An exciting experience I had the opportunity to take part in was attending the Scottish Airway Group Conference in Glasgow on 13th March 2026. The conference was organised by one of the consultant Anaesthetists from ARI and focussed on topics around airway management in anaesthesia which is a medical speciality I am keen to pursue. I was invited to present a poster for a project I undertook during my surgical placement at Raigmore Hospital last November after submitting an abstract following guidance on the society website. My project examined current documentation practices and awareness of guidance for difficult airways within the anaesthetic department.
My poster was displayed alongside 15 others in a room showcasing equipment from various trade companies. The day was divided into four sessions, with breaks in the morning and afternoon as well as a lunch break. The first oral presentations were delivered by resident doctors, each discussing projects they had been working on. These presentations were assessed and scored, with the results revealed later in the day. Following this, consultant anaesthetists from across Scotland, Manchester, and London delivered talks on a range of topics, including airway adjuncts and video laryngoscopy, front-of-neck access, DAS guidelines, media and AI in medicine, and a presentation from a consultant maxillofacial surgeon about her experience working with Mercy Ships.
Judges visited each poster, where I gave a 2.5-minute presentation on my project followed by a question. I found presenting to experienced doctors to be a very valuable experience that helped develop both my communication skills and confidence. I received strong engagement from doctors attending the conference and was able to make connections with clinicians interested in running my project in other hospitals across Scotland to broaden my data collection. This was a great opportunity to raise awareness of the issues my project aimed to address and to learn how practices differ across health boards.
The final component of the meeting involved a case discussion with senior anaesthetists, who talked through three difficult clinical scenarios and discussed how they would manage them. I found this extremely useful, as it allowed me to hear their systematic approaches and clinical reasoning in real-life situations. This further strengthened my interest in anaesthetics, as it deepened my understanding of the role and responsibilities within the specialty. The conference concluded with a networking drinks reception hosted by the Difficult Airway Society. Scrub hats were also available for purchase, and I was kindly gifted one by the society’s president free of charge, which was the perfect way to round off an incredible day.
