| From the President |
| Dear Members, I believe many of us, including myself approached the commencement of 2022 with a renewed sense of hope that the New Year would herald a new beginning and provide us with some much-needed relief from the past two years which saw us battling the challenges of Covid. However, this was not to be. The New Year wreaked havoc not only in escalating Covid numbers in the community but we also saw staffing levels across the board being affected by the spread of the virus. We lay witness to widespread destruction from multiple weather events and in recent weeks, we have watched albeit from afar, a humanitarian disaster unfolding across Europe. Throughout all of this, the trauma community has remained steadfast. We have continued to deliver compassionate care to those who are in need of our services, and we have seen trauma colleagues reach out to one another, to offer support, in whatever form is required. Being part of a community that cares brings its challenges, but it never fails to remind us that we are a community, connected in a common goal, which is of course to care for our patients and for each other and for this I am most grateful. The 2022 Trauma Conference is a collaboration between the Australasian Trauma Society (ATS) and our Queensland Trauma Symposium colleagues. This is our first face to face binational conference in two years and we hope that you will be able to join us in Brisbane on September 1-4 to share in this experience. The Organising and Scientific Committees under the guidance of our conference convenors, Dinesh Varma and Martin Wullschleger are busily planning and preparing a diverse program, which includes a wide array of preconference workshops, a robust scientific program, and an engaging social program so that we can celebrate coming together, to share and learn from each other. It is shaping up to be a wonderful event, that will highlight innovation, collaboration, and education across our trauma networks and systems. We hope to see you at Trauma 2022. The Gordon Trinca Lectureship is a prestigious honour that commemorates the work of Mr Gordon Trinca FRACS. It recognises and promotes contributions to trauma care through education and teaching. In order to gain a greater understanding of the honour and privilege that comes with delivering this lectureship, we need to better understand and appreciate the contributions that Mr Gordon Trinca made to the world of trauma. As a trauma surgeon, Mr Trinca’s distinguished career involved not only the management of trauma, but also the prevention of road trauma and trauma education. He was instrumental in the introduction of the Early Management of Severe Trauma Program, the promotion of seat-belt wearing and the development and implementation of drink driving countermeasures. This invited lectureship provides the ATS with the ability to recognise the significant contribution made by clinicians in the field of trauma. The recipient of this prestigious award will be notified in the coming months. During the conference gala dinner we will be announcing the inaugural winners of the ATS Awards. These awards provide the ATS together with the wider community the opportunity to recognize outstanding leaders who have contributed to the field of trauma and whose contributions to trauma care aligns with the mission, vision and core values of ATS. We will be calling for nominations in the coming months and we encourage everyone in the trauma community to nominate their colleagues for an award. As mentioned in the previous edition of Trauma Talk the ATS reached an amazing milestone this year as we celebrate our 25th anniversary as a trauma society. Our celebrations will be centred on the conference and the theme for our celebrations will focus on, acknowledging the past, delivering in the present and preparing for the future. It is a time to acknowledge and thank those who had the vision, commitment and the drive to begin the ATS journey, whilst encouraging today’s trauma professionals to support the mission of the society as we move into the future. As the only multidisciplinary trauma society representing our colleagues across Australia and New Zealand, we would like to invite you to encourage your trauma colleagues to join with us in order to build and grow the society so that we can continue to represent all professionals in involved in trauma care across both nations. |
ATS President