SOA26

Chaired by Julie Highfield, this workshop will be a full-day leadership development workshop as part of our ongoing commitment to growing effective clinical leaders. This year’s focus is communication.

Designed specifically for clinicians, this interactive session will help you translate your existing clinical skills into more effective communication with colleagues across the healthcare system. You’ll gain practical strategies to adapt your approach to a diverse and evolving workforce, with a focus on cross-cultural awareness, neurodiversity, and navigating communication challenges during periods of change.

Led by experienced ICU leaders at the forefront of the field, this workshop offers a highly engaging learning environment with opportunities for discussion, reflection, and real-world application.

Participants will join a cohort from the Society’s established Leadership Programme, providing a valuable opportunity to connect, collaborate, and learn alongside peers on a shared leadership journey.

Learning Objectives 

1. Taking what you know from clinical communication into the leadership communication 
2. Communication during change processes and leadership for change 
3. Adapting your communication to be inclusive, including cross cultural needs, and neurodiversity 

Led by Hannah Conway, this immersive morning workshop offers structured, hands-on training across six rotating stations covering the full scope of the FUSIC® Heart protocol. Participants will develop practical competence in left and right ventricular assessment, including LVIDd, MAPSE, TAPSE, and eyeball assessment, alongside preload evaluation and pericardial effusion recognition. Simulation pathology stations are integrated throughout, enabling participants to apply and consolidate learning in a safe, supported environment.

Led by Dr Justin Kirk-Bayley, this afternoon workshop combines structured didactic teaching with two rounds of hands-on simulation. Expert lectures from leading faculty will cover pleural effusions, pneumonia and consolidation, pneumothorax and atelectasis, and alveolar interstitial syndrome, before participants rotate through stations focusing on B-lines and M-mode interpretation, simulation pathology, and real-life clinical scenarios. This workshop offers a comprehensive grounding in lung ultrasound for the critically ill patient.

Led by Dr Jonny Wilkinson, this practical workshop introduces the application of ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia and fascial plane blocks within the critical care setting. Across six hands-on stations, participants will explore superficial cervical and parasternal approaches, serratus anterior and erector spinae plane blocks, abdominal wall techniques, spinal sonoanatomy, and paravertebral approaches, with dedicated time on local anaesthetic infusers and catheter techniques. This workshop is ideal for clinicians seeking to expand their procedural ultrasound skillset in high-acuity environments.

Led by Drs Marcus Peck and Prashant Parulekar, the FUSIC® HD workshop provides advanced hands-on training in haemodynamic echocardiography across six dedicated stations. Participants will develop skills in left ventricular ejection fraction assessment, right ventricular fractional area change, RV dimensions, pulmonary hypertension evaluation including tricuspid regurgitation velocity, and left atrial pressure estimation using both E/E' and structural assessment. This workshop is ideally suited to clinicians preparing for or consolidating FUSIC® HD accreditation.