Emergency doctors to gather in Rotorua for Symposium

Doctors from emergency departments in Australia and New Zealand will attend a symposium in Rotorua. Photo / Getty Images

More than 300 emergency doctors from around New Zealand, Australia and beyond will gather in Rotorua at the end of the month for a symposium.

There will be a series of workshops, discussions, keynote addresses and plenaries, and social and networking opportunities at the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) 2019 Winter Symposium.

The symposium will cover a wide range of topics in emergency medicine including aged care, paediatrics, mental health care, trauma, rural and pre-hospital medicine, rational and equitable use of health resources, cultural competency, emergency department staff wellbeing and more.

ACEM 2019 Winter Symposium highlights include:

Dr Jan Bone – Keynote address. Dr Bone is an emergency physician from Christchurch who helped lead the emergency department response to the 2011 earthquake and is a strong advocate for resilience in emergency medicine.

Dr Tim Parke – Keynote address. An emergency physician from Glasgow and formerly Director of Auckland City Hospital Emergency Department, Dr Parke has interests in emergency department flow and targets, emergency airway care, pre-hospital emergency care and trauma networks.

Dr Dominic Fleischer, the clinical lead for trauma at Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department, led the response to last month's terrorist attack, and will join his colleague Dr Bone on the first day of the symposium to discuss the emergency department response to the incident, how it affected their staff and how it has altered not only the city but New Zealand.

With Rotorua having a strong Māori culture ACEM will also use the symposium to launch its inaugural strategy to deliver equity for Māori in emergency departments.

To be held at the Millennium Hotel Rotorua, the symposium will run from Tuesday, April 30 to Friday, May 3.