The 64th annual PAH Health Symposium has wrapped after four engaging days of keynote sessions and panel discussions centred around this year’s theme, "Innovation, Inspiration and Creation: It starts with a spark."
More than 1700 visitors across several key Queensland Health services and research institutes attended. The hybrid event model of in-room and virtual attendance continues to be the key to engagement across specialist professions.
The interactive keynote presentation on Narrative Medicine by Paediatric Emergency Physician at RCH in Melbourne, Dr Fiona Reilly and GP, Dr Mariam Tokhi proved to be a hit with the attendees, providing the highest engagement both online and in-room with a powerful opportunity to feel, articulate, and celebrate the emotive foundations of Narrative Medicine.
This year's program included a workshop on Narrative Medicine for a limited number of registrations which further explored new approaches to patient care in the context of understanding the story.
New approaches to rehabilitation medicine, dementia and delirium care, addiction and mental health, cancer care, and pharmaceutical stewardship explored the partnerships that influence innovation throughout the week. The AI in healthcare session celebrated current innovations already adopting AI in human resources, medical transcription, mental health and imaging.
But it wasn't all a heavy interrogation of innovation. The education session blew out the cobwebs with a revival of the Amazing Race merging it with the all-popular escape room concept which had teams power-walking their way around campus in search of clues that needed to be counted, scrutinised, and sized-up in the name of competition with the Pharmacy team taking out the win with more than 6 minutes to spare.
As always, the Great Debate was an interactive and lively discussion over whether innovation is driven more by sudden sparks of genius or by steady incremental progress. When all the popular culture references and in-jokes were exhausted, and the illuminated halo gimmick had dimmed, the winner as voted by the attendees with 55 per cent of the vote was the affirmative team of Julie Argus, Josh Simmons, and A/Prof David Highton.
The new addition of the Lectures in Honour was very well attended for another year. It was a delight to welcome back Professor Carmel Hawley AM and Adjunct Professor Veronica Casey AM who were both celebrated with touching tributes by their former peers.
The symposium wrapped with the Research Presentation Awards. The awards recognised career researchers, up-and-coming researchers, as well as excellence in clinical education for professional cohorts and the 2025 consumer partnering award. The full list of award winners will be included on the symposium website.
The program culminated in the annual Kurt Aaron Oration presented by Associate Professor James Kirby titled: "Compassion as a Key Target to Address Mental Health." The Clinical Psychologist, Director of the Clinical Programs, and Co-Director of the Compassionate Mind Research Group at the University of Queensland examines factors that facilitate and inhibit compassionate responding. His gentle and thought-provoking presentation encouraged everyone to better understand compassion focused interventions, specifically how they help with self-criticism and shame that underpins many mental health disorders. The strategies were also a revelation in better understanding each other in everyday conversations to avoid threat responses or where those responses are coming from.
Staff can also access the free session recordings online HERE.