Key Dates

 

Enquiries

Conference Manager

Association Professionals
PO Box 7345
Beaumaris VIC 3193
Email the conference manager 
or call the GENCA office on 1300 788 155

 

Invited Speakers

International Keynote Speaker - Margaret Vance

Margaret Vance is Nurse Consultant in Gastroenterology for the London Northwest Healthcare NHS Trust and has worked at the Wolfson unit for endoscopy at St Mark’s hospital since 1999, successfully becoming a Consultant in 2002.

She leads a team of specialist research nurses and endoscopy nurse practitioners providing gastroscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy and capsule endoscopy for the Trust. Margaret has a wide experience of training both nurses and doctors in flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy and  developed the first nurse-led theoretical and practical flexible sigmoidoscopy training programme at MSc level for trainee nurse endoscopists in the UK. She was awarded with the Smith and Nephew Research foundation award for her Master’s thesis examining the transition from nurse to endoscopist.

Margaret was the first female endoscopist and nurse to be accredited as a bowel cancer screener in October 2005. She is a bowel cancer screening assessor and is sits on the JAG bowel cancer screening accreditation panel and national bowel cancer screening advisory committee. She is also the first nurse endoscopist to be elected on to the BSG endoscopy section committee in 2021.

She has extensive experience and knowledge of the England bowel cancer screening programme and is Deputy Director of the London bowel cancer programme screening hub. . She has been responsible for the training and accreditation of endoscopists to deliver the screening service for the Trust. Margaret was also appointed as the London clinical professional advisor to the bowel cancer screening programme in 2021.

Margaret been involved in the development and implementation of Wolfson Unit training programmes for both doctors and nurses and is the current Deputy Training lead for Endoscopy. During her time on the Joint advisory group for Gastroenterology, she led on the National Nurse Endoscopist training project and was the nurse lead for the development of the national endoscopy e-portfolio, a competency based assessment tool for accreditation and revalidation for all endoscopists in the UK, now known as the JETS e-portfolio.

Margaret has lectured nationally and internationally on training nurses to become endoscopists and demonstrated colonoscopy skills on international programmes, including being a visiting lecturer in Hong Kong, Singapore, Amsterdam, Hungary and North America. She has represented the Trust in local and national media on Channel 4 and Sky News, the Daily Telegraph, Nursing times and more recently on BBC2 Horizon on the role of screening for the UK Population.

Margaret has been the chief endoscopist on several research trials including detection of dysplasia in patients with an Ileoanal pouch, comparison of virtual colonoscopy to conventional flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy, the development and efficacy of nurse-led rectal bleeding clinics and has assisted as an expert endoscopist on major research trials performed within the Wolfson Unit for Endoscopy St Mark’s Hospital.

 

International Keynote Speaker - Leigh Donnelly

Leigh qualified as a Registered General Nurse in 1993 and her first role was as a qualified nurse in theatres. While there her interest in endoscopy grew and she began working full time as a staff nurse in endoscopy in 1995. Leigh’s career developed and in 2002 she started working as an Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) nurse specialist moving on to become an upper GI nurse Specialist and Nurse Endoscopist (NE) in 2004. Leigh trained to be a nationally accredited endoscopist and Endoscopy trainer. She was an automatous practitioner in her own right caring for patients with benign upper GI disease - part of this role was also to be a trained first assistant in theatres which ensured she had a robust knowledge of the procedures the patients were undergoing. Leigh had a specialist interest in laparoscopic hiatal surgery and developed an oesophageal Physiology service - also performing these procedures as part of the patient’s investigation pathway during this role.

In 2018 Leigh was appointed as Endoscopy Training lead alongside her NE and CNS role. She was the first nurse to take on this role in her organisation as it is usually only performed by consultants. Leigh has continued with this role to date and there are still very few nurses in the UK performing this role.

In 2020 Leigh became an elected member of the British Society of Gastroenterology Nurses Association (BSGNA) and holds a position on the training committee. She is the UK representative for the European Society of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Nurses and Associates (ESGENA). In the last few years, she has been part of working parties and committees developing guidance on a national and international level mainly relating to Sustainability in Endoscopy and How to create Greener Endoscopy in practice.

In January 2022 Leigh was appointed as Endoscopy Education and Development Lead and Sustainability Lead. She is a PhD student examining the trainees experience of Nurse endoscopists during endoscopy training which is a qualitative piece of work and is due to submit this thesis in July this year. Leigh is very interested in education, training and developing a future workforce but also taking forward the sustainability agenda ensuring we have commitment to develop a greener, more sustainable endoscopy.

