PEMN Newsletter Summer Edition 2026

Summer Edition: 12 February 2026

An update from the executive

Here we are in 2026! We hope you all had a great time over the holidays.

This year brings some changes for the paediatric emergency medicine (PEM) community, including the re-opening of applications for PEM training. We are hopeful this will create opportunities to welcome new trainees and continue to grow and strengthen our community.

We understand that this change has raised concerns for some trainees, and we want to acknowledge the impact this may have. Please know that the College remains strongly committed to supporting PEM and invite you to email any questions to explain the importance of the changes to create a sustainable PEM program for the future.

We also plan to continue with our webinar series, with one on in April and one in September 2026.

And we continue to engage with the online forum and welcome questions and the sharing of resources on this platform.

If you're not a member yet, you can join the network here.

If you are part of the network, then you can find the online PEM Network forum by:

1. Sign in to your ACEM account
2. Click educational resources at the top of the page
3. Then go to networks at the top of page, and select paediatric

ACEM PEMN Webinar Series

The next instalment in our PEMN webinar series, is a talk from Dr Robyn Brady, FRACP FACEM from Queensland Children’s Hospital.

POCUS in the Paeds ED

Date: Thursday 23 April

Time: 3:00pm – 4:30pm AEST | 1:00pm – 2:30pm AWST | 5:00pm – 6:30pm NZST

Robyn will discuss the development of paediatric emergency POCUS and how this can be embedded within departments. She will also discuss the utility of POCUS to change practice, particularly in the management of childhood fractures.

Topic of interest – Paediatric Airways

• Just Little Adults
  A great site for paediatric airway tips/tricks and refreshers on airway topics.
• Airway management in neonates and infants: European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care and British Journal of Anaesthesia joint guidelines – British Journal of Anaesthesia
  A good paper discussing the evidence for different airway management techniques and processes. It also highlights the pros/cons of needle as front of access technique in infants – which suggests it's not the best rescue technique.
• Emergency Front of Neck in Children – Dr Cliff Reed talks through Paediatric Tracheostomy
  A video going through emergency front of neck access in children.

Other events

ACEM Annual Scientific Meeting

22-26 November 2026 – Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, Perth, WA
CPD hours available.

Register now

IFEM International Conference on Emergency Medicine 2026

9–13 June 2026 – Hamburg, Germany
CPD hours available.

Register now

Papers worth reading

Explore a curated selection of papers that have captured our attention.

• Optimal Dose of Intranasal Midazolam for Procedural Sedation in Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial
  • Pediatrics | JAMA Pediatrics | JAMA Network
• Mild traumatic brain injury and concussion and persisting post-concussion symptoms: new guidelines to support evidence-based assessment and management in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand 
  • Barlow | 2025 | Medical Journal of Australia | Wiley Online Library
• Epidemiology of community acquired sepsis in children in Australia and New Zealand: a multicentre prospective cohort study
  • The Lancet Regional Health | Western Pacific
• Predicting paediatric pneumonia severity in the emergency department: a multinational prospective cohort study of the Pediatric Emergency Research Network
  • The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health