General News
4 May, 2025
Top-notch conference
CAIRNS is hosting an exclusive medical specialists gathering that has attracted more than 1500 delegates to the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) annual scientific meeting for the first time in 16 years.
Anaesthetists and pain specialists from across Australia, New Zealand, the US, Hong Kong, Canada and France are now in Cairns sharing research and doing workshops at the meeting, the organisation’s flagship event aimed at professional development.
Event co-convenors Cairns Hospital anaesthetists Dr Danielle Volling-Geoghegan and Dr Daniel Foster say it is a momentous occasion for the region.
“This is our flagship scientific meeting for anaesthetists in Australasia and it brings together experts in the field of anaesthesia and pain medicine,” Dr Foster said.
“It’s all about giving the specialists that work in the field of anaesthesia an opportunity to gather together in one place to upskill and make sure that they’re currently practicing in the best evidence-based anaesthesia and also information sharing with their colleagues if they’re doing research, so they can collaborate with other anaesthetists,” Dr Volling-Geoghegan said.
“By focusing on patient care and evidence-based research we will be exploring advances in hospital frontline care as part of our mission to drive safe and quality patient care.
“It’s a massive deal to be holding this meeting in Cairns. We’re a small department and we’re hosting it and I believe we’re the smallest place in Australia with a convention centre big enough to be able to host this number of delegates.
“We’ve all been working really hard to put on this event and it’s going to be really special.
“The theme of the meeting is ‘Futureproof’ and it’s focused on sustainability at the level of individuals, workplace, our specialty of medicine and even on a global level,” Dr Foster said.
“We try to bring that theme up throughout the conference and we’ve got speakers and a few sessions focusing on environmental sustainability and also at the personal level.
“There’ll be some mindfulness sessions happening, yoga, mountain biking and even Jedi sword skills on May 4 for ‘May the 4th Be With You Day’.
“We know healthcare contributes a significant amount to global emissions and so things like health advocacy at a higher level is critical and it’s something one of our keynote speakers Prof. Eugenie Kayak is passionate about,” Dr Volling-Geoghegan said.
“And other things like reducing waste and the type of anaesthetics we use and how we can minimise their impact, it’s all part of the meeting,” she said.
“We’ll also be supporting some local charities including TREAT and the turtle rehabilitation program.”
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