This year’s Australasia NAVIGATOR conference was conducted remotely for the second year running, with the added bonus of participants being able to replay sessions if they were not able to view them during the 2-day conference itself. Because of the increased ambulance workload across Australia and New Zealand due to Covid-related issues, the decision was made to record the sessions to allow for viewing at a more convenient time if needed.
Participants could also make use of the chat function contained within the conference software to allow communication between the virtual attendees, the conference organizers, and the session presenters.
The content of NAVIGATOR was quite varied, with a couple of interactive sessions that involved the participants in real-time discussion, including the opportunity for questions and answers during the session itself. Chip Hlavacek, PDC Director of Client Support Services, gave an update on the IAED College website, and Meridith Jensen, PDC Regional Contractor Administrator, Software Training, conducted an informative Software Q&A session.
The IAED Dispatcher of the Year for the Australasian Region was awarded to Lewis Stadler from Ambulance Tasmania, a very worthy recipient for this achievement.
Brian Dale (PDC President), along with Kim Rigden (IAED Associate Director of Accreditation), provided information relating to the latest content and direction for the protocol Performance Standards, which are continuously being refined and improved based on data evaluated by the IAED.
In his closing statement, Jerry Overton (IAED President) stated his hope that next year’s Australasia NAVIGATOR conference would be held as an event that people could once again attend in person and participate in at a face-to-face level.
