SA trauma return....

Arrived 13^th Nov 2011-11-22 – week one

Well  I have finally returned as I promised in April. A few tough months.

The 14,000 word paper has been written and some presentations delivered, the blog has been published and I spoke at the RCN conference in Birmingham 1 day before about the SA trauma experience, and the Florence Nightingale conference is next March as I have been asked to present the travel scholarship award section.

Returning is heart warming and familiar in Cape Town- the roads, the people, the culture and table mountain covering the landscape with such presence and power. Deep breath of the mountain and sea air, its good to be back in this beautiful city, especially as I know my way around confidently competing with the mini bus taxis.

Nervous and excited my 2^nd conference to present, this much bigger - the international emergency care conference in Cape Town.

Day one USAR Urban Search and Rescue at the Disasters Management Centre Tygberg Hospital, so good to see Prof K again very pleased to see him, also met Trevor Glass chair International Search and Rescue Advisory group INSARAG  and disaster management Australia an experienced S African, among other lead Drs and profs. Excellent day lectures on USAR and then off to a disaster site for practical exercises- like my last weekend antics USAR training in the UK, nicer place though.

The warmth on my skin from the cape sun and the warmth from the SA people is delightful. And so prepping for the conference, and seeing old friends and influential leaders.

Now the international conference centre in Cape Town is an amazingly large grand professional high tech building stretching a part of the city – I looked up with a slight feeling of anticipation followed by a feeling of  exhilaration. The Emergency Care conference was a proficient affair, clinicians and profs from around the globe attending. The medical stalls and stands where impressive and displayed the latest technology and expert clinical management. Good to meet the medical/trauma leads again- EMSSA/ENSSA, Net.Care, kind hearted welcome backs from the organisers and praise on my paper they had read.

The ENSSA leads delivered powerful SA nursing presentations and even quoted Barleycorn 2011 in the lectures and thanked me to the crowd. The passion of the subject is something I agree with and hope to make a difference too. My humility augmented even more.

I have also been able to spend time with the INSARAG United Nations medical and operational working group- where USAR medical and operational leads representing different countries come together to discuss and create INSARAG methodology and guidelines. 

And so onto the conference day I spoke at 17^th Nov- my name published to present in the thick distinguished international conference document. No pressure then..

Nevertheless thankfully it went very well and the audience where receptive on my presentation on USAR- ensuring medical competencies. Prof K was very pleased who run the USAR seminars – that was really good, his praise is one from a experienced professional who is head of EM J’Burg and FIFA, USAR in SA and that’s just for starters. In a male dominated doctor environment I was a political pawn- my subject, gender and profession!

So now to relax, chill before I head back to J’burg to work prehospital and back to Bara!!