16 September 2020Some highlights: President's blog | NZSA 2020 Conference | Siouxse Wiles - featured Conference speaker | Part 3 Course | COVID respiratory protection webinar | webAIRS news | BWT Ritchie Scholarship | PHARMAC update | Relative Value Guide| Common Issues Group meeting | ACC treatment injury survey | Events President's blogBeing informed about overseas experiences of COVID, including infection rates in Victoria, provides the dose of reality needed to encourage us to do all we can to support New Zealand's elimination strategy, writes NZSA President Dr Kathryn Hagen. "We can try and prevent the likelihood of catching this disease at work by wearing masks, by continuing to physically distance ourselves, and by attending more zoom meetings from home." We also need to counter misinformation which is making its way onto social media. Read more NZSA 2020 conferenceWe are thrilled to bring you an engaging, diverse and thought-provoking programme with speakers from NZ and overseas (16-17 Oct, Wellington or virtually). Our opening plenary session will reflect on COVID-19 through a variety of lenses, including our keynote Dr Ashley Bloomfield. From teamwork, to reflections on bias, culture and welfare, we invite you to reconnect and reflect on what it means to be an Anaesthetist in NZ in 2020 and beyond. We are also excited to bring you updates on Perioperative Medicine and Research, alongside reflections on Trauma and interesting case presentations. Get in quick to secure a spot on our pre-conference
workshops on Thurs 15 October. View the programme, social activities, speakers and meet our organising committee. Please note that we have
plans for every level of lockdown, including a fully virtual option for 16-17 Oct if we go up to levels 3 or 4. We remain optimistic however that we will see you in person in Wellington. We look forward to welcoming you soon! Dr Morgan Edwards and Dr Renee Franklin NZSA Conference 2020 - featured speakerDr Siouxsie Wiles is an award-winning scientist who is passionate about demystifying science, and has won numerous prizes for her efforts, including the Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize in 2013. In 2019 she was appointed a member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to microbiology and science communication. She studied medical microbiology at the University of Edinburgh, followed by a PhD in microbiology at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Oxford and Edinburgh Napier University. Dr Wiles spent almost a decade at Imperial College London, before relocating to NZ in 2009. In 2017 she published her first book, ‘Antibiotic resistance: the end of modern medicine?’ NZ Part 3 Course - WellingtonNZ Part 3 Course, 15 October 2020, Wellington Respiratory protection webinarThe Australian Society of Anaesthetists have kindly provided us with the link to access their Respiratory Protection webinar, which was held on Tuesday 1 September. We trust you find this informative and it comes highly recommended by our President Dr Kathryn Hagen. Access the recording here BWT Ritchie ScholarshipFor a variety of reasons the Aotearoa New Zealand Anaesthesia Education Committee has decided to postpone awarding of the 2021 BWT Ritchie Scholarship. We hope to have this re-established for the 2022 year. Learn more about the scholarship here NZSA Annual General Meeting 2020The NZSA's Annual General Meeting will be held in Wellington on Friday 16 October 2020 at midday, at TSB Arena, where we will also be holding our NZSA Conference Anaesthesia 2020: Emerge, Reflect and Reconnect. The agenda and papers will be made available to members in due course. All members are welcome to attend. If the meeting cannot be held face to face, a virtual option will be offered. PHARMAC suxamethonium updateThe brand of suxamethonium chloride inj 50 mg per ml, 2 ml ampoule is changing from AstraZeneca to Martindale. Martindale is supplied by Max Health.
The new brand of suxamethonium chloride is packaged using glass ampoules The shelf life of Martindale Relative Value GuideThe NZSA Relative Value Guide (RVG) update and revision continues slowly behind the scenes and now we need your input; if you, as a user of the RVG have any thoughts of how it should be changed or improved, please send an email to NZSA President Dr Kathryn Hagen khagen@adhb.govt.nz NZSA website launchedThe NZSA's new website is now live www.anaesthesia.nz. Our redevelopment aimed to deliver easy to find information, regular updates and visually appealing design. While most of the site is accessible to everyone, we continue to have a members only section (through a login process) which includes key member resources such as the Relative Value Guide, the Health and Safety Manual, private practice advisories and more. We are keen to hear from you about how you find the functionality and what further content you would like to see on the site. Please email membership@anaesthesia.nz with your feedback and if you require any assistance. Common Issues Group meetingThe Common Issues Group met last week via Zoom. Each member society provided updates on COVID-19 challenges such as PPE issues, drug shortages, impacts on critical care, return to surgery, and workforce wellbeing. It was agreed that one upside of the pandemic has been the strong inter organisational collaboration with major joint statements published, and the increased visibility and understanding of anaesthetists' roles in healthcare. Very brief summaries from each member:
webAIRS newsAt the beginning of September, webAIRS reached over 8300 incident reports, comprising over 9400 individual events. This makes the webAIRS database one of the most up to date and largest collections of anaesthetic incident data worldwide. Selected reports are now available in the webAIRS alerts page known as ANA–Alerts, and the current number of reports is shown by clicking the Incidents link button on the home page. Are you contributing to quality anaesthesia? Visit the webairs website to register or email anztadc@anzca.edu.au NZSA magazine - out soonThe new issue of the NZSA's magazine New Zealand Anaesthesia will soon reach members' letterboxes and inboxes. Articles include:
We also feature the last Presidential column from NZSA President Dr Kathryn Hagen. who completes her term in mid-October. We welcome your feedback on the magazine. NZ Medical Journal open access article/editorialThe latest issue of the NZMJ includes an open access article "Racism and health in Aotearoa New Zealand: a systematic review of quantitative studies." The authors write that racism has been firmly established as a determinant of health and an underlying cause of ethnic health inequities in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. However, "There is limited research in New Zealand on effective interventions and system change to address the negative impact of racism on health. There is a pressing need to research and implement effective health interventions which address and dismantle racism." Read more and the editorial here AI surveyThe NZSA has been approached to promote a survey to members on Artificial Intelligence from University College London. Below is a summary from researchers and the survey can be completed here Sustainability webinarThis webinar looks at low carbon anaesthetic techniques and carbon calculators through to QI recipes and building networks to the impact of global supply chains and COP26 in Glasgow next year. Register here ACC research treatment injuryACC is conducting research to understand client and provider experiences of raising a treatment injury claim. The team wish to speak with providers about their experiences, specifically throughout the cover assessment and decision process. They are also interested in the perspective and opinion of health professionals about restorative justice and the role it may play in helping patients with closure around treatment injuries. The information that the team will gather through interviews will be used to develop potential opportunities to improve the experience of clients and providers when a treatment injury is lodged. Interviews will take up to an hour at a location of your choice. For more information and/or to express interest in taking part contact Tali Maulgue Tali.Maulgue@acc.co.nz from the project team. ACC advises that it plans to interview 20 providers, so may not be able to interview everyone interested in taking part. WFSA response to COVID-19Anaesthesiologists have been at the forefront of the global response to COVID-19. The WFSA has been supporting the specialty while also managing the organisational challenges that this pandemic has presented. An article about the WFSA's response to COVID is published in the Newsletter of the Royal College of Anaesthetists on p.9 and includes links to a range of resources. Events
Waitemata Anaesthesiology Refresher in Medicine Update (WARMUP), Sat 14 November 2020, North Shore Hospital Anaesthesia Continuing EducationThe ACE website is a one-stop shop for anaesthesia events. Members convening conferences, workshops or meetings, which assist CPD requirements, are encouraged to add their event to the website. Advertising and quick links |