ASA Blog (All)

Substance Abuse and Healthcare Providers

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 04:33:30 GMT

Dr Robert Fry is an anaesthetist at Auckland City Hospital with more than a decade of experience in dealing with substance abusers in New Zealand. Here, Robert discusses the complexities of investigating a suspected substance abuser and his opinions relating to safe conduct and the many difficulties encountered during an intervention.

Making a Difference in Australiaâs Heartland

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:03:36 GMT

Dr Jane McDonald first started travelling to remote areas of the Northern Territory in 2008. With particular expertise in paediatric anaesthesia and a motivation to help make healthcare more accessible to children in remote areas, her goal was to help the indigenous community to ‘close the gap’ in their overall health.

“It is rewarding to provide care that improves a patient’s overall health and well being,” Jane says. “Particularly when you know that they never would have received that care if you hadn’t made the effort to travel there to provide it.”

Lifebox Project donates five pulse oximeters to Tonga

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 04:02:02 GMT

The Tongan Ministry of Health is soon to obtain five pulse oximeters which were kindly donated by the ASA through the Lifebox project. Tonga is a Pacific nation with a proud cultural history that is unfortunately still grappling with many of the sorts of issues that plague economically developing countries. One of these issues is the establishment and maintenance of a quality healthcare system to deliver a high standard health care service to its people.

Underlying this problem is the obvious lack of funds and resources needed to train healthcare workers and keep them working in Tonga, as well as funds to buy medicines and equipment.

Sorry?...the case for Open Disclosure

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:08:00 GMT

Generally speaking, doctors are often reluctant to disclose medical errors to patients for fear of increased liability which may result in litigation. To encourage doctors to report errors many countries including Australia have enacted “protection of apology” laws. In theory, these laws deter patients from filing medical malpractice lawsuits and assist with diminishing a doctor’s reluctance to disclose errors to patients.

However, in Australia apology laws were not created specifically to address open disclosure and their effectiveness in the medico-legal environment is perhaps questionable.

Do you volunteer?

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:28:32 GMT

The ASA is interested in the activities of its members, especially those who volunteer their time and skills to assist those in need. In recognition of these volunteers, we’re dedicating the April edition of the ASA news to ‘world anaesthesia’ and shining the spotlight on those members who volunteer.

One such member who has been actively volunteering for the Sydney-based charity Operation Restore Hope is Dr Ian Woodforth, NSW Committee Chair. Operation Restore Hope runs trips to the Philippines to assist with cleft lip and palate operations. We hope you enjoy this exert from Dr Woodforth on the good work being done by Operation Restore Hope in the Philippines...

How would you work without a pulse oximeter?

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:21:55 GMT

58 countries have established anaesthesia-monitoring standards, and all include pulse oximetry as a minimum requirement.

The availability of good quality pulse oximeters—devices that monitor the level of oxygenation in a patient’s blood and alert the physician if oxygen concentrations drop below safe levels, allowing rapid intervention, is generally taken for granted in Australian hospitals. But how would you cope without one?

Life through images

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 22:28:29 GMT

In this week’s blog, the ASA explores the life of a trainee, at The Canberra Hospital, through the use of pictures.

Mesmer was a German

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 06:02:24 GMT

Well, we all at the ASA hope you’ll be mesmerised by the NSC 2011.

Mesmerised, according to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), now means to fascinate or hold spellbound. At least some of the time at the NSC we know you will be.

The word is an eponym, like biro and sandwich and macadam; they reflect the name of the inventor and originator. No doubt you can think of many more – what is the word of a group of eponyms? There’s a flight of swans, maybe a colloquium of academics and a what of anaesthetists?

A Mongolian Update

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 22:45:50 GMT

From 20 to 25 June 2011, a group of Australian anaesthetists participated in the 10^th annual Mongolian Society of Anaesthetists (MSA) – ASA joint seminar.

The Visiting Expert

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 02:06:22 GMT

My first day was at Makassed, the referral teaching hospital located on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem. As I walked from the hostel located in the shady grounds of the Augusta Victoria Lutheran Church, I found myself wondering what could the ‘Visiting Expert’ offer here?

