The Medical Scientist

Transcription

1 1 P a g e, vol. 2011, no. 1, pp An official publication of the Australian Institute of s New South Wales Branch. Brought to you from Your Editorial Team Welcome Edition Editorial Team: Anne Drury Agustin Franco Sarah Just Dennis Loughhead Dennis Mok Fariba Moussavirad Anup Patel Gillian Rozenberg

2 2 P a g e 4 NSW National Scientific Meeting From your Deputy Chair 6 From your Chair AIMS 7 Fellowship Program 8 South Pacific Congress Report ACT 13 Act Now! News from the ACT! 15 Immunohaematology Quality Assurance Programme APACE 16 What s On

3 3 P a g e Your Branch Committee Chair Dennis Mok MAICD MAIMS MNZIMLS CAHRI FAIM FNZIM dennis.mok1@gmail.com Deputy Chair Gillian Rozenberg FAIMS gillian_rozenberg@yahoo.com Secretary Anne Drury annedrury@hotmail.com Treasurer Fariba Moussavirad MASM fariba.moussavirad@laverty.com.au Committee Member Agustin Franco agustin.franco@laverty.com.au Committee Member Sarah Just MAIMS sarah.just@sesiahs.health.nsw.gov.au Committee Member Dennis Loughhead MAIMS dkloughhead@yahoo.com.au Committee Member Anup Patel LIBMS MASM anup.patel@me.com Committee Member Sandra Pitchfork MAIMS sandra.pitchfork@det.nsw.edu.au Student Representative Vacant Student Representative Vacant

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5 5 P a g e From your Deputy Chair It is with great pleasure that I am able to write to you all as Deputy Chair of the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists (AIMS) New South Wales (NSW) Branch. Gillian Rozenberg FAIMS Committee held its first meeting on Wednesday the 3 August at Laverty Pathology in North Ryde. At this meeting great enthusiasm was shown by all. Foremost in our minds was how to revitalise the NSW Branch of AIMS. Many ideas were explored, in particular, the idea of bringing AIMS to the regional areas of NSW. I personally have been very much aware for many years that most of the educational seminars and workshops held by AIMS have taken place in Sydney. This often makes it difficult for regional members to attend. So the good news is that we intend to conduct multidisciplinary seminars and workshops in regional areas of NSW. We thought that multidisciplinary meetings would attract many of you and would be especially applicable for scientists working in country laboratories. As the South West Division is going to hold a conference in Wagga Wagga in April 2012 we thought we would starrt off in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT); after all we are the combined NSW and ACT Branch of AIMS! Your thoughts and ideas as to how we can accommodate positive changes with in NSW AIMS are most welcome. Please any member of the Committee at any time. On a more personal note, my case study book has just been released by Elsevier. It is titled Cases in Microscopic Haematology. It contains 80 cases; red cell, white cell, platelet and malaria cases with answers in the back of the book. It also contains 106 high quality images with access to a virtual library of 20 annotated haematology slides. As for my haematology morphology workshops, two workshops will be conducted in An exciting new feature of these workshops is that every participant will receive a copy of this Cases in Microscopic Haematology book.

6 6 P a g e From your Chair complete change in Committee signals the start of a new era for both the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and New South Wales (NSW) members. I understand that the amount of change we are undergoing can seem exhausting at times but I encourage you to be focused on the projected results. Fortunately we are starting from a solid foundation international reputable Gillian Rozenberg FAIMS and Senior Sarah Just MAIMS who are continuously engaged with the scientific community and are leading this team to meet the challenges which lie ahead. I consider it a privilege and honour to work closely with Medical Scientists of such calibre and professionalism. Dennis Mok MAIMS A scientific career is immensely rewarding but I understand that it can be demanding for members and their families. AIMS families live a unique lifestyle which presents unexpected stress such as complex situations, high workplace tempo, fatigue and talent management. Nevertheless, we have access to a world class continuing professional development program, therefore I personally encourage you to draw on these resources so that you are well trained to deal with the unique challenges associated with your career. As a team we are committed to ensuring that your membership is fulfilling, respected and supported. What we need is your support and input to meet our current and future challenges. It is part of our overall commitment to put in place the right support mechanisms to engage our members talent and involvement. Recently we invested significantly into strategic planning for our 2012 events. se include increasing the frequency of clinical review sessions and launching a full weekend scientific program in the ACT. se will be supplemented with Haematology Discussion Group meetings led by Robert Casten and Geoff Kershaw as well as forming a Microbiology Special Interest Group, led by Fariba Moussavirad. Recently I was fortunate to attend the 8th South Pacific Congress in September, the Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists Conference in October and the North Coast Division Conference in November. I was able to network, learn, benchmark and add value from my peers and at the same time be able to observe the professionalism of the medical science professionals. In summary, I thank you and your family for your membership and support for AIMS to date. I also thank sponsors whose support is instrumental to our success.

