Regional wrap – June 2024

The ACT Rotational Training Scheme hosted its annual week-long orientation session again this year from 5-9 February. This hands-on orientation week has gone from strength-to-strength over recent years and is a distinct highlight of the ACT rotational scheme. Scheduled in-hours from 5-9 February, the orientation week was delivered by more than 20 individual consultants, with support from senior registrars and anaesthetic nurses as well.

The program was diverse, incorporating the Introduction to Anaesthesia Training (IAT) course (with substantial input from the ASA), introduction to the Department [of Anaesthesia] and physical orientation of the theatres/hospital, acute pain, communication, obstetrics, perioperative medicine, safe insertion of central lines and an introduction to the primary exam. In addition, there were hands-on sessions for airway management, ALS and machine checks, assisting trainees to get a head start on their WBAs.

The week concluded with a social event sponsored by the ASA. The following week, a formal orientation to North Canberra Hospital rounded out the program. The orientation week helps our new trainees settle into the training program and new hospital, whilst simultaneously building meaningful friendships between the new registrars. Feedback from the trainees was excellent.

Following the nomination and election period in February, we warmly welcome our 2024-2026 ACT Regional Committee members as shown below:

• Dr Jennifer Hartley, Chair
• Dr Martin Dempsey, Deputy Chair
• Dr Natalie Marshall, Elected member
• Dr Adam Eslick, Elected member (Education Officer)
• Dr Niketh Kuruvilla, Elected member (Continuing Medical Education Officer)
• Dr Elizabeth Merenda, Elected member
• Dr Manasi Rai, Elected member (Safety and Quality Officer)
• Dr Cristy Rowe, Chair ACT Trainee Committee
• Dr Romil Jain, Co-opted member (Faculty of Pain Medicine representative)
• Dr Orysia Sandry, Co-opted member (Accreditation Officer)
• Dr Girish Palnitkar, ASA ACT representative
• Dr Amy Julian, Co-opted member (Regional representative)
• Dr Nathan Oates, Co-opted member (Regional representative)
• Dr Barbara Robertson, Co-opted member (Regional representative)

Save the date for ACT Art of Anaesthesia meeting to be held on Saturday 23 November 2024 at the National Convention Centre Canberra. This year we welcome new co-convenors Dr Niketh Kuruvilla and Dr Michael Li.
 
More information will be available in July 2024.
 

Please save the date for the following 2024 ACT events:

• 2024 Art of Anaesthesia meeting: 23 November

The 2024 NSW ACE Winter Meeting "Anaesthetic Riches: Pearls and Gems" took place on Saturday 15 June at the Hilton Hotel Sydney. Attended by over 280 delegates, this CME meeting was one of NSW biggest in recent years.


Feedback from delegates that attended the meeting and Health Care Industry sponsors that exhibited at the meeting has been extremely positive, with many thanks to go to the meeting Co-Convenors Dr Natalie Purcell and Dr Sharon Tivey for delivering a vibrant program with an amazing lineup of presenters and workshop facilitators.
 

The Dr Andrew Couch Memorial Award is awarded to a resident, registrar, provisional fellow or fellow within one year of admission to Fellowship of ANZCA, who has been involved in an audit or original research related to Anaesthesia within their workplace.

Following the outstanding presentations at the 2024 NSW ACE Winter Meeting on Saturday 15 June 2024, the 2024 Dr Andrew Couch Memorial Award has been awarded to Dr James Isaac for his presentation “Impact of frailty on inpatient outcomes and pain management in older patients with isolated rib fractures: a prospective study (CHiEF Study - Chest Injury in the Elderly Frail)”. 

