Anaesthesia and pain medicine stories joint winners

Anaesthesia and pain medicine stories joint winners of $5000 ANZCA Media Award

New Zealand journalist Donna Chisholm and Australian writer Kate Cole-Adams are the joint winners of the 2017 Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Media Award for 2017.

Ms Chisholm’s report You Don’t Look Sick was published in North and South magazine.

“The editor knew pain management was a significant health issue for readers. I interviewed a number of experts in the field, before finding a new treatment virtual reality that is producing promising results in the treatment of chronic pain,” she explained.

The judges described Ms Chisholm’s feature as “an engaging, well written, and extensively researched piece that presents highly technical and complex concepts in a way that is accessible to the reader. Donna’s report describes non pharmacological treatments for chronic pain.”

Ms Cole-Adams’ entry Vanishing Act which explores what happens to patients under anaesthesia was published in Fairfax Media’s Good Weekend magazine.

“The feature article examined the significance of the ongoing but often overlooked debate over memory and awareness under general anaesthesia,” Ms Cole-Adams said.

The judges said Ms Cole-Adams’ entry was “a clever and challenging article that both demystifies and celebrates the world of anaesthesia. By putting herself at the centre of the story Kate takes us on a journey that keeps the reader engaged and fascinated by the continuing evolution of our understanding of anaesthesia and leaves the question open about how much more there is to discover.”

About ANZCA

The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) is the professional organisation for about 6400 specialist anaesthetists (fellows) and 1500 anaesthetists in training (trainees). One of Australasia's largest specialist medical colleges, ANZCA is responsible for the training, examination and specialist accreditation of anaesthetists and pain medicine specialists and for the standards of clinical practice in Australia and New Zealand.

About FPM

The Faculty of Pain Medicine is a world-leading professional organisation for pain specialists that sets standards in pain medicine and is responsible for education and training in the discipline in Australia and New Zealand. Pain medicine is multidisciplinary, recognising that the management of severe pain requires the skills of more than one area of medicine.

Chronic pain affects about one in five people in Australia and New Zealand. Specialists also manage acute pain (post-operative, post-trauma, acute episodes of pain in medical conditions) and cancer pain. For more information, please see here (link to FPM).

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