 

Dr Farzan Bahin

Dr Farzan Bahin is the Head of Department, Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospital.  Dr Bahin has undergone extensive training in large academic hospitals. He is a fellow of the Royal Australasian  College of Physicians, a member of the Gastroenterology Society of Australia and the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Dr Bahin’s strong academic background includes extensive publications, peer review of journals and participation in numerous research trials. He has won numerous prestigious academic awards. He has been awarded his PhD evaluating improvements in complex endoscopy in 2017 and is actively involved as a clinical lecturer for the University of Sydney and Western Sydney University.  Special areas of interest include colorectal cancer screening and prevention, therapeutic endoscopy including advanced tissue resection, third space endoscopy and ERCP.

 

Leanne Boase

Leanne Boase BN MN (NP), MHSc (Ed), MAICD, FACNP is a practising Nurse Practitioner, endorsed since 2009, now working in her own primary care practice, and has been the President of The Australian College of Nurse Practitioners since September 2018. She is also the Executive Director of Nursing and Clinical Services for Luminar Health and Fullarton Clinic. She has over 25 years’ experience working in a wide range of hospital and private health settings, including metropolitan and regional areas, and primary care. 

 

Stephanie Buckton

Stephanie completed her nursing training and post-graduate gastroenterology degree at the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and Central London (UK) and completed a Masters of Nursing with Nurse Practitioner at the University of Queensland in 2007. Stephanie was the first credentialed and endorsed IBD Nurse Practitioner in Australia.

Stephanie has a regional, national and international profile as a key stakeholder in the development of IBD services. As an advisor to the Crohn’s and Colitis Association Australia (CCA), she was invited to present on behalf of CCA and IBD patients to federal government at parliament house in Canberra in May 2013, to raise the profile and attract funding to improve IBD services across Australia. She is a member of the CCA Quality of Care steering committee and was involved in the development of the first Australian IBD Standards of Care and national audit of IBD, published in 2016.

She has presented and published extensively both nationally and internationally. Stephanie is passionate about IBD and continues to play a pivotal role in increasing awareness, enhancing management and improving funding of this chronic condition. As a nurse practitioner Stephanie provides front line service for people with inflammatory bowel disease which includes nurse led clinics, a telephone helpline, nurse initiated prescribing, supervision of the biologic and immunosuppression services at both the Sunshine Coast University Hospital and Health Service and Coastal Digestive Health.

 

Jeff Bull

Jeff is a Nurse Consultant at the Flinders Medical Centre, where he coordinates care for patients with upper gastrointestinal cancers – namely oesophageal and gastric. He is a GENCA member, prior Board member and prior SA Regional Manager. He has been a member of GENCA since commencing his gastroenterology career in 2000. He received his Masters of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) in 2005 and has also been a Credentialed Gastroenterology Nurse. He is a member of many organisations including the Australian and New Zealand Gastric and Oesophageal Surgeons Association. Jeff has also been an Associate Lecturer with the School of Medicine, Flinders University of South Australia and has been an author and co-author of a number of oesophagogastric cancer papers and presentations. 

 

Dr Sunil Gupta

Dr Sunil Gupta is a Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist from Sydney, Australia. He completed his Gastroenterology advanced training at Westmead Hospital and is currently undertaking an Interventional Endoscopy Fellowship under the supervision of Professor Michael Bourke. Sunil is also undertaking a PhD with the University of Sydney, focusing on improving quality, patient selection and outcomes in the endoscopic tissue resection of early cancers within the upper gastrointestinal tract. 

 

Dr Craig Haifer

Dr Craig Haifer is a Staff Specialist at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney and a senior coinjoint lecturer at UNSW in Sydney. He completed his PhD earlier this year at Sydney University assessing the role of faecal microbiota transplantation in gastrointestinal diseases. During his studies he was awarded the GESA young investigator and won the Young ECCO best abstract award in 2021 for his research. He works as a clinical gastroenterologist with interest in Inflammatory bowel disease and has continued research interest in the field of microbial manipulation therapy. 

 

Yiting Scarlett Huang

Yiting Scarlett Huang is a registered nurse working as Clinical Nurse Consultant in the Diabetes Education Centre at Blacktown hospital, Sydney. Scarlett holds a bachelor’s degree in international economy and trade from Shanghai Ocean University, China and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Western Sydney University, Australia. She completed graduate certificate in diabetes education and management and is credentialed with the Australian Diabetes Educators Association. Scarlett is an executive member of Australian Diabetes Educators Association (ADEA) NSW Branch. Meanwhile, Scarlett has a role with the University of Technology Sydney as an assessment marker and course designer for the Postgraduate Course of Diabetes Education and Management. Scarlett’s speciality is chronic and complex medicine. She has developed advanced clinical skills and knowledge about diabetes management after many years of training in tertiary hospitals. Her approach is person-centred and often involves multi-disciplinary input. Her goal is to promote the general wellbeing for people living with diabetes.  