Events

• 9 -10 November 2024 – NSW ACE Spring Meeting, Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort, Hunter Valley

Courses

• 23 September to 7 October 2024 - NSW Primary practice viva night
• 30 September to 18 October 2024 - NSW Final practice viva nights
• 26 October 2024 - Introduction to Anaesthesia
• 25 to 29 November 2024 - NSW Primary exam refresher course
• 2-6 December 2024 - New South Wales Final exam refresher course 2024

On behalf of the ANZCA Queensland team, we would like to say a massive thank you to the new course convenor Dr Anoop Jain for taking the lead at his first Primary weekend viva on 27 and 28 April 2024. It was certainly a successful two-day course! We would like to also extend our gratitude to the candidates and the examiners Dr Helen Davies, Dr James Derrick, Dr Kate McCall, Dr Laura Staples, Dr Anthony Fajumi, Dr David Hung, Dr Scott Smith, Dr Sonia Vaughan, Dr Vedha Balasubramaniyam, Dr Karen Joseph, Dr Babitha Basappa, Dr Catie Norton, and Dr Carradene Taylor for their time, effort and support for the course.
 
There were 22 candidates who registered for the course over Saturday and Sunday and the feedback was well received. Thank you once again to all who were involved in this course.From left to right: 2024.1 QLD primary viva weekend course mock examiners: Dr James Derrick, Dr Babitha Basappa, Dr Helen Davies, Dr Anthony Fajumi and Dr Anoop Jain (new course convenor).

Dr Helen Davis and Dr Carradene Taylor


2024.1 QLD primary viva weekend Course Convenor, Mock Examiners and candidates with the QLD Regional Coordinator Mr Karan Shah.
 

The primary and final practice viva nights kicked off successfully with a total of 53 and 71 candidates respectively. On behalf of ANZCA Qld team, we would like to thank Timothy Kruger from MDA National for providing pizzas to share with all trainees and mock examiners. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Dr Joyce Leung (Primary viva convenor) and Dr Tyson Jones (Final viva convenor) for their immense help and effort in preparation for these viva nights.

 
Final practice viva night lead by Dr Tyson Jones (seated on the right) and Primary practice viva night lead by Dr Joyce Leung (seated on bottom right).

The Qld primary lecture program series 1, 2024 had its last session on 15 June 2024. This year we had a combined total of 106 candidates registered for the series, 40 in person and 67 remote attendees. The feedback was well received from all attendees from the sessions we have had so far, and we would like to extend our gratitude to our presenters for their wonderful contribution to our program. Registration is still open for the Qld primary lecture program series 2.

The first part of the primary exam refresher course took place on Monday 3 June to Friday 7 June at the Qld regional office with 36 trainees in attendance. This short course wouldn’t be possible without the help and support of the 20 presenters,12 mock SAQ examiners and our convenor Dr Anthony Hade who gave up their time to present and prepare for the course. Our deepest gratitude to all who came and supported the course.
 
The infamous game prepared by Dr Anthony Hade “Sale of the Price is Fortune”, a Pictionary-like game show has been a big hit with many trainees enthusiastically participated in this segment daily. The short-answer question (SAQ) bootcamp that Dr Anthony Hade prepared for each morning were also well received by the trainees. The course ended with the SAQ mock exam followed by an “after-party” at the Good Good Café. All the mock exam papers have been scanned and sent the wonderful 12 mock examiners for marking.

  
Dr Anthony Hade (convenor), Dr Steven Hocken (presenter), Dr Browyn Thomas (presenter and former convenor)

 
Trainees enjoying a charcuterie board and Aperol drinks and group photo with the trainees, Dr Anthony Hade (Course convenor) and Mr Karan Shah (Qld Regional Coordinator).

CME events

• FPM Queensland August evening meeting, "Social Prescribing: Breaking The Mould", 26 August 2024
• Queensland ACE October evening meeting, “Case base discussion series”, 17 October 2024

Primary courses

• ​Queensland primary lecture program, series 2, 13 July – 9 November 2024
• Queensland primary virtual practice viva, 9 September and 3 October 2024
• Queensland primary practice viva, 11 September and 1 November 2024
• Queensland primary viva weekend course, 5-6 October 2024
• ​Queensland primary exam refresher course 2, 18-22 November 2024

Final courses

• Queensland final exam refresher course, 15-19 July 2024

The first SA ACE meeting for 2024 was held on 24 March with record numbers attending. Dr Paul McAleer, Dr Alison Brereton, Dr Ryan Bekeris and Dr Nagesh Nanjappa presented the topic ‘Anaphylaxis – a sensitive subject’.


