Here's your daily update from the ANZCA Annual Scientific Meeting in Gimuy/Cairns.
Held this year at the Cairns Convention Centre (CCC), the ANZCA Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) will run from 2-6 May. The theme “Futureproof” was chosen by the 2025 Regional Organising Committee to inform and challenge us, promote discussion and showcase the diverse facets of our profession.
Opening plenary
Following a heartfelt Welcome to Country from Yirrganydji Traditional Owner Gavin Singleton, ASM Convenor Dr Andrew Potter officially launched the upcoming program of talks, workshops, fast take sessions and meetings.
First to present was ANZCA ASM Visitor Associate Professor Alana Flexman, who gave the Ellis Gillespie Lecture on “Surgery at sunset: Optimising value for an aging surgical population.” Following the session, she spoke with Dr Lua Rahmani, digging deeper into some of the themes from her presentation.
A/Prof Flexman was followed by Professor Nadine Attal, France (FPM ASM Visitor) and Professor Eugenie Kayak, Vic (ANZCA Australasian Visitor).
Over the next five days, delegates will enjoy more than 100 plenary and concurrent sessions on a wide range of anaesthesia, pain medicine, and perioperative medicine topics. Much of this content will also be available through the ASM onDemand package from 13 May.
Interviews with keynote speakers
In addition to the interview with A/Prof Flexman, we also spoke with:
- Professor Ramani Moonesinghe about her presentation today on “The future of perioperative medicine – gadgets, widgets and breaking out,” including the role of innovation and technology.
- Dr Sav Zwickl on the TRANSform project, challenges facing the trans and gender diverse community, and resources health professionals can use to improve their care of trans and gender diverse people.
We'll be adding interviews to our 2025 ASM playlist throughout the next five days.
Today's TopMed Talks
TopMedTalk is giving you live coverage of the ASM again this year – find out what they’ve been up to so far:
- Introduction to the 2025 ASM coverage: with podcast hosts Professor Kate Leslie AO and Dr Andy Cumpsty.
- ANZCA president and FPM dean discuss hot topics in anaesthesia and pain medicine: Professor David Story and Dr Dilip Kapur in conversation.
- Prevention of intraoperative hypothermia: Dr Holly Tonkin, brought to you by Solventum.
Media coverage
We issued two media releases today:
- "Anaesthetists celebrate the power of the Jedi"
- "Patient care model saves lives and frees up hospital beds"
To keep up with the latest ASM media coverage check the media digest.
2025 College Ceremony
Tonight we'll be celebrating our new ANZCA and FPM fellows at our College Ceremony. Those of you not here in Cairns can tune in live at 6pm AEST via our Facebook page or YouTube Channel. The recordings will be available on these platforms for the following month.
Acknowledgements
We’re indebted to the regional organising committee, who have worked hard to develop a stimulating and creative ASM program. We’re also grateful for the outstanding support of the healthcare industry. Their contributions help make this a successful and high-quality meeting and provide us with the opportunity to experience the latest technology and medicines in several fields.
onDemand available soon
Couldn't make it to Cairns? We've got you covered! ANZCA ASM and FPM Symposium onDemand packages will be available from 13 May, enabling you to view content from the scientific programs at a time that suits you.
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May the Fourth be with you! Your daily update from the ANZCA Annual Scientific Meeting in Gimuy/Cairns.
Anaesthetists meeting in Cairns are embracing the power of the Jedi on 4 May, the day Star Wars fans celebrate as “May the fourth be with you.”