Recovery: Not so far off?

Recovery seemed like an appropriate theme for 2021 as we participated in the APE 2020 SilverStar conference in January and watched the fires wreaking havoc in Australia. Recovery now seems like an even more apt theme as we have gone through a biblical series of disasters since.

Ziggy surveys
Ziggy surveys fire damage on South Coast

The latest concern is of course the COVID 19 epidemic that is terrifying many and affecting pretty much everyone. Even as an inveterate optimist, it is difficult to find too much upside just now. Paradoxically, that means that we may have reached some sort of bottom from which a path to recovery is possible. We are certainly having a crisis and we all know that these should not be wasted! The question is whether we have the wisdom to make, and the courage to embrace, some difficult choices.

In any event we will be convening in SilverStar in January 2021 to a very different world. Some possibilities are:

  • We have new leadership in the USA. Institutions that are responsible for responding to crises will have started a rebuilding process.
  • Short term market shocks, like the dispute between the Russians and the Saudis on oil production and pricing, will have resolved themselves.
  • There will be a recognition that technology and market mechanisms need to be established to attempt to deal with climate issues.

You’ve got to hope and dream! In the meantime I’m dreaming of SilverStar in 2021. Hope you are too!

For a summary of proceedings from 2020 click here.

APE 2020 Flexibility Done

Thanks to all the delegates, presenters and staff who made APE 2020 a great success. Physical and mental stretching was evident throughout the week in keeping with the theme. A copy of the final program is here. The summary proceedings will be published in the first half of the year.

We’ve already started planning for 2021 with provisional dates of 6 January to 12 January , 2021. Mark your diaries!

In recognition of the impact of the ongoing horror of Australia’s fires, we are proposing the theme of Recovery for 2021. Resilience and recovery will be needed over the next year and we believe APE can help a little bit.

Surmounting a wall

The January SilverStar conference got us off to a running start. March saw a small APE contingent discovering Antarctica and in May we ran the SLAM conference associated with the Great Wall Marathon (see summary here). It is fair to say that this year has been extraordinary and 2020 looks like it will be equally eventful.

We set Flexibility as the theme for SilverStar 2020 and now we see examples everywhere. Now is the time to start making your plans and thinking about a presentation ;-). Obviously, the sooner you register for SilverStar (here) the better. A reminder, we are doing a great deal on registration to celebrate 20 years of APE.

Let us know if you have an interest in a Japan conference in late February or early March 2020. We are investigating venues within Shinkansen range of Tokyo…

Is time accelerating?

Maybe it is just me, but the year seems to be proceeding very fast. We’re still only in February but it seems like a long way back that we were enjoying APE SilverStar 2019.

Have a look here if you need to take a breath and remind yourself of the fantastic presentations in January. Also useful if you are thinking about attending APE for the first time in 2020 and wanting a flavour of the quality and diversity of the presentations you can expect. Many people are already organising their travel so a reminder that the dates proposed are 8-14 January, 2020 (draft program here)

Other news is the successful completion of the Anaesthetic Exam Performance Boot Camp over the past weekend. This is a unique opportunity for Anaesthetic Part 2 candidates to project themselves into exam day and learn directly from examiners about what gets you over the line, or a medal…

Let’s be flexible!

While many of our supposed “thought leaders” are heading off to Davos, we are just back to the 40 degree heat of Canberra in a super heated January – a big prompt to get planning for 2020.

The theme of “Bonds” worked well in 2019 to ensure a mix of topics and some truly reflective moments.  A summary of presentations will be put together for delegates, and for the information of those who missed out on SilverStar this year.

The APE education machine will continue to be busy in the first half of 2019 with meetings on the Polar Explorer out of Patagonia in March and a Chinese fact finding mission in May, associated with the Great Wall Marathon. Get in touch if you want to be involved!

In addition, APE is handling the logistics for a Boot Camp in early February  for Anaesthetic trainees seeking to improve their performance in Part 2 exams.

