ICPNT EC members participated in four neuroanesthesia meetings around the world. These meetings included the Neuroanesthesia and Critical Care Society of Great Britain and Ireland (NACCS), the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA), the World Congress of Anesthesiology (WCA) in Singapore, and the Finnish Society of Anesthesiologists / Section of Neuroanaesthesia.
NACCS
Andrew Kofke attended the Neuroanesthesia and Critical Care Society meeting in Newcastle England, presenting two talks: “Taxonomy of Intracranial Hypertension” and “Endovascular Thrombectomy for Ischemic Stroke: Anesthesia Issues.”
The meeting was notable for a significant presence of neuroanesthesia trainees. Several research reports were presented with a winning abstract citation awarded to Dr Steven Stenhoff, “Processed EEG monitoring in Neuro anaesthesia: A survey on the current scope of practice and problems encountered with depth of anesthesia monitoring”
Best poster prize recognition went to Dr Gabrielle Adkins,” The Role of Tranexamic Acid in the Initial Management of Traumatic Brain Injury.” and best poster presented by an Allied Health Professional was by Tracy Foulkes, “Does the use of ultrasound guided optic nerve sheath diameter measuring enable early identification of raised intracranial pressure in adult patients with severe traumatic brain injury?”
UK now has three ICPNT accredited fellowship programs. Kofke led a brief discussion with the NACCS Executive Committee of ICPNT fellowship accreditation and garnered feedback that the accreditation process, with its formative and summative application elements was thought to promote improvement in the fellowship programs which had undergone the process.
WCA
At the World Congress of Anesthesiology in Singapore, the ICPNT showcased a significant panel highlighting the advancements achieved by the accreditation body over the past five years. The session, moderated by Chanhung Lee, featured prominent presentations from the ICPNT Executive Committee members.
Figure 1:
Dr. Shobana Rajan (Chair of the ICPNT) provided an insightful update on the current status of worldwide neuroanesthesia fellowship accreditation, emphasizing the milestones reached and ongoing efforts.
Dr. Valpuri Luoma (ICPNT Vice chair) shared perspectives from the University College of London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, shedding light on their accreditation experiences.
Dr. Ruquan Han (ICPNT Program Director from China) presented the Beijing-Tiantan experience, offering a unique view from China.
Dr. Tumul Chowdhury (Chair of the ICPNT Fellowship Review Committee) concluded with an engaging discussion on the future of international accreditation and the evolving review processes.
The talks were met with great enthusiasm, sparking numerous questions about the accreditation process, and prompting a lively debate on the differences between ICPNT and other accreditation bodies.
ANZCA
The 2024 Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) was held May 2024 with the theme ‘Limitless’. ICPNT was represented by Dr Highton (ICPNT EC and Chair of Research Committee) and Dr Luoma (ICPNT Vice Chair) with a lively debate on neuroanaesthesia training and an update on ICPNT to the Neuroanaesthesia Special Interest Group. The ASM was held in Brisbane, Queensland.
Finnish Society of Anesthesiologists
The Finnish Society of Anesthesiologists / Section of Neuroanaesthesia 30th Anniversary Meeting occurred in May 2024. The meeting was held in Turku, Finland’s oldest city and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. A summary of this meeting is presented in an article by Dr Takala in SNACC International News.
Both SNACC and ICPNT members were invited to participate. The focus of the session was on education and training in neuroanesthesiology, including an interesting discussion on global differences. Topics included education effectiveness presented by Dr Theard (SNACC Secretary-Treasurer), simulation training presented by Dr Adedugbe (ICPNT NPR Committee) and an over-view of ICPNT presented by Dr Luoma (ICPNT Vice Chair).
Figure 2:
Finland has an established 2-year neuroanesthesiology fellowship program with many areas that align with the ICPNT ethos. Fellows also complete an end of fellowship specialist examination. It was a privilege for ICPNT representatives to be invited to participate in this meeting, to make new friends, and to have the opportunity to share and learn more about different education and training experiences.
Figure legends:
Figure 1. ICPNT Representation [Drs. Chowdhury, Luoma, Rajan, and Lee] at World Congress of Anaesthesiologists, Singapore.
Figure 2. ICPNT Representation [Drs Adedugbe, Luoma, and Theard] at the Finnish Society of Anesthesiology – Neuroanaesthesia Section
