Official Statement – ASUM2020 Conference postponed – 27 April 2020

The Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine (ASUM) is dedicated to promoting excellence in ultrasound and is proud to continually support education and leadership in healthcare for ultrasound across Australasia.

On behalf of the ASUM Council and Scientific Committee, we are announcing today the postponement of the ASUM2020 Conference, which was scheduled to take place in Sydney, 30 October – 1 November 2020.

The decision, which has been made in consultation with the ASUM Council and ASUM2020 Scientific Committee, has been made in recognition of the evolving global medical crisis stemming from the COVID 19 virus.

Whilst large meetings to be held in October/November have not been banned in Australia, the growing level of uncertainty associated with the spread of COVID-19 has resulted in concern about the ability of sponsors, exhibitors, faculty and attendees to commit to the meeting.

The health services not only in Australia and New Zealand, but globally, remain on high alert and we have taken this into consideration. Following an extremely sobering meeting with the scientific committee, and the report from our critical care members as to the current state of COVID-19 and personal loss already experienced, we have decided to focus on providing more immediate support to our members and community as we all respond to the COVID 19  crisis.

As you may be aware, ASUM was to celebrate their 50th conference this year, a significant milestone worthy of celebration. However, the current pressures on so many of our members does not feel appropriate to be planning a celebration, particularly as they continue to give so much of their clinical expertise to their patients and ASUM. The focus needs to be on the current situation, and the role ASUM can play in supporting the amazing work of those on the frontline.  Our deepest gratitude goes out to our members, all doctors, sonographers, allied health, researchers, scientists and other healthcare services for their commitment and professionalism in the fight against COVID-19.

This has been a challenging decision in an everchanging situation and we are pleased to announce that we have been able to reschedule the conference to November 19-21, 2021 in Sydney, when we are confident the current situation will have stabilised and all attendees will be able to make definitive plans to attend the congress. As this will still be our 50th conference, there will be celebrations for all to enjoy, along with sharing of many challenging stories that will no doubt come out of 2020 with COVID-19, bushfires, drought and floods.

We thank you for your support and patience at this time and we look forward to welcoming you to Sydney in November 2021.

ASUM would like to sincerely thank and acknowledge our scientific committee for their commitment to ASUM2020 and will continue to work with them to showcase their amazing program, along with any changes to ensure relevance to practice in 2021.

ASUM is committed to investing in opportunities that will benefit and support our sonographers, doctors and allied health providers and focus on our core business – promoting ultrasound excellence – to advance clinical practice of diagnostic medical ultrasound for the highest standards of patient care. We are aware of the potential impact this may have with regards to ongoing CPD requirements. With that in mind, we are converting many of the planned events into online events with webinars, AJUM articles and other CPD options.