This range of activities speaks to the flexibility required for any educational organisation in the current climate. Indeed, “flexibility” is so important that we are considering it as the conference theme for our meeting in January 2020.

As an example of flexibility, we have taken on board feedback from 2019 delegates about preferred dates. We had originally suggested the week of 13 January, 2020, but understand that there is a strong preference for the conference to incorporate the previous week so we have decided to start the conference on 8 January and finish up on 14 January. Mark your diaries, book your tickets and reserve your accommodation!

Thanks again for supporting APE and ensuring that it is a fun and challenging learning experience. We’ll continue to look at options for professionals to learn in different contexts, including Japan, and keep you updated.

Bond speculation

A lot of speculation has been put to rest in recent days as it has been announced that:

  • Daniel Craig will reprise the Bond role with filming to commence in March 2019;
  • Bond Yields Climb as Investors Embrace Risk, Cautiously (WSJ); and
  • Bonds are going to be forged in January at APE. These bonds will help you negotiate the highways and byways of professional life.

So make sure to round up tribe members for a week of learning, simian-style from 7-11 January, 2019.
Registration is easy to negotiate and we can be available by email or on the phone to help if needed.
In the meantime, it might be worth checking out the best ski scenes from Bond movies such as For your Eyes Only, The Spy Who Loved Me or, my fav, the classic On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. They might be on the quiz…

Proceedings 2018 – Theme and dates for 2019

You can check out the summary proceedings from 2018 here.

We’ve been workshopping the theme for 2019. There is some enthusiasm for bonds so let’s go with that!

We’re looking forward to presentations on bonds be they financial instruments, partnerships or secret agents. We’ll also consider presentations on the active forms (bonding or bondage) but bear in mind the sensitivities of a mixed audience.

We’ve put up the registration page for the 2019 conference and we are offering discounts for registration before 30 June. Jump in!

Please contact the convenor should you have any questions.

APE Technical and REC Program 2018

The snow is looking good already, as is the conference!

A provisional list of speakers and titles is here. The APE Vision 2018 conference should be brilliant. Don’t forget to register if you haven’t already!

In conjunction with the technical program, we have organised tremendous social and team-building events. Partnering with the SilverStar SnowSports School, we are running 3 day clinics from 9am to 12pm, Wednesday to Friday, in each week of the conference. We are calling it the APE REC Academy and it is open to all APE Delegates and adult family members.

The REC bit can be read as indicating a recreational focus. But it is also an acronym for the Retracing Evolution Cup which, conditions permitting, will be the pinnacle event on the Friday sessions. The APE REC program is fabulous value and will see us sliding about with simian grace and agility!

Come share your vision !

Research trip to SilverStar

An APE (Rod) did a reconnaissance trip to SilverStar 14-18 August, 2017 .  This had a number of goals but most important were:

  1. Discuss logistics and options for winter (January) conferences, and
  2. Investigate summer (August) conference options

After discussion with the SilverStar experts, we’ve put together a 1 minute survey. It’d be great if you could give it a go here.

The Okanagan is a beautiful place in summer.  It’s easy to get around, warm and with abundant ways to enjoy being outside.  Being there in the quiet relaxed mood of summer also provided an opportunity to think about how to make APE fresh and relevant – January 2018 is going to be great!

Don’t forget to register!

Vision, visions and visionaries

We are starting to get some fabulous delegates and presenters expressing interest in APE 2018. Registration before June 30 is a great way to go…

Robert Pirsig died recently. His classic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was rejected by 121 publishers before the 122nd agreed to publish with very low expectations. Vision is obviously a scarce commodity among publishers! It is good to reflect on how Robert Pirsig changed our relationship with technology. Images of Zen sometimes come to me just when yelling at the computer.

A guy who has something in common with Pirsig  is Phil Weber.  He started sending out bills for his wife’s anaesthetic practice around when his first son was born nearly three decades ago. He has  grown it into a successful and customer focussed medical billing company.

At APE 2018 we can share past and future visions! Less than 250 sleeps – now that is a vision to keep in mind.