Welcome to CAI Congress 2021

"We are all apprentices in a craft where no-one ever becomes a master”. Ernest Hemingway.

After a year of tragedy and disappointments, the practitioners of our disciplines have gained recognition worldwide for their value, and we have all learned or re-learned the value of humility. One disappointment for our College during 2020 was the need to cancel our Annual Scientific Congress, normally the showpiece of our advances and ideas.

For 2021, the College of Anaesthesiologists in Ireland and its Faculty of Pain Medicine are determined to offer our community a Congress of scientific rigor and of inspiring quality. We believe the Programme and the invited Faculty reflect that intent. In addressing the theme of safety and wellbeing of patients and health professionals, we reflect the number one priority of the College. We honour the life and work of our esteemed colleague in the inaugural Brian Kavanagh Lecture, to be delivered by Professor Martin Tobin.

We are proud of our anaesthetists in training and Congress 2021 is better for their participation, not just as an audience but as key contributors, not least as social media moderators. For the first time, we present a session on sustainability in recognition of our shared responsibility to preserve and protect the environment.

We trust that you will enjoy CAI Congress 2021, and that it will be useful, memorable for the right reasons and hopefully a little inspiring. For more information visit: https://cai.foleon.com/congress/congress-programme2021/welcome/

Sincerely,
Prof George Shorten, Congress Chair
Dr Brendan Conroy, Dean, Faculty of Pain Medicine