By Xu Liang, MS, MD, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Wuhan Third Hospital, Wuhan, Hubei, PRC, and
Chia-Chen Chu, MS, RRT, FAARC, Department of Respiratory Therapy, China Medical University & Hospital, Taichung City, Taiwan

The 10th Intercoastal Respiratory Therapy Assembly (ICRTA) and Wuhan Association of Critical Care Physicians Academic Conference was held Sept. 9-11, 2016, in Wuhan, Hubei Province. The Assembly was co-sponsored by the Wuhan Association of Critical Care Physicians and the Taiwan Society for Respiratory Therapy, and was organized by Wuhan Third Hospital. More than 380 respiratory therapists, physicians, and nurses specializing in intensive care and respiratory medicine from the U.S., South Korea, Taiwan, and Mainland China participated in the forum, and over 30 poster presentations were accepted for exhibition.

A standing-room-only crowd of RT practitioners attended a General Session of the 10th Intercoastal Respiratory Therapy Assembly on Sept. 10, 2016, in Wuhan, China.

Twenty seminar faculty experts delivered excellent presentations covering the latest developments and contemporary topics in respiratory therapy. In addition to the plenary lectures, there were small group breakout sessions and four workshops focusing on critical care topics from the perspective of ICU practitioners including respiratory therapists, physicians, and nurses.

After the forum, many participants expressed that respiratory therapy in China started late and there is a great shortage of respiratory therapists and inadequate understanding of respiratory therapy by clinical departments. The forum enhanced communication among all disciplines involved in providing respiratory care. Professor Jerome M. Sullivan, PhD, RRT, FAARC, president of the ICRC, discussed the Fundamental Respiratory Care Support Course, a new respiratory therapy training program being developed in the U.S. that has attracted great attention from Chinese participants.

Dr. Xu Liang accepts the ICRC Award for Service Excellence on behalf of The Third Hospital of Wuhan.

John D. Hiser, MEd, RRT, FAARC, chairman of the AARC’s International Affairs Committee, also brought out lively discussion from the participants with his presentation on the International Fellowship Program.

Stemming from the seminar, a series of training sessions on respiratory therapy technology standardization have now been held in many medical centers in Hubei Province.

After the successful conclusion of the conference, following the tradition of the ICRTA, the flag was transferred to next year’s host hospital. Li Yajun, president of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Medical College, personally accepted the flag. Dr. Li’s hospital in Xi’an, China will be the host site for the 11th Intercoastal Respiratory Therapy Assembly in 2017.