7 7 P a g e Australian Institute of Medical Scientists (AIMS) Fellowship Program

8 8 P a g e Report, South Pacific Congress 8th AIMS/NZIMLS South Pacific Congress was held at Gold Coast Convention Centre on 8 August 2011 through to the 12 August theme for congress was Lights, Camera, Action based around the proximity to Movie World theme park on the Gold Coast. Each of the days had a movie theme to it. Sarah Just MAIMS opening day, the theme was Waterworld: Water Trauma and Diseases. opening session included the official opening by Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley AC, the Governor of Queensland and then presentation of AIMS and NZIMLS Awards by Associate Professor Tony Woods MAIMS (AIMS President) and Kenneth Beechey (NZIMLS President). Professor John Mattick, Professor of Molecular Biology and NHMRC Australia Fellow at the CSIRO Institute for Molecular Bioscience then gave an interesting presentation on the central role of RNA in human development. This was followed by the Saal-Foley lecture for 2011 given by Damien Heathcote FAIMS titled Lights, Camera, Action Which Movie are we in?. Dr David Spain from the Gold Coast Hospital Emergency Department (ED) gave two very relavent presentations on the pathology of drowning Swim Between the Flags and also a look at the identity and integrity of pathology specimens from ED s Are our patients swimming safely between the flags and at what cost. He presented data on a study done at his hospital on reducing errors on pathology collections in these patients. afternoon sessions were a varied mix all relating around the water theme. Topics included Uses of the Hyperbaric Chamber, Water related Forensics, Box Jellyfish, Microsporidia, Water Borne Infections, Mosquito-borne Pathogens and the Threat to Australia, Global Warming Impact on Diseases and Testing of Boat Refugees.

9 9 P a g e Day two, the theme was Basic Instinct: Back to Basics. morning session included the History of Pathology, Back to Basics Buffers and Stains and Basic Microscopy. We then broke into concurrent sessions including Haematology Morphology Can we still learn from the blood film? presented by Dr Barbara Bain from London and other sessions on flow cytometry, microbiology, histopathology and biochemistry. afternoon continued the theme on back to basics with workshops on cytogenetics, histopathology, mycology, coagulation and transfusion. day finished with a presentation from Captain Dennis Mok MAIMS on Technical Challenges for Combat s in the Australian Army: Adapt, Improvise and Overcome. Day three, the theme was Aliens: the Immune System. morning session included presentations on Paediatric Immunity from Dr Bronwyn Williams, Royal Brisbane and Women s Hospital and Lymphocyte Perforin: structure/function and its role in disease by Professor Joseph Trapani, Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute. Concurrent sessions followed with Neutrophils (Haematology), Opportunistic Infections (Microbiology), Immunology and Flow, Transfusion and Hepatitis B and Tumour Markers (Biochemistry) all along the theme of the immune system. afternoon sessions included workshops on Paediatric morphology, KIMMS workshop RCPA, Scientific Writing, Point of Care and Histopathology. Day four, the theme was Back to the Future: New Technology. morning session included a presentation on Introduction to Molecular Pathology by Shane Byrne, SNP Pathology and Microarray testing/gene analysis by Dr Glenn Francis, Pathology Queensland. Concurrent sessions followed including proffered papers, transfusion, histopathology, chemistry, molecular and coagulation. afternoon concluded with a combined session and presentations on Competency: Do you have the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities? and an entertaining session on Team Development for Laboratory Professionals given by Dr Joe McDermott. This was followed up by the congress dinner which saw much eating, drinking and dancing as only scientists can. final day s theme was That s All Folks. morning had two very fascinating talks on Stem Cell Research by Professor Peter Rathjen, University of Tasmania and Mesenchymal stromal cells by Dr Ian Lewis, IMVS Adelaide. n the final session concluded with the Inaugural Bloodisloe Cup a debate between Australia and New Zealand panels on That with the newer molecular and diagnostic imaging techniques, together with the focus on PoCT, that there will be no need for pathology laboratories from This was a very entertaining debate facilitated by Associate Professor Tony Badrick FAIMS, Bond University. debate was fiercely contested and by audience vote the cup went to New Zealand. congress closed with prize draws and farewells from the AIMS and NZIMLS Presidents. If you wish to view some of the presentations, please see your colleagues who attended the congress as they have access to them on the website.

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13 13 P a g e Act Now! News from the ACT! After the recent formation of the new Branch Committee, it is with great excitement that the committee are in the preliminary stages of once again bringing an enjoyable, and informative multidisciplinary weekend conference to Canberra in Conference will cover various aspects of pathology, laboratory leadership, expert reviewed clinical cases and new technologies in pathology. It is an exciting time for all our members, in particular those members in the ACT and surrounding areas, as the new committee and I are one hundred percent dedicated to successfully bringing this multidisciplinary conference to Canberra for Anup Patel conference gives you a chance to meet fellow professionals, engage in discussion, learn something new from the expert presenters or consolidate what you already know, and as the saying goes there s something for everyone and I encourage all our members to watch this space for further information and act now to make Canberra 2012 a success!

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16 16 P a g e What s On April South West Australian Institute of s Annual Conference Until 29 April Commercial Club, Wagga Wagga 28 Haematology Morphology Workshop Until 29 April Sir Stamford Hotel, Sydney TBA State Conference, Australian Institute of s Queensland Branch April Toowoomba August Haematology Morphology Workshop Until 26 August Sir Stamford Hotel, Sydney September National Scientific Meeting, Australian Institute of s Until 27 September Darwin Convention Centre, Darwin November 2012 TBA Conference, Australian Institute of s North Coast Division November New South Wales