Presenters: Dr Paul McAleer, Dr Alison Brereton, Dr Ryan Bekeris and Dr Nagesh Nanjappa

Enthusiasm for anaesthesia was high at the NT Medical Career Expo on 16 May. Students and prospective trainees were able to try their hand at intubating and basic airway manoeuvres, as well as get more familiar with ultrasound.

Attendees appreciated the hands-on approach while also learning about what life is like for ANZCA trainees in Darwin. Learning that up to three years of training can be spent in Darwin was very well received by locals.

The department is looking forward to welcoming everyone when we host the Australasian Society of Anaesthetists’ National Scientific Conference in Darwin in September. Many thanks to Sam Grace and Josh Tobin (SA/NT Trainee Committee Members) for representing anaesthesia training on the evening.

   
NT careers day

Weekly in-person exam preparation tutorials are held in Adelaide from February to November. The Part 1 primary tutorials are conducted every Wednesday afternoon at the ANZCA SA office. They are led by a consultant who often has a special interest in the topic of the week.

Part 2 final tutorials are held on Friday afternoons and are rotated at different teaching hospitals across Adelaide. Part 2 tutorials are often presented by several anaesthetists from the department, who often tag-team between their list and the training room.

We are extremely grateful to the course convenors, Part 1 (Dr Julia Cox and Dr Nick Harrington, with input from Dr Gary Tham) and Part 2 (Dr Rebecca John and Dr Ashok Jayaraj) and value all the amazing presenter volunteers who teach at these tutorials.
 

We would like to thank all the coordinators, volunteers and hospital departments who offered their time and expertise to give practice viva sessions to the trainees sitting the 2024.1 primary and final exams.

Registrations are now open for the SA Burnell-Jose ACE Conference which will be held on 19/20 October 2024 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Our international speakers include Dr Julian Thompson, Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine, Southmead Hospital Bristol and Dr Fahad Alam, Medical and Research Director, Simulation, Sunnybrook Canadian Simulation Centre.

On Saturday morning there will be an opportunity to choose from a variety of workshops which will be held onsite at the Adelaide Convention Centre. Our social activities also include a conference dinner on the Saturday night.  
 

Events
Burnell-Jose ACE Conference - 19/20 October, Adelaide Convention Centre

Courses
SA/NT part one long course, February - December 2024
SA/NT part two long course, February - December 2024

The recent election process has been finalised and our new Tasmanian Regional Committee Members have been confirmed as follows.

• Dr Bruce Newman
• Dr Jana Vitesnikova
• Dr Jeremy Sutton
• Dr Pravin Dahal
• Dr Ranjita Sharma
• Dr Kamal Kishore
• Dr Stuart Paterson
• Dr Dane Blackford

We would also like to formally thank our outgoing committee members who have given their time, expertise, and guidance during their terms with the Tasmania Regional Committee. 

The next Tasmania Regional Committee Meeting is scheduled for Thursday 4 July 2024 at 7pm.

The Tasmanian Trainee Committee has been formally formed. Please welcome:

• Dr Ellie Cash – Co-Chair
• Dr Matthew Holmes – Co-Chair
• Dr Tess Donoghue
• Dr Chris Etherington

The first meeting for the Tasmania Trainee Committee will be held within the coming weeks. Communication between fellows, trainees and the committee are encouraged. If you have any queries or concerns that you would like to discuss with a member of the Tasmania Trainee Committee, you are welcome to contact us via [email protected].

April through to June has been a busy time for the Tasmania office with signing off of building and electrical works, and completing the first tutorials in our new office space.

The Tasmanian Anaesthetic Teaching Program (TATP) has moved it tutorials to the ANZCA Office as it provides a multipurpose training space which perfect for this style of teaching.  Feedback from all facilitators has been 100% positive, even with the early technical issues.  Trainees and presenters have enjoyed being offsite from the hospitals and are looking forward to the inclusive Statewide options the facility will bring to our ANZCA trainees.