 

Di Jones

Di Jones is currently on long service leave on the pathway to retirement.  She was the Nurse Unit Manager of the Endoscopy Unit at Logan Hospital in Queensland. Di has 46 years experience in gastroenterological nursing as a clinician, researcher, educator and manager. Di has had extensive involvement in the Gastroenterological Nurses College of Australia (GENCA), serving inter alia as President, Secretary, Director of Education, Editor, and is a lifetime member of that organisation.  She also served as the President of the Society of International Gastroenterology Nurses and Endoscopy Associates (SIGNEA).  Di is a co-author of the Australian publications “Infection Control in Endoscopy” and “Standards for Endoscopic Facilities” and was a member of the working party that developed the web-based course in endoscope reprocessing for Queensland Health (now hosted by GENCA). She established and was course coordinator for the tertiary education gastroenterology nursing courses at the Queensland University of Technology.  Di is currently serving as a Director of ANZGITA, the Australian and New Zealand Gastroenterology International Training Organisation. That group delivers multi-disciplinary professional development through education and skills transfer training programs in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Myanmar and Nepal.  Di was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2012 for services to nursing.

 

Dr Vera Meeusen

Vera Meeusen is a Clinical Nurse Consultant of the Endoscopy Unit at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane. She started her career as Nurse Anaesthetist working in anaesthetics, PACU and postoperative pain team and performed several clinical research projects focused on the prevention and prediction of postoperative nausea & vomiting and postoperative pain management. After obtaining her Master’s degree of Business in Health at the University of Amsterdam she continued her career as a manager in the perioperative settings and as an overall hospital project manager. Vera’s PhD research focused on workload, job satisfaction, history of nurse anesthetists and scope of practice of nurses in anaesthesia in Europe.

After emigrating to Australia, she obtained her fellowship of the Australian College of PeriAnaesthesia Nurses (ACPAN) and the Associated Fellowship of the Australasian College Of Health Service Management (Certified Health Manager) and continued working in the perioperative environment. Currently, Vera’s research is very diverse: staff and patient satisfaction, patient positioning during endoscopic procedures, safety systems, and internationally, scope of practice of nurse anaesthetists. Professional activities include: senior lecturer The University of Queensland, Chair of the Practice Committee of the International Federation of Nurse Anaesthetist (IFNA), National Secretary of ACPAN and Regional Manager of GENCA Queensland.

Sarah Morse

Sarah Morse has been registered as a nurse in Australia for more than twenty years and knows what it’s like to work in the healthcare system in Australia, both in public and private sectors, in large hospitals, and small clinics, in clinical education and student facilitation. Just like the audiences she addresses, Sarah is frustrated that the human cost of healthcare on health professionals is not being recognised.Through her keynote presentations, Sarah is transforming the way healthcare is delivered. The measurable outcomes of her presentations include, stronger leadership, healthier teams,  increased staff retention rates, and ultimately, better health outcomes for patients.

 

Leanne Raven

Leanne Raven FAICD has been acknowledged for her innovation in the not-for-profit sector as the winner of the 2013 Telstra Business Women’s Award in Victoria for Business Innovation. Prior to taking up the role with CCA, Leanne was the CEO of Red Nose (formerly SIDS and Kids). She has led change and transformative growth in not-for-profit organisations to build capacity and sustainability.

As a market-driven and contemporary CEO Leanne enjoys building purpose-driven companies that are creating social impact and making a difference in our lives and communities. She has qualifications in Science, Business Management, Nursing, Education and Company directorship and she has been honoured to be appointed in 2014 as an adjunct Associate Professor with the University of the Sunshine Coast Queensland, Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering.

She has been a self-employed strategy and management consultant with executive, non-executive director and senior management experience in primary health, community and human services, education and health professional regulation. Leanne has friends and family living with inflammatory bowel disease.

 

Debbie Whittaker

Debbie Whittaker is a Nurse Practitioner/nurse endoscopist at Cairns Hospital.  She has over 30 years’ experience in endoscopy and is a longstanding GENCA regional councillor and is currently a member of the J-GENCA editorial committee. Debbie’s interests include gastrostomy tube management and oesophageal studies – high resolution oesophageal manometry and pH.