The 55th RANZCO Scientific Congress attracted more than 2,200 attendees (1,841 in person, including 1,390 delegates, and 164 online) from a record 32 countries. The highlight for a handful and their families, however, was the annual graduation ceremony at the impressive Adelaide Oval.
Amid gowns galore, 39 new fellows were welcomed to the college’s ranks, including 33 through the vocational training programme, five via the Specialist International Medical Graduate Pathway and one international fellow – Dr David Lubeck, assistant clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, Chicago – through the College’s Ophthalmologist of Eminence pathway. Of the new vocational trainees, three were from New Zealand: Drs Nishanthan Ramachandran, Joanne Teong and Zea Munro.
As well as welcoming new graduates, the ceremony provided the perfect platform for the RANZCO presidential baton to be handed from outgoing president Dr Grant Raymond to new president Professor Peter McCluskey. Other awards and accolades presented at the 2024 congress included:
