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• ASOHNS International Scholarship for Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Surgical Education for 2025 applications are now open.

  This scholarship, up to the amount of $12,000, will provide otolaryngology, head and neck surgeons from developing countries in the Asia Pacific region with the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational opportunities for faculty development and enhancement that will result in acquisition of new knowledge and skills in surgical education and training.

  This knowledge and these skills will be useful in improving surgical education and training at the scholar’s home institution and country.

  The scholar will participate in hands-on course(s) that address surgical education and training across the continuum of professional development. The focus will be on building knowledge and skills in OHNS surgical practice such as FESS, Head & Neck, temporal bone or any other course approved by ASOHNS and relevant to the applicant.

  Following the course, the scholar may visit an appropriate hospital for observation of relevant clinical areas.

  At the conclusion of the course and visits to suitable institutions, the scholar will send to the Outreach Committee a brief report outlining how the aims outlined in their application for the

  scholarship have been achieved.

  Evidence of support of the scholar’s objectives from the leadership at the home institution must be provided by the applicant and will be used as one of the criteria for selection of the scholar.

  The scholarship will support costs of up to $12,000, for travel, accommodation, meals and registration fees for course(s) undertaken. Assistance in reserving accommodation in the course city is available if required.

  Please carefully read the requirements listed on the following page. All requirements must be fulfilled, and all requested documents provided in a timely manner, for an application to be eligible.

  Applicants must fill in all fields marked with an asterisk (*). If an applicant has nothing to put into a required field, enter N/A, meaning “Not Applicable.”

  Per the published requirements, applicants must also submit three (3) independently prepared letters of recommendation.

  In addition, applicants are to write an essay of no more than one page regarding their work setting, including their hospital and the patients they see, as well as their participation in quality improvement activities in this setting.

  They are to indicate their career goals, indicating how they will transfer learning to their current situation. Recommenders are requested to address the applicant’s educational goals as expressed in their essay.

  Application materials are due no later than December 15, 2024, and are accepted via e-mail

  only. Please send materials to the Outreach Committee via email to: ceo@asohns.org.au

  Click here for the application form

  The scholarship requirements are:

  • Applicants must be graduates of schools of medicine.

  • Applicants must be at least 30 years old but under 55, on the date that the completed application is submitted.

  • Applicants must submit their applications from their intended permanent location.

  • Applications will be accepted for processing only when the applicants have been in surgical practice and teaching for a minimum of one year following completion of all formal training (including fellowships and scholarships).

  • Applicants must submit a fully completed application form provided by the Society on its website. The application and accompanying materials must be typewritten and in English.

  • Applicants are responsible for arranging their own travel Visa to enter Australia at their own cost. Evidence of a valid travel Visa must be supplied at least one month prior to travel. If this is not provided, the scholarship will be withdrawn. The applicant will be eligible to re-apply in the following year.

  • Applicants must submit independently prepared letters of recommendation from three (3) of their colleagues. One letter must be from the Chair of the Department or division in which the applicant holds an academic or clinical appointment, or a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons residing in their country. If the applicant is the sole ENT surgeon in a small country, the letter can be from other senior persons with whom the applicant has worked in their country.

  • The International Scholarship for OHNS Surgical Education must be used in the year for which it is designated. It cannot be postponed.

  • Awardees are expected to provide a written report upon their return home, specifically focusing on the value of the visit to the awardee and the potentialbeneficial effect to patients in the country of origin.

  • Unsuccessful applicants may reapply only twice and only by completing and submitting a current application form provided by the Society, together with new supporting documentation.

• WORLD HEARING DAY 2020: HEARING FOR LIFE: DON'T LET HEARING LOSS LIMIT YOU

  World Hearing Day is held on 3 March each year to raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and promote ear and hearing care across the world. 

  On World Hearing Day 2020, WHO will highlight that timely and effective interventions can ensure that people with hearing loss are able to achieve their full potential. It will draw attention to the options available in this respect.  

  Key messages for World Hearing Day 2020: 

  At all life stages, communication and good hearing health connect us to each other, our communities, and the world.

  For those who have hearing loss, appropriate and timely interventions can facilitate access to education, employment and communication.

  Globally, there is lack of access to interventions to address hearing loss, such as hearing aids.

  Early intervention should be made available through the health systems.

   

  Links to flyers for the following:

  • WHD Toolkit
  • WHD Presentation
  • WHD People with Hearing Loss
  • WHD Flyer for Parents
  • WHD Infographic for Policy Makers
• OAM for NSW Member

  ASOHNS congratulates A/Prof Richard Gallagher on receiving MEDAL (OAM) OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA IN THE GENERAL DIVISION - 

  For services to medicine as a surgeon.

  St Vincent's Health Network

  Director Cancer Services, since 2015. Director Head and Neck Service, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, since 2013. Chair, St Vincent's Head and Neck Cancer Multidisciplinary Team, since 2017. Department Head, Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, St Vincent's Clinic, since 2000. Chair, St Vincent's Medical Staff Executive Council, current, and Member, since 2016. Member, St Vincent's Hospital Clinical Council, since 2015. Regular guest speaker, St Vincent's Curran Foundation, since 2013. St Vincent's Private Medical Advisory Committee, 2000-2017. Chair St Vincent's Hospital Tracheostomy Working Party, 2014-2016. Darlinghurst Campus Master Planning Working Group, 2010-2014. Chair, Medical Advisory Committee, St Vincent's Private Hospital, 2008-2011, and Deputy Chair, 2006-2007. Creator, St Vincent's Head and Neck Advanced Surgical Fellowship position, 2017. Founder, St Vincent's Head and Neck Dissection Course, 2019, and the Sinus Surgery Course, 2002. Founder, St Vincent's Head and Neck Fund, 2005. Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Fellowship Examiner Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, 2010-2018. Chair, National Board of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, 2012-2016. Chair, New South Wales Regional Training Sub-Committee, 2007-2012. Member, Board of Surgical Education and Training, 2012-2016. Member, New South Wales Regional Training Sub-Committee, 2002-2012. Certificate of Outstanding Service, 2018 and 2016. Fellow, since 1996. Australian Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Chair, 2016-2016 Medical - Other Chair, Head and Neck Working Group, Cancer Institute New South Wales, since 2017. Board Member, Australian and New Zealand Head and Neck Cancer Society, since 2017. Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame Australia, since 2013. Co-founder Head and Neck Genomics Project, 2017. Co-creator, Australia's first non-hospital based head and neck screening clinic, BankWest Stadium, Parramatta, 2019. Specialty Editor, Australian New Zealand Journal of Surgery, 2013-2018. Member, Editorial Board, Australian Supplement of the Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 2009-2017.

• Order of Australia Medal 2024

  Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the General Division

  Dr George Patrick Bridger, NSW

  For significant service to medicine through otolaryngology head and neck surgery.

  Clinical

  • Visiting Otolaryngologist, Head and Neck Oncology Unit, Prince of Wales Hospital, 1970-2006.

  • Visiting Otolaryngologist, Head and Neck Oncology Unit, Bankstown Hospital, 1970-2006.

  Academic

  • Conjoint Associate Professor, University of New South Wales, 2002-2007.

  • Examiner, University of Kebangsaan Malaysia, 2001.

  • Visiting Professor (RACS), Malaysian College of Surgeons meeting in Kuala Lumpur, 1992.

  • Visiting Professor, Memorial Hospital New York, 1977.

  Australian Society Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery

  • President, 1997.

  • Past Chairman, New South Wales Section.

  Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

  • Fellow / Senior Examiner, Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, since 1965.

  • Former Member, Surgical Oncology Committee.

  • Fellow, since 1995.

  Professional Affiliations

  • Former Inaugural President, Australia and New Zealand Head and Neck Cancer Society.

  • Faculty Member, Vanderbilt University Head and Neck Meeting, Colorado, 17 years.

  • Editorial Board Member, Current Opinion in Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Journal.

  • Co-Organiser, 2nd World Congress on Laryngeal Cancer, Sydney, 1994.

  • Guest Speaker, New Zealand Otolaryngological Society, Fiji, 1986.

  • Panel Member on Laryngeal Cancer, International Federation of Otolaryngological Societies, Buenos Aires, 1978.

  • Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons of England, since 1966.

  • Developed operations for septal perforations and hereditary nasal telangiectasia.

  • Contributed to over 70 scientific papers.

  Awards and Recognition include:

  • George Syme Medal, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

  • ESR Hughes Award, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, 2008.

  • Doctor of Medical Science (Honoris Causa), University of New South Wales, 1995.

  • The Garnet Halloran Award, 1974 (for research in Head and Neck Cancer).

  • Bertha Sudholtz Award, University of Adelaide, 1971 (for research in Otolaryngology)

• INALA HEALTH CENTRE: BIG STEP IN THE CLOSING THE GAP

  It should shame us that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have such poor health outcomes. They die 10 years younger and have much higher death rates than non-indigenous people across all age groups and for all major causes of death.

   

  Heart disease, advanced cancer, diabetes and subsequent kidney failure, untreated blindness and childhood deafness are far too common. Cancer is diagnosed later and incomplete treatment is almost the norm. The rate of First Nations’ discharge against medical advice, an indicator of health systems’ successfully engaging patients, is eight times higher than for non-indigenous Australians. Despite employing Aboriginal liaison officers, hospitals are failing First Nations people.

  Health messages are being ignored: 39 per cent of indigenous people smoke daily compared with 14 per cent of the Australian population. Consequently, heart disease is eight times higher in middle-aged indigenous Australians. The commonest cancers in First Nations people are lung and head and neck (mouth and throat), both smoking-related. Diabetes is three times more prevalent and chronic renal failure, an indicator of poor diabetes management, is five times higher. 

   Last year’s Australian Medical Association report card on Closing the Gap highlights that health systems are designed for “equity of outcome”. But something is wrong when First Nations people are 10 times less likely to be added to a kidney transplant waiting list and 30 per cent less likely to be offered cataract surgery. 

  Health expenditure on those with greater needs should be higher. Combined public and private hospital costs of First Nations people with cancer and musculoskeletal disease (hip and knee replacements and so on) are lower than for non-indigenous Australians. The cost of mental and behavioural disorders, diabetes and injuries are higher. 

