representative from CTEC and The University of Western Australia was in a position to contribute to the peak regional body in technical anatomical sciences.
“In turn, Shellen’s role on the AIAS’ General Committee will serve to strengthen CTEC and The University of Western Australia’s position at the forefront of regional developments and best practice in anatomical and surgical teaching,” he said.
Shellen said the Conference culminated in a joint Conference day with the Australian and New Zealand Association of Clinical Anatomists (ANZACA). She and Nathan attended two practical workshops focused on anatomy teaching and technical skills.
“Both workshops were extremely informative and engaging. My experience as a Fay Gale Fellow really brought home to me the incredible opportunity afforded to Nathan and I professionally and the respect we feel for those who so generously donate to UWA’s Bequest Program. The donors make an incredibly invaluable contribution to the advancement of surgical, anatomical and clinical education in our State.”