The first of these tutorials have been the cardiac anaesthesia tutorials completed between March and June.


Session one - Anaesthesia for complex cardiac disease - Dr Lia Freestone


Session two - Anaesthesia for cardiac surgery - Dr Lia Freestone

 
Session three - Cardiac Failure - Dr Audrey Bren and Dr Sandeep Sindu

Further tutorial sessions are planned for between June and September.
 

A practice viva session was completed the Launceston General Hospital on 11 May. This was excellently organised by Dr Jeremy Sutton and Dr Dan Huon.

ANZCA support enabled a statewide collaborative event for our trainees with consultants across the state giving up their Saturday morning to assist with finals preparation. Congratulations to all involved with a hundred per cent success rate.

2025 Annual Combined CME Weekend
Due to the 2025 AZURA conference being held in Hobart in March it has been decided to not proceed with our usual summer ACE meeting for 2025.
The meeting will instead be held as a winter meeting in Tasmania’s beautiful Northern region in June/July next year.

Information will be updated shortly regarding dates and venue for our 2025 Winter Scientific Meeting and workshops via the ANZCA event website and updated in the next regional wrap.

Elected every two years by Victorian fellows, the Victorian Regional Committee acts as a conduit between fellows in the region, and ANZCA Council. The newly elected committee had its first meeting on Monday 13 May. The elected members for 2024 include:

• Dr Lahiru Amaratunge
• Dr Adriana Bibbo
• Dr Lakmini De Silva
• Dr Tabara Dione
• Dr Dean Dimovski
• Dr Emma Goodyear
• Dr Michelle Horne
• Dr Kaylee Jordan
• Dr Nam Le
• Dr Martin Nguyen
• Dr Helen Roberts
• Dr Patrick Tan

If you would like to contact the Victorian Regional Committee, please email [email protected].

The Victorian Primary Exam Refresher course ran from Monday 20 May to Friday 31 May at ANZCA House, with 65 trainees registering to attend in person and 40 trainees online.

We would like to extend our thanks to our course convenor Dr Adam Skinner for his continuing support. We would also like to thank our course presenters for their dedication and support.

Final Refresher Course: Dr Peter Howe, Dr Sarah Brew, Dr Bianca Macula, Dr Colin Bense, Dr Lahiru Amaratunge, Dr Phil Peyton, Dr Abhay Umranikar, Dr James Koziol, Dr Brett Pearce, Dr Andrew Buettner, Dr Richard Ranger, Dr Brian Chee,  Dr Erin McCabe, Dr David Roche, Dr Gerard Harrop, Dr Frank Hsiao, Dr Adam Nettleton, Dr Adam Skinner, Dr Alister Ford, Dr Michael Tsiripillis, Dr Jason Chou, Dr Ian Mckenzie, Dr Tracy Jackson, Dr Andrew Talman, Dr Hugh Platt, Dr Aylin Seven, Dr Mincho Marriquin Harris, Dr Fred Rosewarne, Dr Sebastian Corlett, Dr Daniel Jolley.
 
 

• VIC Final Exam Refresher Course -  15 - 19 July
• VIC Final Anatomy Course - 22 July
• VIC Primary Exam Practice Viva - Various dates in September
• VIC Primary Exam Refresher Course - 18 - 29 November

2024 CME events – save the dates!

• 2024 Victorian ACE Meeting, Melbourne Winter Anaesthetic Meeting, Sofitel Melbourne on Collins, 27 - 28 July
• FPM CME Evening on Buprenorphine, 3 September

Please contact the VRC secretariat should you have any queries and/or to express interest in attending either of our courses/events.

Email: [email protected]
Ph: (03) 8517 5313

We welcome the new and continuing members of the WA Regional Committee. At the meeting of 21 May 2024, Dr Bridget Hogan was elected as Chair. Dr Hogan extended her thanks to the immediate past chair, Dr Marlene Johnson, for guiding the WARC during her tenure.

