NZATS are proud to offer and sponsor a number of awards and prizes in the field of anaesthetic technicians. We also support awards from our affiliated organisations. Please read below for a list of awards and prizes the New Zealand Anaesthetic Technicians’ Society is a part of, or that are open for applications from anaesthetic technicians.

2022 Awards

In 2022, the following awards are available for entry:

Basil Hutchinson Award for Trainee Anaesthetic Technicians

NZMII Excellence Award for Registered Anaesthetic Technicians

Best Anaesthetic Technician Speaker Award – Sponsored by NZSA

Braemar Charitable Trust Adversity Award

Basil Hutchinson Award for Trainee Anaesthetic Technicians

Dr Hutchinson M.B.ChB, FFARACS, FANZCA was born in Auckland on June 13th, 1933, and educated at Kings College. Dr Hutchinson graduated with an M.B.ChB from Otago Medical School, Dunedin in 1959.

Dr Hutchinson’s early involvement with technicians involved promoting the concept of a trained anaesthesia assistant to both anaesthetists and the Health Department. It was through the efforts of Dr Hutchinson and a few others that anaesthesia technicians came into being. He was a member of the Anaesthetic Technicians Training Committee from 1983-1992 and was the committee’s Chairman from 1986-1992 and Chief Examiner 1985-1988. When the Anaesthetic Technicians Board was formed it had Dr Hutchinson as its Chairman 1993 – 1994.

Dr Hutchinson sat on that Board for a further year and was given life membership of the NZATS Inc in 1992.

The Basil Hutchinson and Excellence (formerly Covidien & Medtronic) awards are annual events where members of the New Zealand Anaesthetic Technicians’ Society (NZATS) are invited to put forward a manuscript of their choosing so they may inform their colleagues of their research and experience.

From 2023 the Basil Hutchinson Award is also open to Perioperative Practice Students.

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About The Braemar Charitable Trust Adversity Award

The Braemar Charitable Trust (BCT) is the 100% shareholder of Braemar Hospital and is governed by a Trust Board of 3 Lay and 5 Medical Trustees, who collectively contribute a wealth of commercial, governance, community and medical/health sector experience. The Trust’s Vision is to improve health outcomes in our community-we believe in building healthier communities. We seek to achieve this through making a meaningful and sustainable difference by funding initiatives that will achieve impactful health outcomes for the community.

When providing funding, the BCT look at opportunities that:

  • Support our Vision of improving health outcomes in the community through initiatives that will have a concrete positive impact on people’s lives;
  • Enhance the Braemar brand;
  • Enhance or positively impact on the performance of Braemar Hospital as a “Centre of Excellence”
  • Are meaningful projects that “make a difference” to community health and wellbeing;
  • Are underpinned by collaborating/building relationships with organisations who already successfully provide services, achieve positive health outcomes and with whom we share a similar vision.

BCT’s charitable strategy for improving health outcomes in our community both now and in the future is underpinned by:

  • Investing in health related initiatives-research, innovation, education, training, prevention and support- that make a tangible difference and concrete impact on people’s lives;
  • Providing scholarships, training and professional development for nurses and medical practitioners; and
  • Providing surgery and post-operative medical care to patients (Charitable cases) who don’t qualify for treatment through the public health system, have no medical insurance nor the means of covering the cost of their treatment

Braemar Charitable Programme, April 2021

Braemar in the Community, April 2021

Excellence Award for Registered Anaesthetic Technicians

Dr Alison Holloway Award

This Award was inaugurated by Dr. Alison Holloway to encourage Anaesthetic Technicians to further their education in Anaesthesia. Dr Holloway was a great believer of education, training, support and further development of our profession. She was based at Queensland, Australia before she retired in 2002 and where she was the Associate Professor of Anaesthesia at the Mater Miscericorde Public Hospital and Head of the Anaesthetic Department.

Dr. Holloway was originally from the UK and had been bought up on the UK system of the ODPs and continued to be avid supporter of dedicated assistants to the Anaesthetists. She was a representative to ANZCA, on a number of relevant training committees, and lent a big hand in the training of Anaesthetic Assistants and Technicians. She has been instrumental over the years in the development of and introduction of tertiary based programme for training technicians in Queensland.

Any financial member of AAAHP is eligible to submit for this award, so if any NZATS anaesthesia technicians wish to submit for this award they will firstly need to apply for associate membership to AAAHP via their online registration portal.

Further information can be found on the AAAHP website.

QEII Technicians’ Study Awards

The QEII Technicians’ Study Awards were inaugurated in 1970. During her visit to New Zealand in that year, Her Majesty the Queen agreed to accept a gift from the people of New Zealand and decided that this gift should be study awards for technicians.

The awards require applicants to have a minimum of three years’ work experience in their field of expertise, and the QEII Technician’s Study Award grant is only made where there is evidence of significant employer assistance and support. The grants are available each year, and entry dates, information and application forms are available on the teachnz.govt.nz website.