Living with IBD - seminar & workshop

We had a great range of topics and incredible speakers to present them:

• IBD Basics – Professor Michael Schultz
• Fertility and pregnancy – Dr Heidi Su
• What my doctor SHOULD be doing to monitor my IBD? – Dr Richard Stein
• Diet and nutrition – Dr Catherine Wall
• Travelling and IBD – Professor Michael Schultz
• New Drugs – what can we expect from the future – Professor Richard Gearry
• Know your rights – Employment rights and Health and Safety Obligations – Julia Yoo
• Support Groups, who are they? – Shirley-Ann Griffiths & Paul Carton (Canterbury Support Group) 

We also expanded on our group discussions to include open Q + A time with medical professionals on two topics:

• Stoma’s
• Educating your partner about IBD 

Funding was obtained to help pay for accommodation and venue costs, which dramatically reduced our registration fees. We were able to waive a few fees for those who were unable to afford to come. Thank you, Takeda, our sponsor for the event, for helping with this.

The day arrived and attendees started arriving. After doing the mandatory Health and Safety obligations of a negative RAT, participants began mingling with others. We were welcomed by the Chair of CCNZ, Dr Richard Stein, followed by a presentation from the leaders of the Canterbury Support Group.

Saturday morning saw us jump into IBD Basics by Professor Michael Schultz, and finishing up the day at 4.15pm with an open Q and A with medical professionals. Thank you to Dr Richard Stein, Professor Michael Schultz and Dr Malcolm Arnold for sharing their expertise with the attendees. We broke out for some time to reflect and rest before heading back to our conference room for dinner. 

Everyone turned up on time on Sunday morning, some brighter than others and we were back with Professor Michael Schultz presenting the second half of IBD Basics and the day finished with our Stoma panel, which included Professor Frank Frizelle (surgeon) and Jenny Roberts (stoma therapist). Special thanks to our patients Danielle Barber and Nikita Bradley Parry who shared their experiences.

World-renowned IBD researcher, Professor Richard Gearry, talked about new treatments for IBD, Dr. Heidi Su discussed how IBD can affect fertility and pregnancy, Dr. Catherine Wall spoke about diet and nutrition, and Julia Yoo about employment rights of people with a chronic illness.  

Feedback is always a great judge of how the event went, and with over 90% of participants considering attending again, this was a very satisfying outcome. Our committee will be meeting in the new year to decide on a date and venue for next seminar in 2023. We can let you in on a little secret: it will be coming back to the North Island.

Make sure you follow CCNZ’s Facebook and Instagram accounts to keep up to date.

Special thanks to our committee made up of: Dr Richard Stein, Professor Michael Schultz, Lucy Smith, Dana Smith and myself.

Thank you to Rhys Rigione-Pisone for again donating his graphic design expertise used in promoting the event.