Professor Rupert Leong
Trainees, junior gastroenterologists and other health professionals who might have received limited exposure to IBD throughout their training are invited to apply for a place at the IBD School in Sydney in November.
In its goal to help harmonise training across Australia, the IBD School accepts 40 face-to-face attendees from across the country to attend the free, two-day program.
The annual event, an initiative of the not-for-profit IBD Sydney, started in 2016. It even continued in virtual form during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Rupert Leong, Head of IBD Services at Concord Hospital and a director of IBD Sydney, told the limbic the program includes a variety of lectures, small group presentations and interesting case presentations.
He said panel discussions highlight that there are different ways of approaching the same patient and that every drug has its pros and cons.
The faculty this year also includes Professor Michael Kamm, A/Prof Mayur Garg and A/Prof Jonathon Segal (all from Melbourne), Dr Robyn Laube and Dr Aviv Pudipeddi (Sydney), Dr Yoon-Kyo An (Brisbane) and Dr Lena Thin (Perth).
“Apart from the IBD education, the IBD School is also about networking so attendees have the opportunity to speak to these high-level, Australian IBD-ologists. They might be able to go to study under them through a higher degree or their third-year rotation or do a PhD with them.”
“And then we also provide professional educational sessions. So we’ve had speakers talk about the merits of publishing papers, how to get about it, what sort of journals to aim for, and talking about career development.”
“Overall… it’s trying to promote IBD as a career pathway, and how to get there through fellowships, through higher degrees, through publications, through meeting the right people and talking to each other, and going home – hopefully – with a bit more of a zest for managing patients with IBD.”
“And the same goes for anyone motivated or interested in IBD such as IBD nurses or GPs that have a lot of IBD patients. I think that helps to address some of the unmet needs in our community.”
Interstate delegates accepted into the IBD School will have their accommodation and flights provided at no cost – courtesy of a mix of industry sponsors and “ the goodwill of a lot of people”.
Professor Leong said the legacy of IBD School going online during COVID-19 was that international guests from around the Asia-Pacific could continue to join in virtually.
“They’ve seen a rapid rise in the incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases that they haven’t seen before.”
IBD School will be held 4-5 November, 2023 [link here]. Applications for face-to-face attendance are open now.