Smacc

Chris Nickson talks about personal moments in his career in critical care that have really challenged him. Jenny Rudolph then builds on the work in the previous sessions. She shows us how to react, accept, reset and engage and outlines the psychological principles which underpin these concepts. Hopefully, these sessions will really help us deal with the workplace stressors we all encounter.

Emotion is always present in critical conversations. When we recognize emotion, validate feelings and respond with empathy and curiosity, we allow patients and their families to engage in the process, to build trust, and to better understand their values. When emotions are too intense, or feelings are not validated, people become disengaged, less trusting, and often fail to explore and understand the deeper values‚and instead may act on raw, surface emotions that actually may not be in their best interest. We often answer feelings with facts. Instead, we should G.I.V.E. when we encounter emotion. G.I.V.E. is a mnemonic tool that offers a simple approach to responding when an emotion arises in conversations. First, get that there are emotion present and pause. Identify what you think the emotion might be or describe what behaviours you are noticing. Validate the feelings expressed. Explore to understand better and offer your curiosity and caring. And if you can't remember what G.I.V.E. is prompting you to do,

The rehabilitation of people who have cognitive impairment after TBI should be based on an understanding of what is the likely cause of that impairment,

Crystalloids and colloids used in critically ill patients have different fluid composition. The composition may affect many things, including response to administration, clinical outcomes, and adverse effects. This talk with discuss the evidence behind the different types of fluids in critically ill patients, including a discussion of pros and cons of each fluid type.The session will be an interactive discussion led by investigators who have conducted randomized trials of different types of intravenous fluids.

The SMACC Opening Ceremony is an integral part of the conference welcoming delegates to an educational experience unlike any other. Inspiration for SMACC Sydney included the inverted triangle: the alchemical symbol for water which is steeped in history and meaning to represent the City of Sydney and a celebration of diversity and resilience. Retrofuturism influences the design and theming of SMACC Sydney by playing on different aspects of 80’s and 90’s popular culture. Using music as a storytelling medium the show presents a mesmerising and unique soundscape combining elements of classical, electronic and popular music deftly created by Composer and Music Director Jake Meadows. This year’s opening ceremony echoes the program through four stems and performances each illustrating the unique and essential role we play as critical care professionals: Learning and Culture, People and Planet, Bedside Critical Care and Science and Innovation. The show opens with a spoken word performance by Nardi Simpson, an Indige

Social media has allowed for important spread of medical knowledge to the public but has also seen the inexorable rise of fake news. Mistrust in the medical profession may be exasperated by misinformation in public domains. Prominent cases such as the Jahi McMath case have led to ethical discussions regarding death. How are we going as neurocritical care professionals?

Technology is good for learning‚ information and even wisdom at our fingertips, tech like simulation and virtual reality is cool. And technology really hit its straps with social and collaborative learning. But technology is bad‚ distracting, and multi-tasking impairs learning, our health can suffer, and good technology can be badly applied (eg PowerPoint as a "crime against connection" in presentations). Some technology is expensive without learning impact, and social media and the internet have dark sides. Vic offers us some thoughts on navigating the good, bad and ugly and suggests some personal strategies for making the most of technology for learning. And there is no Powerpoint.

A neonates journey, just what feedback would your neonatal patient give you after 3 months of intensive care? Listen to the innocent observation and experience of daily life in NICU and perhaps approach a future patient with little voice slightly differently.

How can you live a full creative life in the midst of a busy medical career? Fiona gives a very inspiring talk at the Get Creative Workshop, discussing the fascinating pathway her life has taken, allowing her to fulfill her creative potential whilst still developing her medical career as a paediatric emergency physician.

OHCA, Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest is surrounded in controversies from bystander CPR and the use of Adrenaline, to airway management and mechanical CPR. Who better to hear the latest updates from other than Gavin Perkins, author of Paramedic 2 and lead on ILCOR guidelines

Learn how to reinvigorate yourself after nights, a period of downtime, or when you are recovering from compassion fatigue or post critical care exhaustion - Reflection is Key

What can Prehospital and Retrieval Medicine teach us about life? Natalie May reflects on lessons learned at Sydney HEMS - from the practical to the philosophical.

Many critical care practitioners, like workers in other industries, sleep less than recommended amounts, in what is truly an epidemic of poor sleep in our modern industrialised society. The effects of sleep deprivation are serious and visible across all levels of our community. The actual proportion of people who can live on insufficient sleep is extremely low and the first step towards improvement is to recognise when our sleep tank is running on empty. Simple changes in daily habits based on optimizing sleep hygiene can lead to improved wellbeing and are highly likely to lead to profound improvements in physical, mental and emotional health and performance. Sleep quality may well be more important than sleep quantity. Shift work and the scheduling of multiple consecutive daily shifts are a serious impediment and must be considered carefully by our institutional managers. Taking naps is another seemingly simple but logistically challenging method to improve overall sleep. The bravado that sleep is not impor