The WA Regional Committee members include:

• Dr Bridget Hogan, Chair
• Dr Suze Bruins, Deputy Chair (New Fellow Representative)
• Dr Lisa Alarcon, Elected member
• Dr Peter Garnett, Elected member (Welfare Officer)
• Dr Owen Gray, Elected member
• Dr Chloe Heath, Elected member (Quality and Safety Officer)
• Dr Charlie Ho, Elected member (CME Officer)
• Dr Jodie Jamieson, Elected member
• Dr Marlene Johnson, Elected member
• Dr Aria Lokon, Elected member
• Dr Rohan Mahendran, Elected member
• Dr Claudia von Peltz, Elected member
• Dr Dave Story, Ex officio member
• Dr Joel Adams,Co-opted member (TAC Representative)
• Dr Alex Bennett, Co-opted member (SIMG Representative)
• Dr Alan Ch'ng, Co-opted member (Education Officer)
• Dr David Holthouse, Co-opted member (Chair, FPM WA Regional Committee)
• Dr Archie Shrivathsa, Co-opted member (ASA WA representative)
• Dr Rebecca Wood, Co-opted member (Co-chair, WA Trainee Committee)
• Dr Sarah O'Brien, Co-opted member (Co-chair, WA Trainee Committee)

If you would like to contact the WA Regional Committee, please email wa@anzca.edu.au.

We welcome Dr Xiao Liang as the new Rotational Officer for WA, and Dr Nikki Hayward as Deputy Rotational Officer. We congratulate Dr Hayward on her new role as Deputy Head of Department at Joondalup Health Campus and thank her for her continued efforts to support the WA Rotational Anaesthesia Training Program.

For any queries about the WA RATP, contact [email protected].

Dr Patrick Cowie is the new Supervisor of Training at Perth Children’s Hospital, after Dr Dan Durack has stepped down as Supervisor of Training. We thank Dr Durack for his many years supporting and guiding WA trainees.

At the ASM in May 2024, Dr Lindy Roberts AM was presented with the Robert Orton Medal, the college’s highest honour. The medal is in recognition of the work Lindy has undertaken as an educator and extensively published scholar; her commitment to diversity and inclusion within the college, including a strong focus on wellbeing, gender equity and First Nations peoples of Australia and New Zealand; and for her unwavering service to the broader medical community.

Associate Professor Richard Riley was awarded the ANZCA Medal, in recognition of his significant and lasting contributions to the college throughout his career. Most notably as the Chief Editor of Australasian Anaesthesia (the "Blue Book") from 2007-2021, and his roles as: SIMG workplace-based assessor from 2010-2023; TAC inspector from 2010-2021; and State Executive Committee for ANZCA from 2000-2017.

 
Congratulations Dr Lindy Roberts and Associate Professor Richard Riley 

The ACE WA Committee determined it is important to increase the availability and accessibility of CPD in WA in alignment with the new CPD requirements and increasing requests for virtual options. The Autumn Scientific Meeting will not be held in 2024, and in its place, a lecture series will be held once a month in the ANZCA WA office. This format will be trialled for 2024 to determine its viability for the future.

WA State Burns Service Perioperative Practice Evaluation
The first evening of the WA ACE Lecture series was held on 13 March with three speakers presenting on the WA State Burns Service Perioperative Practice Evaluation.


Dr Helen Douglas, Dr Kristine Owen and Dr Rachel Howes.

Dr Helen Douglas is a Specialist Plastic Surgeon working in Perth, Western Australia and specialises in burns, scarring and laser treatments.

Dr Kristine Owen is a graduate of the University of Glasgow and undertook most of her anaesthetic training in Scotland before relocating to Perth and undertaking fellowships in airway and research at Fiona Stanley and Fremantle Hospital Group (FSFHG).

