Welcome

Welcome to the November issue of the CICM e-news.   The CICM Office is full of activity at the moment, with Fellowship and Primary exams at the end of October and beginning of November and the Board meeting on the 18th November.

The final e-news for 2010 will be sent before Christmas, if you have anything you would like included please email it to Lisa Davidson by 13th December. 

 

Workforce Survey

At the end of September, all Fellows were sent an email with information and a link to an important survey. The aim of the survey is to provide data on the intensive care medical specialist workforce. We have had a good response rate so far, however it is imperative that we canvass as many Fellows as possible.

We ask that if you have not already filled in the survey, you do as soon as possible.
The CICM Workforce Survey can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/cicmsurvey

2011 ASM

ASM WEBSITE 

We now have a designated website for the College ASM. Visit the ASM Website for all the up to date news. The program will be available shortly with details of International and National Speakers.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS

Abstract submissions are now open for the 2011 ASM, "Pushing the Boundaries of Intensive Care"

Abstracts may be submitted for presentation for one of the following:

              Felicity Hawker Medal
              Free Paper Session

Please visit the 2011 ASM Website for the abstract guidelines, criteria and submission details.
http://asm.cicm.org.au//index.php?view=speakers&type=abstract

PLATINUM SPONSORS

The College of Intensive Care would like to acknowledge and thank our Platinum Sponsors for the 2011 ASM.

EDWARD LIFESCIENCES     &     ACT HEALTH

Training News

TRAINEE LOG-IN

The College of Intensive Care Medicine has launched an on-line Member Portal giving trainees the option to view and update personal contact details, view previously accredited training, access current news and resources and submit Applications for Approval of Vocational Training Forms (AVT) on-line. 

A letter was sent to all Trainees with log-in details and information regarding the new service. If you have not received this letter and wish to log-in, please contact the Training Department. 

The College is currently working on improving the communication with Trainees by implementing and trialling  web based communication tools over the next few months. Trainees will be kept up to date with these new programs.

TRAINING PROGRAM CHANGES

In 2011 the College of Intensive Care training program will be changing to increase the core intensive care component from 24 months to 36 months.

These changes will only affect trainees who register with the College from 1st January 2011.   For full details please go to the Training Page on our website: http://cicm.org.au/trainprogram.php 


TRAINEE FORUM AT ANZICS ASM 
by Liz Steel

As the new College Board representative for both New Fellows and Trainees, I am keen to explore various ways of facilitating discussion and improvements to Training and Education.

The CICM Trainee Forum, held during the recent Melbourne ANZICS ASM, was a new initiative to engage Trainees attending the meeting. The forum was well received and discussion was animated. The main theme was a desire for improved communication between Trainees and the College and an overwhelming sense that there is a need for on-line resources to facilitate discussion and education.

Trainees also expressed a desire to have representation on relevant College committees. As well, there is clearly ongoing concern regarding access to positions in anaesthesia during training and to specialist jobs at the end of the training program.
This session and discussions with the Trainee Committee since joining the Board mid year, have highlighted to me the energy and enthusiasm of our Trainees, as well as crystallised the principal areas that I will focus on during my term.

Thank you to all the trainees who attended the lunch. In the near future a survey will be sent to all registered trainees with the intent of more broadly capturing the perceptions and ideas on these and other issues regarding your training program and College relationship.

I encourage you all to take the few minutes time required to complete this and have your say!
Liz Steel,  New Fellows Representative

QRC

The secretariat, current and past members of Queensland Regional Committee (QRC) of the College of Intensive Care Medicine; along with Queensland Health staff, took the opportunity recently to thank Professor Robert Boots for his contribution and dedication to intensive care in Queensland.

Rob was presented with a gift and a certificate of appreciation by the chairman of the QRC, Dr Neil Widdicombe, from the College of Intensive Care Medicine, in appreciation for his work as a past QRC regional committee member and chairman.

With his stewardship the QRC had significantly contributed to the development of local and national initiatives in enhancing intensive care training. Included amongst his many achievements in supporting intensive care in Queensland had been his contribution to the relationship between the College and Queensland Health, culminating in ICU Training Pathway Project. This initiative has the objective of developing a co-ordinated seamless training scheme for CICM trainees in Queensland.

Other achievements included, the Convenor of the 2009 JFICM ASM in Brisbane, facilitation of the biannual supervisors of training forum, workshops on training on the run, advanced procedural skills, and the proposed Queensland ICU Trainees Annual Research Forum in November 2010 . 

