Australasian College of Paramedicine’s inaugural Critical Care Summit draws hundreds of participants

More than 200 paramedics, academics, students, and other health professionals took part, both in person and online, in the Australasian College of Paramedicine’s inaugural biennial Critical Care Summit held over two days in Tweed Heads in May.

Replacing our long-running Trauma on the Border conference, the Summit marked the start of a new 2023 College conference calendar that features two major events tailored to the research, academic and clinical practice needs of Australasia’s paramedics. Themed “Contemporary care through collaboration”, the event was structured to provide education about critical care practice, improving and fostering the relationship between the professions of paramedicine, nursing and medicine, and providing a pathway for aspiring critical care clinicians to become involved.

Organised by the College’s Critical Care Summit Committee Co-Chairs Dr Ben Meadley and Tim Andrews, the event brought together guest speakers and presenters from a range of disciplines, including keynote speaker Dr Sanj Fernando, an emergency physician working in Sydney and one of the two Co-Directors of DevelopingEM, a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to support acute care and critical care services across the globe.

Dr Fernando kicked off the Summit with a presentation focused on his collaboration with Suwasiriya (Sri Lanka’s ambulance service) to build a pre-hospital service from the ground up, as well as the success of this global project that now services a country with a population of 21 million.

Another highlight of the Critical Care Summit included a live presentation on paediatric airway management, where, with the assistance of a child mannequin, presenters demonstrated the techniques used to assist paediatric patients when faced with airway emergencies.

Along with discussions on the latest research and tools to reduce the stress on critical care clinicians when caring for unwell children, attendees were also engaged in presentations on “The Art of Low Fidelity Simulation” and “Ethical Critical Care”, as well as discussions that focused on adapting to challenges in critical care, and critical care procedure demonstrations.

Live podcast recordings were held for “This Emergency Life”, presented by Dr Cliff Connell, and the College’s “Advocacy in Conversation” podcast, hosted by CEO John Bruning, which examined why advocacy was important to the future of paramedicine, contemporary health reform and team-based, person-centred care.

The event was well-received by all participants, with delegates appreciating the “diverse speakers and presenters on a broad range of topics”; the “great content and engaging speakers”; “the variety of speakers from different organisations, different states, different qualifications from doctors through to ICPs/CCPs”; and “the knowledge of the presenters, how easy it was to approach the presenters and other senior individuals to have discussions”.

The College thanks all who took part and our sponsors, Charles Sturt University, Edith Cowan University and Monash University, and our trade sponsors, Diagnostica Stago and ZOLL Medical, who helped make the Critical Care Summit the success that it was.

The second major gathering on our College calendar this year is our flagship event, the Australasian College of Paramedicine International Conference 2023 (ACPIC23) being held at the Crown Conference Centre in Melbourne from 13-15 September. Themed “LeadEvolve - Impact”, and coinciding with the College’s 50th anniversary, we will again bring together a diverse range of presenters, speakers, and attendees from across Australia, New Zealand and beyond.

To book your ticket and find out more, visit www.paramedics.org/ACPIC2023. The College is also offering Education Grants of up to $500 to attend ACPIC23. Applications close on Friday 21 July. Those interested in applying can write to: membership@paramedics.org

We look forward to seeing old friends and new faces at ACPIC23 in Melbourne is what will be an exciting program and a packed event schedule.