An exciting and educative program is in store for the ICEM 2023 participants. The conference will feature ample time for discussions, formal and informal interactions between attendees, and will ensure a spirited exchange of ideas.

The aim is to create a space where the global emergency care community can learn, discuss and plan how to enrich emergency care (EC) education, research and practice, and emergency medicine procedures.

Are you curious about how the experience will look like?

Here’s a snapshot of what you can expect:

The program-at-a-glance is already available!

We are delighted to announce our confirmed speakers

Chris Turner

Have you ever had a professional interaction that has left you feeling disrespected? Left you feeling distracted and not performing at your best? It turns out that this isn’t just you, it’s all of us.

Chris Turner is a consultant in Emergency Medicine at UHCW, a major trauma centre in Coventry, England. He is also the co-founder of Civility Saves Lives, a grass roots movement dedicated to raising awareness of the impact of behaviour on team performance.

In this talk Chris will discuss the fundamental impact behaviour makes on our performance at individual, team and organisational levels. He’ll show the scientific evidence around this that has built up over the last 20 years and discuss ways of thinking about this that might help us (and our teams) to perform at our best. If he gets the time, he might also tell us about when he has been, in his own words, “a complete tool” …

"Im hugely looking forward to ICEM 2023 and the chance to meet with fellow EM staff from around the world. The last few years have been particularly difficult for us, and this is a welcome opportunity to learn, to connect and to recharge.”

Sa'ad Lahri

Ever heard of “VUCA” – Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. In his talk Sa’ad will give us an inside view and understanding of the myriad of challenges within emergency medicine in South Africa, an appreciation of the social determinants of health and how we can navigate this environment through boundary spanning leadership and a return to basic humanity.

Dr Sa’ad Lahri is an Emergency Physician at Tygerberg Hospital and is also the President of the College of Emergency Medicine South Africa. He is a lifelong leadership learner and teacher and is extremely passionate about providing guidance to students, helping them to develop critical and creative thinking while inspiring them to cultivate an academic disposition to improve patient care. His favourite hobby outside of emergency medicine is being a passionate barista and coffee enthusiast.

“ICEM 2023 is novel with its conference theme. It will be a wonderful opportunity to learn and collaborate. I am hoping to gain skills that will empower me to operate in the new world that confronts us.”

Ian Roberts

Ian Roberts is Professor of Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He trained as a paediatrician in the UK and then in epidemiology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand and McGill University, Canada.

He is a clinical academic who works collaboratively with health professionals world-wide to conduct large multi-centre clinical trials aimed at improving patient outcomes in life threatening emergencies. He works with others to build global research partnerships to answer questions together that could not be answered by anyone working alone. He has played lead roles in several large trials including the CRASH trials and the Woman trial.

“I am excited about this conference because I love to learn and I am learning to love. The new generation of doctors are challenging the rot of toxic masculinity in medicine. All strength to them!”

Constance LeBlanc

Dr. Constance LeBlanc (Connie) is a tertiary care Emergency Physician and Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada. With a Master of Arts in Education, an MBA, certification in Equity Diversity Inclusivity and Accessibility (EDIA), and over three decades of clinical experience, she is a true life-long learner.

Connie serves as the regional representative for North American at IFEM. Dr. LeBlanc’s recent scholarship and publications focus on EDIA as do her most recent presentations. She has been the recipient of several education and leadership awards including the Dalhousie Community of Scholars’ Award for Education, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Innovation Award in 2016 and in 2017, a Freddie Award (Educational film award), Internet Gold Top-10 Award, Emergency Physician of the Year from CAEP in 2019, and the CAEP President’s Award in 2022.

Connie maintains a balanced life. She has two adult children, travels with her family to SCUBA dive, explore remote areas, and meet new people. She believes that Emergency Physicians are unique, interesting, and fun people and looks forward to seeing you in Amsterdam!

"ICEM provides an opportunity like no other to meet EM colleagues from around the globe. The ICEM 2023 programme is second to none and will allow us to work towards our common goal of excellence in Emergency Medicine."

Ffion Davies

Dr Ffion Davies is President of the International Federation for Emergency Medicine and works as a Consultant Emergency Physician at the University Hospitals of Leicester, UK. She is sub-specialist trained in Paediatric Emergency Medicine. Ffion’s main clinical interest is in multi-professional education.

For over 20 years Ffion has acted in leadership roles or as advisor at national level in the UK. She is the Medical Lead for The Children’s Air Ambulance charity, a national PICU/NICU helicopter retrieval and ECMO service.

Ffion has worked within IFEM for 13 years and was elected as President in 2022. IFEM’s vision is “A world where all people, in all countries, have access to high-quality emergency medical care”. IFEM works to connect and help those working in emergency care, promote the development of a trained workforce who are skilled and recognised as qualified specialists, and to use its global influence to assist its member national societies in continuously improving their service to patients.  

“I am really excited about ICEM, IFEM’s annual flagship conference, together with our hosts the Dutch Society of Emergency Physicians, building bridges to the world!”

Joe Nemeth

Dr. Nemeth has led a very geographically varied professional life starting training in the US, completing it in Europe. Subsequently, in 2001 he set up shop at the McGill University Health Center's Montreal General Hospital and Montreal Children's Hospital as an attending emergency medicine physician and Trauma Team Leader and has been there since.

He was the department director at the Montreal General Hospital for 8 of those years. His extensive international lecturing dossier, global health educational initiatives and numerous McGill University teaching awards attest to his passion for teaching.

He is also the Fellowship Director of the Trauma Fellowship for Emergency Medicine Physicians, the General Emergency Medicine Fellowship and the Resuscitation Fellowship.

"ICEM 2023 - why am I excited?....Why wouldn't anyone be?!  The fabulous city, the magnificent country, the amazing networking opportunities and most importantly, the incredible program!"

Menno Gaakeer

Menno Gaakeer is an emergency physician with a demonstrated history of leadership and entrepreneurship.

He has served as president of the DSEP from 2010 till 2014, co-founded the Emergency Medicine Research Foundation and co-founded the Netherlands Emergency department Evaluation Database ((N.E.E.D.).  Menno Gaakeer is specialized in organization and management of emergency medicine care, skilled in strategy, connectivity, people & team management and scientific research.

He (co-) authored over 40 articles, reviews for several international (emergency) medicine journals and defended his own PhD in 2019 (Emergency Departments in the Netherlands, an exploration of characteristics and operational standards for the purpose of future optimization).

"In 1999 the conference ‘Emergency medicine, who cares?’ was organized in Amsterdam to create awareness about the need  for the  missing medical specialty of emergency medicine in the Netherlands. In 2023 the DSEP hosts ICEM in Amsterdam on the eve of formal recognition of EM as a medical specialty in the Netherlands. During these 25 years we have always been embraced by the international community of EM. During ICEM we embrace the international community of EM!"