There is no doubt that QRC would not have been the success that it is without Rob‘s presence, and his enthusiasm to inspire others to participate in the QRC as either elected or co-opted members.

Having been elected to the Board of the CICM, and appointed as the Assistant Censor and Research Officer, Rob continues to contribute to QRC as an ex-officio. His knowledge and experience in the past 9 years will remain invaluable to the QRC.

Education

Educational Materials

The College is seeking expressions of interest from Fellows regarding the provision of education resources suitable for intensive care trainees.  The College wishes to explore ways of providing trainees with a greater pool of educational tools to assist them in their study.

We would consider providing, or making available, appropriate material to training units, or supervisors of training, or directly to trainees, depending on the availability and expense.

If you have developed, or are interested in developing, educational material such as books, DVDs, CDs, on-line modules, etc, that would be of benefit to our trainees, we would like to hear from you.

Please contact Laura Fernandez-Low on +61 3 9514 2888 to register your interest.

Online Library

Since we separated from ANZCA, our Fellows and Trainees have lost access to the ANZCA library. For most, this is not a major problem as they have access to library facilities through either their hospital or a university affiliation. Most health jurisdictions in Australia also have an on-line library available to all their employees. However, for those Fellows and Trainees who do not have alternative access, loss of the ANZCA facility has been quite an inconvenience.

Over the last few months we have been negotiating with providers of on-line journals to explore ways we could provide access to at least a limited number of relevant journals. The main obstacle to this is the high cost. Some of the relevant intensive care journals can cost up to $14,000 each.

The solution, in the short term, seems to be to provide access to a limited range of journals through our website, and to see what the usage is over the next year or two. This may lead to us gradually increasing the number of titles available, or possibly, if usage does not warrant continuing, to ceasing the service.

We hope to finalise discussion over the next month and, all being well, have the online portal available on our website by the new year.

Events and Courses

Graduate Certificate in Echocardiography (Critical Care)

The University of Queensland, with the Princess Alexandra Hospital will be offering the Graduate Certificate in Echocardiography (Critical Care) in 2011.
This new program provides full training in critical care echocardiography, so that successful students will be able to acquire images and report echocardiograms independently. The unique teaching faculty combines knowledge and experience from both cardiology and intensive care specialities. We believe that comprehensive training is needed to practice independently in the challenging field of critical care echocardiography.

Further information can be obtained at: www.som.uq.edu.au/som/futurestudents/postgrad/gce


Queensland Annual Trainee Research Meeting

The Queensland Regional Committee are holding the first Trainee Research day on Friday 12th November at the QRC Offices in West End.
The morning session will be formal project presentations while the afternoon session will focus on research. For full details visit the CICM Website.


Inaugural Alfred ICU Nutrition in the Critically Ill Symposium

A 2 day meeting covering basic and advanced aspects of providing optimal nutrition for Intensivists, ICU trainees, Surgeons & Physicians, Dietitians and ICU nurses. 
Keynote speaker: Prof Daren Heyland, Canada
5th & 6th November 2010.
Registration $550 - $750 Early Bird $450 - $600 by 05/10/10
www.alfredicunutrition.org.au


2nd Alfred ICU Trauma Course

1 day meeting for Intensivists, trainees, nurses, allied health staff and other interested clinicians covering aspects of the optimal management of ICU trauma patients.
This is a satellite meeting of Trauma 2010 (Nov 19-21st) a combined meeting by the NTRI and the Australasian Trauma Society.
18th November 2010.
Registration $300-$350
www.alfredicu.org.au/courses


5th Alfred ICU Advanced Mechanical Ventilation Conference
Theme: New Approaches to Protective & Open Lung Ventilation in ALI & ARDS.