   

  The lower cost of orthopaedic and musculoskeletal services but higher rates of obesity and injuries reflect the lack of access to public health services. The higher rates of cancer but lower spend on cancer services for First Nations people is disgraceful. 

   

  We may pride ourselves on our multiculturalism, but “otherness” and pigeonholing are everywhere. 

   

  Assumptions by staff that the indigenous patient will not turn up for an operation mean they often are not placed on theatre lists. The reasoning that remote indigenous people will not arrive when a matched kidney donor becomes available at necessarily short notice may explain the one-tenth rate of indigenous people offered a place on transplant lists. 

   

  Indigenous people are slower to access medical services to investigate health complaints. The abdominal pain or rectal bleeding that signifies a possible bowel cancer is just too hard to investigate when you have to leave a safe environment and dependent children to travel many hours by car and then train or plane to a potentially unsafe hostel to be seen by white health professionals who don’t understand your thinking and culture.  

   

  Then the assumption is often made that the appointments for investigations that may have long waiting lists and require other long journeys won’t be kept. 

   

  Canada and the US have similar indigenous health issues, although not as bad. Each is building First Nations hospital networks run by indigenous organisations for indigenous patients. The hospital is “culturally safe” in design and staffing. Cancer investigations are expedited, as are ear and eye surgeries that are relatively cheap and simple. 

   

  Diabetes and chronic renal failure with dialysis are treated in a sensitive environment that encourages engagement and participation. Indigenous hospitals can be training centres for indigenous employment from nursing to accounting and building maintenance. They can be places where non-indigenous health professionals are taught cultural sensitivity and about the health and emotional needs of our 800,000 First Australians. 

   

  St Vincent’s Healthcare Australia has allocated funding from its inclusive health program to test the viability and business case of a First Nations hospital and health network proposed for Inala in Brisbane. Its steering committee is led by Noel Hayman, Queensland’s first Aboriginal doctor and specialist public health physician. He is director of the Inala Indigenous Health Service, which is associated with the University of Queensland. He is being advised by Kelvin Kong, Australia’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander surgeon, and other respected and senior specialists.

   

  There are 85,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders living in the neighbourhood of the Inala centre. That is the population of Bundaberg, which has a 240-bed public hospital with five operating theatres and an endoscopy suite, along with three private hospitals with 10 operating rooms and four theatres for endoscopies.

   

  It is envisaged the Inala health centre hospital will be a 23-hour hospital for indigenous patients to enable them to comfortably enter the hospital system. It will have the cancer surgeons and endoscopists to screen for the cancers that present in great numbers and are too advanced to cure. 

   

  It will be a waiting list reduction hospital for non-indigenous people. It would be a culturally sensitive place with good, clean hostel accommodation next door. This Aboriginal hospital will screen for cancer of the lungs, bowel, throat and breast. Patients then can be referred directly to the major tertiary hospitals including Princess Alexandra, Logan and QEII, and the patients will be supported in that journey. The Inala First Nations hospital also can help patients in other areas where results are still poor — dental care, dialysis and palliative services.

   

  If a sustainable model of care for indigenous Australians can be built in Inala, other indigenous hospitals could be built elsewhere. We have to close the gap. Spare capacity in these indigenous hospitals could be filled with the overflowing non-indigenous waiting list patients. Everyone’s a winner.

   

  Planning for Inala makes the case that Australia can catch up with Canada and the US in addressing poor indigenous health outcomes with a well-funded indigenous hospital and health network. Now the community needs to face the challenge of funding the building and ensuring sustainable ongoing resourcing. We need equality of outcome in First Nations health to start to close the gap in education and economic outcomes. Today’s healthcare model fails them.

   

  Christopher Perry is an associate professor at the University of Queensland. This essay was published in The Australian 3 July 2019

• ASOHNS ASM2025 Registrations are now open

  President's Invitation

  On behalf of ASOHNS , it is my pleasure to invite you to the 75th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery to be held at the iconic International Convention Centre, Sydney from Friday March 28th to Sunday, March 30th, 2025.

  
  Under the leadership of Megan Hobson as Convener and Julia Crawford as Scientific Convener, the organising committee have prepared a dynamic program that will feature renowned local and international experts sharing invaluable insights and advancements in otolaryngology, head, and neck surgery. Attendees can also participate in interactive workshops and hands-on sessions organised by leading practitioners, offering practical skills and techniques that can help improve your practice and enhance patient care. The OHN Nurses Group will run sessions parallel to the main congress program that promise to be extremely informative as well.

  
  The 75th ASOHNS Annual Scientific Meeting promises to be a highlight of the otolaryngology year, providing opportunities for education, networking, and camaraderie. Moreover, Sydney, with its iconic landmarks, vibrant culture, and warm hospitality, provides the perfect backdrop for this gathering. Perhaps even consider extending your time in the city to further enjoy its cosmopolitan charm and beautiful beaches.

  
  Please reserve the dates of March 28–30, 2025, in your calendar. We look forward to welcoming you to Sydney for the ASOHNS Conference 2025.