President's Message June 2026
Welcome to the June 2026 President’s message, and my last as College President.
AWARDS – Professor Bala Venkatesh and Associate Professor David Austin appointed Members of the Order of Australia (AM)
I would like to congratulate Bala and David on being appointed to Members of the Order of Australia. Their commitment and enthusiasm is inspiring, and I encourage you to read more about their immense contributions in this edition of CICM Connect.
BEREAVEMENTS
It is with great sadness that I acknowledge the passing Dr Joshua Ihle (VIC) and Dr Ram Sistla (TAS).
Josh was a dual Fellow of CICM and RACP and a valued member of the Alfred team for over 20 years. Josh developed a particular interest and expertise in organ donation, he led The Alfred Burns Service for several years and had a deep understanding, expertise and interest in cardiac intensive care, extending from his expertise in echocardiography and extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). He was a skilled and compassionate clinician who cared deeply for his patients, and everyone he worked with.
Ram worked in Queensland before joining the Royal Hobart Hospital’s Department of Critical Care Medicine in 2006, as well as the Critical Care Unit at Calvary Hospital, Lenah Valley. Ram was caring and compassionate, loved his work and was an important contributor to the health and wellbeing of Tasmanians. Ram was very passionate about learning and enjoyed teaching junior doctors. His work ethic was a wonderful role model for them.
My sincere condolences go out to Josh and Ram’s family, friends and colleagues.
BOARD UPDATE
As announced at our AGM, we recently held an election in accordance with our Constitution for three positions on the College Board. I congratulate Michael Farquharson (SA) on being elected to the Board. Priya Nair (NSW) and I were both re-elected – so thank you.
The Board has established a Training and Workforce Taskforce to help drive and implement many of the strategic initiatives we have discussed recently. We will keep you updated on the progress of this work, and I welcome the opportunities to hear all your thoughts along the way.
Work towards a comprehensive review of the CICM curriculum continues. Our current curriculum has been in place since 2014, and this review will help ensure we maintain and deliver a current evidence-based curriculum. The College has also finalised the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the training programs, the SIMG pathway and the Continuing Professional Development Program.
The ANZCA/CICM Dual Training Recognition Process (DTRP – formerly known as the Dual Training Pathway), was launched at both College ASM’s in May and is set to go live in August. Our ASM Q&A session was attended by over 100 Trainees and Fellows, and helped provide information on how the process can benefit Trainees looking to dual train across both Anaesthesia and ICM.
The Board meeting in July will be Priya Nair’s first as College President and Board Chair. I am so pleased Priya will now lead our College. I know that she, along with the College Board and staff, and the continued support of so many Fellows and Trainees across our committees, will continue to progress the College forward in the years to come.
CRITICAL CARE AND RESUSCITATION JOURNAL (CCRJ) UPDATE
I am pleased to announce that CCRJ’s impact factor has increased significantly from 1.7 to 3.2. The journal is ranked 24/66 in the critical care medicine category and is now a Q2 journal.
I extend my congratulations and thanks to Editors-in-Chief, Paul Young and Ary Serpa Neto, and their editorial team for this great result.
ASM 2026 WRAP UP
Our Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) was held from 28 – 30 May 2026 in Sydney. The single theme meeting - 'Straight to the Heart: Precision, Passion, Progress' attracted over 640 attendees and initial feedback has been very positive. I would like to thank Co-Convenors Idunn Morris and Pierre Janin, and the ASM Organising Committee for putting together such a fantastic program that saw the plenary room full until the very last session.
A highlight is always the Graduation Ceremony and Dinner. This year I had the privilege of welcoming 58 new Fellows to the College, as well as the opportunity to recognise some of the extraordinary achievements of our Fellows and Trainees. Dr Bruce Lister was awarded the 2025 College Medal and delivered the oration that has become such an important component of this evening. A more detailed wrap up of the 2026 ASM is included in this edition of CICM Connect
Planning is underway for the 2027 conference in Adelaide with a respiratory theme, and I thank Co-Convenors Micheal Farquharson and Mark Plummer who are already hard at work. More information regarding the 2027 conference will be released soon.
SAVE THE DATE – CONNECTING THROUGH THE STAGES CONFERENCE
The College will also run 'Connecting through the Stages' in Byron Bay later this year on Monday 30 November and Tuesday 1 December 2026. This conference is designed for intensive care specialists at every stage of their leadership journey. Registrations will open shortly.
POLICY & ADVOCACY
Over the past 6 months, the College has had an active external role with submissions and commentaries on many fronts. The College has already responded to 16 external consultations (5 of which were requests for endorsement), with many more submissions in the pipeline for the remainder of 2026. This is a significant increase compared to 2025, and continues to occupy significant time for our Fellows and College staff.
The College is currently undertaking a revision of IC-1 Minimum Standards for Intensive Care Services. Feedback from consultation among our committees will inform the next draft before launching further consultation with members, stakeholders and jurisdictions in the coming months.
This is a significant piece of work for the College; the minimum standards define the resources required to provide safe patient care, and best outcomes for adult and paediatric intensive care services across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. In addition to the minimum standards, it will include a range of recommendations for services to consider. We will of course provide further updates on this essential work, in due course.
We also concluded the initial external consultation from jurisdictions across Australia and New Zealand on our draft statement – Key Principles for Coordinated Training. Many jurisdictions have contributed to the consultation, highlighting an appetite to work with the College in exploring ways to establish or improve the consistency, transparency, flexibility and accessibility of coordinating training models in intensive care medicine.
THANK – YOU
As my time as President comes to an end, I reflect on the many insights I have gained and things I have learned over the last 2 years. It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as your College President and Chair of the Board.
I am very much aware that it is the people that make our College so special, and I thank all of you who have taken the time to speak with me, provide feedback and support the work of our College. One of our great strengths is the engagement we have as an ICU community, this helps so much for us to meet the many challenges we face. Now more than ever, we need a College that is clear in its purpose and valued by all involved in the practice of Intensive Care Medicine.
A/Prof Peter Kruger
CICM President