Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists

Congratulations to the four ANZCA fellows who received Australian King's Birthday honours – Dr Andrew James Mulcahy, Associate Professor Michael Paul Steyn and Associate Professor David Austin, who were awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), along with Dr Ross Duncan MacPherson, who was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). Congratulations are also in order for Dr Paul Baker, who was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit earlier this month.

King's Birthday honours for fellows - ANZCA Four ANZCA fellows have received Australian King's Birthday honours

Improve the quality and efficiency of your data extraction. The ANZCA Library's upcoming webinar will guide you through the Covidence extraction tools so you can produce high quality data for synthesis with less effort.
We will explain:
• What data extraction is.
• How to use templates.
• Extraction 1 tool.
• Extraction 2 tool.
• Exporting data from Covidence.

We will conclude with a short Q&A with Associate Professor Lachlan Miles, Head of Research in the Department of Anaesthesia at Austin Health, on his experiences using Covidence for data extraction.

When: Tuesday 30 June, 11am-12pm AEST

CPD participants may claim this webinar under "Knowledge and skills: Learning sessions activity."

Register now to attend live or receive the recording: https://bit.ly/3SpM7yW

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Take some time this week to check out our Reconciliation Action Plan, Indigenous Health Committee activities, and more resources from Reconciliation Australia here: https://bit.ly/4fO5s6D

Combine a coastal winter retreat with an informative anaesthesia meeting that will give you practical strategies to improve individual and team wellbeing.

The Combined SIG Meeting program features a diverse range of workshops and sessions: from psychological first aid and wellbeing advocacy, to sessions on working with limited resources, professional identity, early management of severe intracranial neurotrauma, and much more. The Continental Sorrento, with its old-world charm, provides a great base for attending sessions, socialising, and enjoying the Mornington Peninsula’s hot springs, outdoor activities, regional produce, boutiques and art galleries.

You’ll hear from an outstanding faculty, including keynote speaker Dr Tim Driscoll, clinical psychologist and clinical lead for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section) Outback Mental Health Team.

From 26 to 28 June, the Sorrento coastline awaits you – find out more and register here:

2026 Combined SIG meeting - ANZCA Join us for the 2026 Combined Special Interest Group (SIG) Meeting, to be held from 26-28 June at The Continental Sorrento in Mornington Peninsula, Victoria.

Join us for the 2026 NSW ACE Winter Meeting on Saturday 20 June 2026 at Hilton Hotel Sydney. Cardiac complexity is becoming an everyday reality in anaesthesia practice. Across theatres, preop clinics and emergency settings, we’re encountering patients with increasingly intricate cardiac histories, and the pace of change in cardiology means the goalposts never stay still for long. This year’s meeting, “Hearts at the Hilton” is built around that evolving landscape – a chance to pause, recalibrate, and deepen our understanding of the cardiac challenges shaping modern perioperative care.

Our program brings together a broad spectrum of topics designed to support anaesthetists at every stage of practice. We’ll explore contemporary approaches to perioperative cardiac risk and unpack the essentials of cardiology that matter most in our day-to-day decision making. Obstetric cardiac cases will also feature, reflecting the unique considerations these populations bring to the table.

Practical skills remain front and centre. Perioperative ECG and rhythm analysis will be incorporated, while updates on heart failure and STEMI definitions will ensure we’re aligned with current evidence and terminology. As always, the program has been shaped with annual CPD requirements in mind, incorporating emergency response activities, and opportunities for meaningful critical reflection.

We look forward to welcoming you to Hearts at the Hilton, a meeting designed to inform, challenge and inspire as we navigate the ever-expanding world of cardiac care together.

Meeting Co-Convenors
Dr Dave Gillespie and Dr Iain Stewart

Full details and registration: https://www.anzca.edu.au/events-and-courses/nsw-ace-winter-meeting

Ready to start screening your systematic review search results? This free session is for users who know the basics of Covidence and want to refine their screening techniques. It focuses on practical strategies that reduce workload and improve consistency across teams.

You'll learn how to:

- Use Covidence AI features to streamline title, abstract and full text screening
- Tag and filter studies
- Manually mark duplicates
- Upload and manage PDFs
- Set and apply exclusion reasons

A short Q&A with Dr Karen Joseph, Specialist Pain Medicine Physician from NZ Christchurch Women's Hospital, who recently used Covidence in a scoping review on pelvic pain, will offer insights from real-world clinical research.

When: Thursday 28 May, 1-2pm AEST
Register now to attend live or receive the recording.
CPD participants may claim this webinar under Knowledge and skills: Learning sessions activity.

For full details and to register: https://bit.ly/4u2yTWR

We are very pleased that anaesthetist Dr Tanya Selak, who practises here at Wollongong Private Hospital, has been appointed president of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA).

Dr Selak is the college’s first president from a regional centre and is a strong advocate for equal access to high-quality healthcare. She is pictured here with outgoing president Dave Story and ANZCA CEO Lance Emerson.

Read more: https://www.anzca.edu.au/news-and-safety-alerts/two-new-leaders-for-anzca-and-fpm

Yesterday was a spectacular Saturday at the 2026 ANZCA ASM! The day began with a pōwhiri, continued with a host of fascinating talks from our keynote speakers in the plenary sessions, before we jumped into concurrent sessions, workshops and fast take sessions. A real highlight – as always – was the College Ceremony, where we welcomed 261 new FANZCAs and FFPMANZCAs. This was followed by celebrations at the Welcome Reception, where it was revealed that the 2026 ASM artwork was being projected onto the Sky Tower, lighting up Auckland’s skyline! Catch up on more here: https://bit.ly/427jmZF

A productive and forward‑looking business meeting was held with Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists today at the ASM in Auckland, reinforcing our ongoing partnership and areas of mutual interest.