AOA 2024 Emerging Leaders Forum (ELF)

Carrie Lobb and Ritwik Kejriwal recently attended the AOA 2024 Emerging Leaders Forum (ELF), they reported back to us after a fantastic few days and highly recommend this forum to others who are looking at leadership positions.

We arrived in Melbourne unsure of what to expect and found the course thought provoking and inspiring.  The course started with the emphasis that all surgeons are leaders in our day to day roles and the importance of our participation in hospital hierarchy and management is integral to improving patient care.

Leadership topics included purposeful leadership, inspiring and influencing change, empowering teams and followership, effective communication, conflict management, how to be collaborative, with insight in improving inclusion of indigenous leadership, and the benefits of diversity.  There were also a series of outstanding talks on fostering successful business models including the pearls and pitfalls of technology on the rise such as AI, and how to embrace it safely. We explored leadership in education, health advocacy and also discussed the importance of wellness in leadership.

The esteemed and impressive panel were approachable and keen to mentor the attendees, and it was a great weekend for networking with our Australian cousins, surrounded by the renowned buzzing culture and food delicacies of Melbourne. 

We are both very grateful to NZOA and AOA for this opportunity, and highly recommend the course to those considering future leadership positions, but the course is excellent for providing tools in managing daily challenges as a surgeon as well.

Carrie Lobb and Ritwik Kejriwal