Updated machine check guidelines

Please see the Machine Check tab here for current best practice guidelines for checking the GE Aisys and the GE Avance CS2.

2020 March Registration Examination

We are delighted to announce the Registration Examination will be held at Burwood Hospital in Christchurch on Saturday 7 March 2020.

Registration Examination – December

NZATS are pleased to announce the Registration Examination will be held from December 7 to 8 at Burwood Hospital in Christchurch.  Documentation will be available on the website soon.

Submissions open for 2019 Basil Hutchinson and Excellence Awards

Please note that submissions will not be accepted past Friday 20 September.  

DHB Anaesthetic Assistant Workforce 2019

A workforce survey completed by TAS on behalf of  the HB Workforce Strategy Group, of which the MOH Workforce Directorate are members, was completed and can be found here.

Mid Year T&D meeting agenda

If you’re looking for the agenda to the Mid Year Training and Development meeting being held in Wellington on Saturday 27 July, you’ll find it here.

Abstracts open for the 2019 NZATS Conference

Please find the abstract submission form here.  The 2019 Conference Organising Committee look forward to receiving your submission.

Mid Year Training and Development Meeting

This is to be held at Wellington Hospital on Saturday 27 July from 10:00-15:00.

An agenda will follow shortly.

Please RSVP to nzatsautliaison@gmail.com including dietary requirements.

Registration Examination scheduling

In response to feedback from exam candidates, educators and charge technicians NZATS has been granted permission by the Medical Sciences Council to move the October registration exam to December.

This will give the trainees a chance to gain registration shortly after finalising their AUT papers.

It will also mean that any unsuccessful candidates would only have to wait untill March to re-sit.

Although the overwhelming majority of respondents were in favour of the move to December there were some who argued they needed more time after the final AUT exam to prepare for the registration exam. For these candidates nothing has changed as they will still be able to sit their exam in March.

Some suggested moving the March exam forward to February or even January. Unfortunately, this is not an option due to this being the holiday season.

Our examiners are all volunteers and many of them want to spend the summer months with family and friends. For our candidates this exam is, usually, a one-off but for our examiners this is a yearly recurring event. We can not expect them to plan their summer activities around a 3-day exam.

The December exam will be held in the first half of the month to allow time to prepare for the festive season afterwards.  Hopefully this explains the move to December.

MSC has also approved a one-off mid year examination so as not to disadvantage those candidates that were unsuccessful at the March Registration Examination.  This is open to any eligible Trainee Anaesthetic Technician. This is to be held in Christchurch on Saturday June 22.

In summary, going forward the Registration Examination will be held in the first half of December followed by the first half of March.

Carlus Dovens

NZATS Registration Exam Coordinator

CPD opportunity – Definitive Anaesthetic Assistants in Trauma Care Course

All Registered Anaesthetic Technicians with a minimum of 2 years post qualification experience are invited to attend the Definitive Anaesthetic Assistants in Trauma Care Course.  This is an international course with world renowed trauma specialists attending as faculty.