Updates on gas exchange, CF and the big health policy debates in Canberra are among the highlights for this weekend’s TSANZ annual scientific meeting for specialists in lung health and respiratory science.

But organisers admit the greatest drawcard for many in the specialty is likely to be the social calendar at the conference, the first major TSANZ event to be held face-to-face since early 2019.

Jointly conducted with the Australian and New Zealand Society of Respiratory Science, the TSANZ 23 meeting is scheduled to begin on 25 March, with nearly 1000 delegates expected at the Te Pae Convention Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand.

“A lot of us just haven’t seen each other in three or four years. This is our first conference back,” says TSANZ organising committee chair Dr Shannon Simpson.

“We surveyed the members early in the planning process and the thing that came through overwhelmingly was that people wanted opportunities to catch up and reconnect so we have put in a number of events to try to help facilitate that.”

With that in mind, the organising team has created a number of dedicated networking and “meet an expert” events, as well as the usual hectic social program of years gone by.

The program even includes yoga classes among other opportunities “where people can catch up and talk science outside of the regular scientific sessions”, Dr Simpson says.

She stresses the conference, which has been programmed around a key theme of disparities in respiratory health care, does have a major clinical focus.

International speakers include Assistant Professor Isaretta Riley of Duke University School of Medicine and Columbia University Professor Maureen George.

“Coming from the US, they will have some really interesting perspectives around disparities in health care. But it won’t just be doom and gloom, they are coming with evidence that shows how we can help to overcome those disparities,” Dr Simpson says.

And in a first for TSANZ, the meeting will feature sessions breaking down the society’s recently published clinical documents around the use of acute oxygen in adults and also the bronchiectasis guidelines for children, adolescents and adults.

“Our speakers will be looking at those clinical documents and discussing them in a way that will be accessible to conference goers with messages they can take back to their own practice,” she says.

Those unable to attend in person have until Tuesday to sign up for online access (link here).

The limbic will be attending the conference in Christchurch from Saturday to Monday. Come say hi, or look out for our full coverage in next week’s issues.