Winter Edition: 15 July 2025
An update from the executive
We recently formed the new executive committee.
Our Executive members are:
- Dr Michelle Davison, FACEM member, Chair
- Dr Valerie Astle, FACEM member, Deputy Chair
- Dr Christine Brabyn, FACEM member
- Dr John Cheek, FACEM member
- Dr Simon Chu, FACEM member
- Dr Simon Craig, FACEM member, Ex-officio PREDICT
- Dr Tahnee Dunlop, FACEM member
- Dr Callum Gilmour, FACEM member
- Dr Tristan Harding, FRACP member
- Dr Shreyas Iyer, FACEM member
- Dr Ed Sixsmith, FACEM member
We aim to represent views and issues across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, and from an RACP and ACEM perspective.
At our first meeting we discussed the challenges surrounding PEM training, the PEM curriculum, the paediatric logbook and the current pause on signing up to ACEM PEM training. We assure you that we will communicate with the wider PEM network when we are given updates on these issues.
We also plan to continue with our webinar series, with the next one being held in August- see details below.
And we continue to engage with the online forum and welcome questions and the sharing of resources on this platform.
Please join the PEM network, if you have not done so already, at ACEM - Paediatric Emergency Medicine Network
If you are part of the network, then you can find the online PEM network forum by:
- Sign in to your ACEM account
- Click educational resources at the top of the page
- Then go to networks at the top of page, and select paediatric
We hope that we can represent the PEM community’s views, successes and issues and advocate for continued improvement in the PEM space.
If you're not a member yet, you can join the network here.
Upcoming Webinar
We are excited to hold the next ACEM Paediatric Emergency Medicine Network webinar, with a talk covering a topic that has been attracting lots of discussion within the PEM community.
Sedation in the Paediatric Emergency Department: Current Trends and Direction
Date: Thursday 7 August 2025
Time: 6:30pm – 7:30pm AEST | 4:30pm – 5:30pm AWST | 8:30pm – 9:30pm NZST
Join Dr Evan O’Neil and Dr Michelle Davison at this complimentary webinar. Evan will provide us with updates on an area that is attracting lots of discussion in the PEM space: how best to sedate children for procedures. He will also talk about the use of dexmedetomidine in the paediatric ED.
Other Events
ACEM Annual Scientific Meeting
23-27 November 2025 – Gold Coast
CPD hours available.
Join us at this year ACEM Annual Scientific Meeting on the Gold Coast in November
'Riding the wave of change', or one of the sub-themes; particularly relevant for PEM Network is ‘Building the wave’ – exploring emerging innovative practices and advocacy shaping the foundations of emergency medicine. Join other PEM colleagues and attend the many PEM sessions.
World Congress in Paediatric Urgencies and Emergencies
25-28 March 2026 – Sao Paulo, Brazil
This event is accredited for CPD hours.
New Policies
The College has recently released the following policies:
PREDICT Bronchiolitis Guideline Update 2025
The Australasian Bronchiolitis Guideline aims to provide evidence-based clinical guidance on the management of infants (<12 months) presenting or admitted to hospital with bronchiolitis.
Australasian Bronchiolitis Guideline – PREDICT
Key points to note ahead of the pending bronchiolitis season:
- Give O2 if sats <90% in healthy infants aged >6 weeks, or if sats <92% in infants <6 weeks or those with an underlying health condition.
- If an infant has required oxygen but is now stable, they can be discharged after being monitored for 3-4 hours (including a period of sleep). Note- their O2 sats only need to be checked intermittently and not continuously.
- Regarding feeding- infants can be discharged when they are maintaining ½ of usual volume of feeds.
- Strong evidence against using Beta 2 agonists or steroids in children <12 months with bronchiolitis.