International Guest Speaker: Prof. Marcelo Amato.
8th April 2011, Park Hyatt Hotel, Melbourne.
Registration: $390 - $490 ; Early Bird $350 - $450 by 16/02/2011
www.alfredicumechanicalventilation.org.au


Alfred ICU ALS Courses

2 day Australian Resuscitation Council accredited adult life support provider training in advanced cardiac arrest and medical emergency management for doctors, nurses and paramedics.
Inaugural Course
Nov 30th - 1st Dec 2010
Six 2011 courses starting February
www.alfredicuals.org.au 

Alfred ICU Critical Care Echocardiography Course

2-day course covering problem orientated approach to echocardiography in critically ill patients. Emphasis on echo guided management of the critically ill. Content tailored to suit participant‘s echo experience with a favourable faculty: participant ratio providing ample hands-on experience.
31st March - 1st April 2011, 6th - 7th October 2011
www.alfredicuecho.org.au


ICU & Perfusion Adult ECMO Course

For doctors, nurses & perfusionists seeking to provide ECMO support to patients with severe forms of cardiac and respiratory failure. Optional 3rd day for cannulation training (Additional $1500).
16th - 18th November 2010 and 11th - 13th April 2011.
Registration $800
www.alfredicuecmo.org.au 


Basic Assessment & Support in Intensive Care (basic|victoria)

2 day introduction course for medical staff new to intensive care and care of the critically ill.
8th - 9th November 2010, 8th - 9th February 2011, 9th - 10th May 2011, 8th - 9th August 2011, and 7th - 8th November 2011. 
Registration $550 - $600
www.alfredicubasic.org.au 


Critical Care Echocardiography Workshops - NSW

Nepean Institute of Critical Care Education & Research offers various critical care echocardiography workshops teaching basic critical care echocardiography, advanced echocardiography and/or echocardiographic interpretation skills. Workshops include Critical Care Echo Leura, General Ultrasound and Rapid Assessment by Cardiac Echo (RACE).
For further information please visit the website:
http://www.niccer.org.au/


1st Annual Winter Symposium in Intensive Care & Emergency Medicine

January 9th-14th, 2011, Aspen, Colorado
An international faculty will present a stimulating academic program focussing on acute medicine across all ages - from neonates to adults.
Contact: info@colloquium.com.au
Web: www.colloquium.com.au


Clinical Course in Acute Care Medicine - VIC

Focused on the pre-ICU care of the critically ill Next course:
20th to 23rd Jan 2011 - Registration now open at the website
www.easternhealth.org.au/media/events/acm.aspx 


Intensive Care Medicine Course - VIC

Focused on the ICU care of the critically ill .
Next Course : 14th to 17th July 2011 - Registration opens on 15th April 2011
www.easternhealth.org.au/media/events/icm.aspx 

Event Reports

Consultant Intensivist Transition (CIT) Course

The first CIT course was held in June in Sydney and I am continuing to receive positive feedback about the impact the sessions have had on individual participants as they progress through their first 2 years of life as a Consultant Intensivist. For those who have not heard of CIT, it is a three day course that draws on a wealth of corporate sector Leadership and Management concepts, and has been specifically designed by Intensivists for Intensivists to facilitate the transition to life beyond the fellowship examination.

To read more go to www.toolsofmedicine.com. Registration for the next course will open on the 1st of November. The course will run from February 16-18, 2011 and participants are strictly limited to 12!   Carole Foot, Course Director


Bedside Critical Care 2010
September 27th- 30th, Salt Village Kingscliff NSW

The inaugural meeting of Bedside Critical Care was a huge success. The objective was to provide practical hands-on teaching in an environment that was both relaxing and family friendly. With regard to both these objectives I am pleased to report that the feed back received was extremely positive.

The programme consisted of 5 hours of teaching per day in three streams namely CRRT, Haemodynamic monitoring and Echo/Ultrasound. This was divided between 2.5 hours of clinical updates in the morning and 2.5 hours of small group (5-6 participants) practical skills laboratories in the evening.

The CRRT workshops focused on trouble shooting the filter, the practicalities of anti-coagulation (in particular Citrate) and there was an interactive Q&A TPN station. The Ultrasound workshop consisted of stations for ECHO, FAST, Vascular Access (using chicken breast phantoms) and lung Ultrasound.

The Haemodynamic monitoring workshop included a wet lab with bovine hearts and A-V pacing Swan-Ganz catheters, interactive Q&A shock station and a demonstration station. The meeting attracted 50 delegates with 35 fellows and 15 registrars. Delegates came predominantly from NSW, Queensland and Victoria however there were delegates from all states and NZ.

The feed back suggest that the consultants and registrars both enjoyed and valued the education equally. We are proud to announce that "Bedside Critical Care 2011" is organised for September 26-30th at the Peppers Resort in Salt Village Kingscliff Northern NSW so keep the date free!   Organising Committee: Roger Harris (Chair) Celia Bradford, Carole Foot, Liz Steel, Richard Lee, Sarah Wesley.