AMMA is proud to announce the 2009 Conference

AMMA / CCMT 2009
Australian Military Medicine Association / Controversies in Civilian and Military Trauma Conference

To be held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre
Dates: 29 October to 1 November 2009
This is a conjoint conference with AMMA and Controversies in Civilian and Military Trauma and will include:-

A one day workshop to Amberley
Plenary and Concurrent sessions on the topics relating to disciplines within this area

Visit the Conference Website here

The 2008 AMMA CONFERENCE

17-19 October 2008, Hobart Tasmania.

Go to 2008 Conference website

2008 AMMA CONFERENCE REPORT

The Australian Military Medicine Association annual scientific conference was held in Hobart, Tasmania, from 17th to 19th of October 2008.

The Association’s third enterprise in Tasmania attracted over 300 delegates, generously supported by over 32 sponsors. Led by two keynote speakers from the United States, over 70 high-quality papers were read, enthralling and stimulating those who attended.

The conference was opened by the Honourable Warren Snowdon MP, Minister for Defence, Science and Personnel, who spoke of the priorities of his government in supporting both the military and veterans in the health challenges that face them. Key issues about which he spoke were the priority to be given to mental health issues, and revised arrangements for the provision of health care to the dependents of those service personnel living in remote localities.

Minister Snowdon was followed by the new Surgeon General Australian Defence Force Major-General Paul Alexander. Paul provided an outline of some of the recent changes to the higher Defence organisation and the rationale for these. He also noted the need for further reorganisation and outlined a process that would be followed to achieve this. He touched on the priorities for health care delivery to the ADF over the next few years.

The first keynote presentation was given by Colonel Rolland “Randy” Reynolds USAF who, in a fascinating paper entitled “From the ground up – setting up a post-Reconstruction era medical service for the Iraqi Air Force”, gave an outline of the challenges that he faced when given the task. Most interestingly, the key outcome was the training of a cadre of Iraqi Air Force medical officers in aviation medicine, giving them the knowledge and skills to further drive the development of the capability. A great example of the dictum that to provide sustainable benefits one must empower local people in developing their own solutions.

The second session, which provided concurrent breakouts in Health, Safety and Human Factors, and Workforce, provided for one group a variety of stimulating and challenging ideas and concepts for addressing one of the key challenges of any health service in Australia, the development and sustainment of a professional workforce. Aspects relating to health care support and preventative health were also covered in the other group.

In the afternoon the second plenary session was held. This was led by Colonel Andy Williams who brought a team of Special Forces health professionals to talk about the provision of first-line health support in combat situations. The concepts and principles behind Tactical Combat Casualty Care were presented, and the group provided a fascinating outline of some of the approaches to combat casualty care in this challenging operational environment.

The first day finished with three concurrent sessions covering Deployment Health Surveillance, Capability and a grouping of miscellaneous clinical papers.

The first social event of the conference was the welcome reception which was well attended and offered delegates the opportunity to sample some delightful Tasmanian food and beverages whilst mingling with their colleagues.

The second day commenced with another keynote address by Dr Tyler Smith from the United States Millennium Cohort Study, who led a team of three other presenters providing insights into a programme of health status study that offers the potential for huge benefits to military and veterans’ health communities into the future. While the concept of “cost saving initiatives” is unlikely to meet the approval of some ethical experts, the challenges and outcomes achieved by this group were of great interest.

The second session of this day provided three concurrent groupings covering the areas of Training, Health Practice and Governance, and an RAAF Health Update.

After lunch, a plenary session on ethics, which started with two presentations to set the scene followed by a panel discussion, set out some of the challenges and dilemmas that face researchers in general, and in particular those in the military. The stimulating input from the three non-health panel members was particularly refreshing.

The final session of the afternoon, which covered concurrent sessions of Transitions, Training and miscellaneous clinical papers, led into the AMMA Annual General Meeting at the end of the day.

On Saturday evening, conference delegates repaired to the Henry Jones Art Hotel at Constitution Dock for a delightful night of food, conviviality and entertainment. Starting with a cruise along the Derwent River in the pleasantly mild evening weather, delegates sat down to another superb selection of Tasmanian fare. The Vice Chief of the Defence Force Lieutenant General David Hurley said a few words on the challenges and opportunities that face the health services and how their new position within the VCDF Group could enhance the ability to achieve significant change.

During the course of the evening, three of the waiters burst into operatic renditions which were both entertainingly amusing and of a high standard of musical expression. The entire evening was a splendid opportunity for delegates to network and catch up on each other’s progress and adventures.

The third day started, refreshingly late, with two concurrent sessions on Crisis and Capability and Mental Health. The final plenary session covered the ever-present challenge of mental health and deployment, and was led up by six short papers followed by an open forum discussion.

And so in the middle of the Sunday, the general conference ended and delegates proceeded on their way, quite a number taking the opportunity to spend a few extra days in the island state.

Some stayed for an airway management workshop led by Doctors Ben Berg and Dale Vincent from Hawaii, which covered both theory and practical exercises concluding at the end of the day.

The Weary Dunlop Award was won by Dr Adrian Smith for his presentation entitled “Hypoxia below 10,000 feet – an underappreciated risk for helicopter air crew”.

Once again this conference proved to be a huge success with a large number of high-quality papers presented in an environment that supported the open exchange of views and the development and re-engagement of professional connections among the delegates.

As always, the Association is grateful to its sponsors, listed below, for their generous support which allows registration fees to be kept down to a reasonable level.

Next year’s conference will be held at the Gold Coast Conference and Exhibition Centre from the 30th of October to the 1st of November 2009, and no doubt will be every bit as good as the 2008 conference.