Your Executive at Work

The end of 2023 saw NZSG hold our Annual Scientific Meeting where we announced our first Eru Pōmore Award recipient Professor Ed Gane.  We also announced several Young Investigator Award winners and the NZSG-Janssen recipient Dr Chris Varghese. 

We welcomed two new elected members to the Executive, Dr Raj Patel and Dr Mehul Lamba. We also welcomed new Trainee Representative, Erin Horsfall.  Doctors Zoe Raos, Dominic Ray-Chaudhuri, Rachel Harry, and Thomas Caspritz were farewelled from the Execuitve, and we thanked Dr Victoria McGarrigle for her time as a Trainee Representative. You can read more about these in the Knockout News Worth Sharing Again article in this publication. 

We have launched our revised website and in 2024 will be considering further upgrades such as a member platform. Course Facilitators have already scheduled a number of courses for 2024. This month we have will hold our first Introduction to Endoscopy Course for the year as well as a Polypectomy Course. We have a Train the Colonoscopy Trainer Courses being planned for later in the year. 

The Event programme is also underway. The ASM Convening Team has already started working on the program. The event is being held at Claudelands in Hamilton from 26 to 29 November with a range of presentations planned. The Registrars Trainees' Day is scheduled for March with our Trainee Reps working with Pharmaco and Conference Innovators on the program. The Hepatitis Network Meeting is planned for June with the generous support from AbbVie.

The Executive held its first meeting on 13 February where they hosted representatives from Pharmac to discuss IBD medications, special authority criteria and general korero. Dr Estella Johns, Chair of the NZSG IBD Medication Group lead the discussion. Further communication from this meeting will come out soon. We also began plans for Advanced Gastroenterology Trainee selection - MATCH and several key initiatives. Watch out for future information on these in upcoming newsletters.  

The Executive is looking forward to a productive 2024 and wish all our members a successful new year.