Canadian Anesthesiologistsâ Society Annual Meeting in Toronto

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:08:56 GMT

Ontario, 24-28 June 2011

I was very fortunate to be the recipient of funding assistance to attend the CAS Annual Meeting as a representative of GASACT. The experience was fantastic. It gave me insights into another style of training, and an appreciation for the quality of our training here in Australia. Next year’s meeting will be in Quebec City, so trainees – don’t forget to apply!

Some of the surprising Anaesthesia-related things I learnt during my time in Canada...

Who exactly is MABEL?

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:41:39 GMT

Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL)

The decisions you make about your career and work-life balance; how many hours to work, where to work and when to stop work temporarily or permanently, all have profound effects on the health care system.

Blogging from Cambodia, by Dr Suzi Nou

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:10:13 GMT

In August 2009 I volunteered at the Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) in Siem Reap, Cambodia, a non-Government hospital funded by private donations. I began in the operating theatre where the ‘average’ day, would consist of...

A financial win adds to the feel-good factor of training specialists in non government facilities

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 04:48:04 GMT

The Department of Health and Aging (DoHA) provides financial incentives for workplace training in private facilities.

Anaesthetist Welfare - are we paying attention?

Tue, 24 May 2011 03:57:17 GMT

Recent news of an anaesthetist infecting 49 patients has made headlines. Dr Jane McDonald asks if anything was done to help this doctor and if we are putting enough focus on anaesthetists' welfare.

Distractions in the Operating Theatre

Tue, 10 May 2011 03:24:46 GMT

Use of computers, music players, phones etc. is increasing in the operating theatre (OT).

Dr Douglas Fahlbusch recently approached the ASA seeking guidelines on this issue. He is interested in members’ opinions on distractions in the OT.

Are you interested in an ASA-run CPD program? Tell us about it

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:11:47 GMT

The Presidents of the ASA and NZSA have sent a message to all members enquiring whether members support the ASA establishing a CPD Program for members, as part of their member package. There would be no extra cost for ASA members.

Do you think this is a good idea? Would you use the program?

We have sent all ASA and NZSA members the below email. If you received this then you can follow the link to the survey.

If you did not receive the email, please fill out the feedback form below and let us know your thoughts on the idea of an ASA-run CPD Program.

Guest Blog: Tweeting in the OR

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:25:08 GMT

I just stumbled onto a recent live tweeting of a surgery via ... It gives a secondhand, yet very direct, account of the reasons why a patient would allow such access to a private medical matter.

To put it simply, they were: 1) supporting the hospital, who has supported them; 2) wanting realtime updates about progress for family members; 3) because it made them feel less concerned (you wouldn’t tweet something that had a high risk of going wrong).

I just keep thinking about what the tweets would have looked like if things had gone wrong. Scary.

Early Model Ultrasound Needed

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 03:47:18 GMT

Can you help a fellow ASA member?

Do you have an early generation ultrasound suitable for regional anaesthesia that you can spare?

How to upload a submission to AIC

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 03:05:26 GMT

If you’ve ever tried to have a paper published, you’ll know that editors can be pretty picky. And our Publications Team at the ASA is no exception. These girls are fanatical about punctuation and point size, and that’s before they even get to the layout of the paper. So if you’re thinking of submitting a paper for an ASA publication such as Anaesthesia and Intensive Care (AIC) or the ASA news, you’ll need all the tips you can get to keep these girls onside!

To help out anyone wanting to submit a paper for publication, the ASA blog has asked the Publications Team to let us in on the secrets to submitting perfect copy. Because there’s a lot to share, we’re going to break the topics up. This week: How to upload the perfect submission to AIC.

Pentothal Discontinuation

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:55:17 GMT

Members may be aware that Hospira has advised that they will discontinue the marketing of Pentothal (thiopentone sodium) in Australia. They are the only supplier of this drug at this time. Hospira has taken the same action in the US and Canada, and the discontinuation relates to the use of Pentothal for judicial execution in the USA.