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2020 SAAsMA Biennial Conference: It’s on again!!

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As you all know the July 2020 SAAsMA conference was cancelled due to the Covid-19 lockdown.  Now, with changes in technology, instead of waiting until next year we have decided to arrange a webinar type conference from 08:00 to 16:45 per day, over the usual 3-day period from the 30th of October to 1st of November this year.

 
Anyone who has sat through a number of consecutive Zoom type presentations will know that whole day webinar attendance is not the ideal situation, although you can get up and walk around the room or perhaps do some spinning (bicycle or loom, depending on whether you need exercise or yarn) which you can’t do during a formal conference when you are sitting in a room full of people (and you don’t have everyone breathing on you either).
 
If you want CPD points, what you can’t do is switch out of the Zoom session to do some other electronic activity – once you have signed in your continued presence is monitored and if you switch out, even for only a few minutes, you will not receive a CPD point for that particular lecture.
 
The great advantage of a Zoom type conference is that the presentations are recorded and will be made available for after hour viewing.  Those who are unable to attend during the day can therefore view the recorded presentations after hours, at a time of their own choosing, and can also still obtain the allocated CPD points.
 
Another great advantage is reduced costs.  We still have to pay MedTalkz, the company that will manage the conference for us including providing speaker training, recording the presentations and making them available for after-hour viewing. MedTalkz will also provide CPD point accreditation, monitor individual conference attendance electronically and award individual CPD point certificates to each attendee, not only during the scheduled conference days but also whenever any of the presentations may be viewed after hours in the future.

 
The full conference fee for 2020 is R2 000.00.  There is no one-day only attendance fee option this year as attendees will have access to all of the presentations anytime they choose over the next few months. The two-year SAAsMA membership fees for those not attending the conference is R1 500.00.  So what do you get for your money? 

 

a.         Attendance of the conference itself.
b.         SAAsMA membership for two years, until the next biennial conference. 
c.         Recognition by the SACAA of having attended an AME refresher course.
d.         A CPD certificate at the rate of 1 point for each hour of conference attendance.  Of interest is that MedTalkz has a large selection of other medical lectures available so you can obtain as many CPD points as you have viewing hours available at no extra cost.

 
Conference application forms and bank details for EFT payment will be sent out shortly. 

2019 Novel Coronavirus – where to get latest info

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Three useful sites for obtaining info concerning the current Novel Coronavirus 2019 outbreak.  These sites are updated frequently so should always have the latest info.

AME & AME Refresher courses

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All courses are now managed by Dr Bogatsu, Senior Manager, Aviation Medicine at the SACAA. Contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 
 

 

Finding relevant medical information on the SACAA website

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The SACAA technical standards relating to medical matters can be found on the SACAA website using two methods.

For more information click here

Problems with the EMPIC System

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Personnel from Synova are no longer directly involved.  DAMEs experiencing problems must contact the SACAA personnel who are on standby weekdays until 20:00 and Saturdays until 14:00.

EMPIC: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

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As you are aware, the SACAA EMPIC Medical System went live for Designated Aviation Medicine on the 30th September 2017; please note that our office will not accept manual documents unless special arrangements have been made with our office for a DAME to continue with the manual system. Our office has compiled a list of questions identified by DAMEs and Medical Assessors and answers to address possible questions that may arise during the early stages of the implementation of the system for your reference below:

Dr Lesego Bogatsu     25 October 2017

Section 1: Questions Relating to Part 67 Regulation

Read the full document here