The Sydney Network - SIN

Tim Southwood, Oli Flower & Matthew Mac Partlin

The Sydney Intensive Care Network was originally set up by Sydney intensivists Drs Liz Steel (RNSH) and Hergen Buscher (St Vincent's Hospital). Having studied together for the JFICM (now the CICM) Fellowship exam, they realised how hard it can be for trainees to find each other and share resources. So, they set up a series of alternate monthly meetings in Sydney that had both a core intensive care educational focus and offered the opportunity to socialise with the very people one would likely qualify and work as an intensivist with in the future.

Importantly, they also realised the value of a free meal and encouraged industry heavyweights Edwards LifeSciences and CSL to sponsor these meetings, which were usually held in off-campus venues such as good restaurants and hotels. It's harder to learn if you're not enjoying yourself, after all.

It was always intended that S.I.N. would extend its invitation beyond just the inner city Sydney hospitals to the outer reaches of Sydney, New South Wales and to the rest of Australia. This was one of the original elements, amongst several others, that led to the development of the Intensive Care Network that you know and love today.

S.I.N. continues to present high quality speakers on important intensive care topics and to facilitate networking amongst critical care colleagues in pleasant venues. We have moved with the times and, in keeping with the core motivation of making these presentations available to all wherever you are, we broadcast all our meetings live online via WebEx (Watch the ICN site for notifications of our next meeting) and record each one to release as a free podcast so that even if you can't be there, you can still benefit from it (You'll just have to drink your own beer and cook your own dinner. Podcasts can be downloaded from the ICN site or through iTunes "Oli Flower's Intensive Care podcasts").

We are always on the look out for like-minded people, so if you think you would like to get involved by organising a presentation in your area or you would like to join the S.I.N. team, please e-mail us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Upcoming S.I.N. meetings for 2013

For further information, or if you want to be involved in S.I.N., contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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