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Reserve your spot for 2027

Email centrerural@otago.ac.nz to reserve your spot in our new procedural sedation in a rural context course.

About the course

Close up on nurse injecting into prosthetic arm in a simulation setting.

The University of Otago’s Centre for Rural Health is running a new simulation-based course for rural practitioners of procedural sedation - SPARC (Simulated Procedural sedation and Analgesia in the Rural Context).

The delivery of procedural sedation by generalist rural practitioners is a valuable skill that can prevent the need for patient transfer to urban centres. It is safe when performed with adequate preparation, knowledge and skill. However, it is generally learnt informally with few practitioners having had formalised training.

This course is unique in that it offers simulation-based training in procedural sedation specifically for the rural context. The course includes independent online learning followed by an intensive simulation workshop spread over two half-days to allow travel to and from the course on the days it runs.

It will be at a level appropriate for those with existing experience of procedural sedation or for those newly developing these skills.

Proposed course content

The course will include:

  • Airway assessment
  • Risk stratification
  • Preparation and planning
  • Medications
  • Multiple simulated scenarios
  • Airway management skills
  • Managing complications
  • Rural human factors, teamwork and communication
  • Monitoring and recovery
  • Quality and safety

Cost

  • Doctors' Cost: $2000
  • Nurses' Cost: $500

Dates

  • 12–13 October 2026
  • 3–4 December 2026
  • 15-16 February 2027
  • 2-3 August 2027
  • 6-7 December 2027

Location

At this stage, the workshops are mainly held at the Rural Health Academic Centre in Ashburton.

Target audience

Currently this course is being targeted at practicing rural hospital doctors, including rural hospital medicine trainees, as well as rural nurses involved in procedural sedation.

Cancellation, postponement and transfer policy

If you are unable to attend the course for which you have registered, the following cancellation terms apply:

  • Cancellation more than two months before the course: A full refund will be provided.
  • Cancellation within two months of the course: No refund will be provided.

Transfers and postponements

At the University's discretion, a participant who is unable to attend their booked course may be permitted to transfer their registration to a later course. Any transfer or postponement is at the University's discretion and is subject to availability. The University may limit the number of times a registration can be transferred.

A transfer or postponement does not constitute cancellation of the original registration or the creation of a new registration for the purposes of this cancellation policy.

If a registration is transferred or postponed after the applicable cancellation deadline has passed, the registration remains subject to the cancellation terms that applied to the original course date. The transfer or postponement does not create a new cancellation period or reinstate any entitlement to a refund.

For example, if a participant becomes ineligible for a refund because they are within two months of their booked course, but the University agrees to transfer them to a course six months later, the registration remains non-refundable if they subsequently decide not to attend the later course.

More information

For more information, please contact:

Dr Jack Haywood
Senior Professional Practice Fellow
Email jack.haywood@otago.ac.nz

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