Dr Rachel Howes trained at Leicester Medical School in the UK, where she joined the British Army in 2005. Before her surgical training she was the Regimental Medical Officer to 26 Engineer Regiment, and deployed with them on exercises in the UK and abroad, and deployed to Afghanistan on Op Herrick 16.

There were 65 registrations for this event and it was a successful evening held in the WA ANZCA Office. We thank the presenters for taking the time to update the delegates on burns in WA.

Anaphylaxis workshop
The second evening of the WA ACE Lecture series was held on 23 April. The anaphylaxis workshop was facilitated by Dr Cat Goddard and Dr Paige Bavich at the WA ANZCA Office. Attendance was only available in person and was fully subscribed. We thank the presenters for their time and effort in preparing and facilitating this workshop.

Morbidity and Mortality Workshop
On 27 May 2024, Dr Bridget Hogan facilitated a Morbidity and Mortality Workshop as part of the WA ACE Lecture series. 16 people attended the workshop in person at the WA ANZCA Office, and 22 attended online via Zoom. We thank Dr Hogan and Dr Bruins for the time and effort in presenting this engaging workshop.



Can't Intubate, Can't Oxygenate (CICO) workshop
The fourth evening in the lecture series took place on Tuesday 18 June. Nine of the 11 registered attendees took part. We thank Dr Samuel Fitzpatrick, Dr Jingjing Luo, Dr Corynn Goh and Dr Harris Wain for facilitating the workshop.


Drs Goh, Luo, Fitzpatrick and Wain

The ACE WA Committee is planning further evenings for the year, addressing requests from members. The 2024 WA ACE Lecture Series web page is updated as more events are confirmed.

On Saturday 11 May, a group of registrars and consultants represented ANZCA at the annual Medical Careers Expo, organised by the Postgraduate Medical Council of Western Australia and the Australian Medical Association WA. Each year, junior medical officers and medical students come to this event to obtain information and ask questions about future training pathways and requirements, helping them make important career decisions.


Dr Georgia Powell demonstrating intubation

Dr Alison Butt and Dr Corey Rosher provided a presentation about the profession and anaesthesia training pathways and together with Dr Alan Ch'ng, WA Education Officer; Dr Bridget Hogan, Supervisor of Training; Dr Emily Zhen; and Dr Georgia Powell answered questions from students and junior medical officers.

The stand was well visited and we thank the registrars and consultants for giving up their Saturday morning to share their passion for their profession.

The first of the two Exam Pitstop sessions of 2024 took place at the ANZCA WA Office on Tuesday 11 June. The Exam Pitstops are organised by the WA Trainee Committee (WATC) and are an informal peer-to-peer evening, supporting those intending to sit their exam the next year.

The first Pitstop was for those intending to sit their Final Exam in 2025 and was attended by 14 prospective candidates. Three candidates who passed their exams, and with very different trainee journeys, shared their experiences and advice. 

The next Pitstop will take place on 25 June and is aimed at candidates intending to sit their Primary Exam in 2025. This is the second year that the WATC is organising these sessions, which are much appreciated by the trainees.

The ACE WA Committee and King Edward Memorial Hospital are pleased to introduce the 2024 ACE WA Country Conference at the Pullman Resort in Bunker Bay from 15 to 17 November 2024. The theme this year is “Contemplation – Learning from experience in obstetrics”.

The keynote speakers are Professor Victoria Eley and Dr Matt Rucklidge, who will be joined by a range of presenters sharing their insights and knowledge on the topics Neurological morbidity and mortality and obstetric haemorrhage. Morbidity and Mortality, Major Haemorrhage, CICO and ALS workshops fill out the remainder of the program, with a varied offering in social engagements.
 
Registrations are now open!

The WA Final Exam Preparation Course provides access to evening tutorials for up to 12 months prior to your exam. Interactive, small group discussions about a wide range of topics are facilitated by specialists.
Registrations are now available online for the following sittings:

• WA Final Exam Preparation Course - First Sitting 2025
• WA Final Exam Preparation Course - Second Sitting 2025

For any questions, please contact Ineke Krom, ANZCA WA Administrative Officer.