Saturday afternoon plenary
Tracks
Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4
Track 5
| Saturday, June 27, 2026 |
| 1:15 PM - 2:25 PM |
| Mossman |
|
Sponsored By:
West Moreton Health
|
Speaker
Dr Katrina Starmer
FACRRM FACEM
Royal Flying Doctor Service
The cost of ambition: a diptych
Abstract
It was the perfect storm: a dream job in arguably one of the most remote parts of Australia, a concealed pregnancy, and a tropical cyclone. What could possibly go wrong?
It was this case, displayed side by side with my own life in a diptych that triggered me to think about the personal, professional and community cost of our own ambition.
How quick are we as health practitioners to judge our patients for their life decisions without reflecting on those we make ourselves?
It was this case, displayed side by side with my own life in a diptych that triggered me to think about the personal, professional and community cost of our own ambition.
How quick are we as health practitioners to judge our patients for their life decisions without reflecting on those we make ourselves?
Biography
Dr Katrina Starmer is a dual trained FACRRM/FACEM, working for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) and for The Cairns Hospital Emergency department.
She is the inaugural RFDS Statewide Medical Education Officer for Virtual and Digital Health and has worked as a rural GP for the small town of Chillagoe for the last 6 years. She also teaches on the EMET (Emergency Management Education and Training) team for Cairns and Cape York, including establishing a Focussed Echo in Life Support (FELS) course for the Far North. Katrina has 4 children, 2 great dane dogs and a husband with more bikes than required for one person.
Mr Ewan Wylie
Head Of Business Development
Heart Of Australia
Occupational Lung Disease
Abstract
Occupational lung disease remains a critical health issue for workers exposed to respirable hazards, particularly in regional and remote settings where access to specialist respiratory and imaging services can be limited. While conditions such as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (black lung), silicosis, asbestosis and mesothelioma are well recognised, many workers across both traditional heavy industries and previously under recognised occupations are exposed to a complex array of mixed and poorly understood respiratory hazards.
Heart of Australia delivers mobile lung screening programs for mine and quarry workers with dust exposures, as well as workers in other industries with respiratory hazards, and now also supports delivery of the National Lung Cancer Screening Program for rural and remote communities. This presentation will highlight a selection of unexpected imaging and clinical pathologies encountered over the last four years that broaden the contemporary understanding of occupational lung disease.
Heart of Australia delivers mobile lung screening programs for mine and quarry workers with dust exposures, as well as workers in other industries with respiratory hazards, and now also supports delivery of the National Lung Cancer Screening Program for rural and remote communities. This presentation will highlight a selection of unexpected imaging and clinical pathologies encountered over the last four years that broaden the contemporary understanding of occupational lung disease.
Biography
Ewan Wylie MBA
Respiratory Scientist and Head of Business Development, Heart of Australia
Ewan Wylie is Head of Business Development at Heart of Australia; the mobile healthcare program providing access to specialist healthcare and testing in rural, remote, and First Nations communities across Queensland.
A skilled Respiratory Scientist, Ewan has over 20 years’ experience delivering mobile and occupational health programs across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania.
With expertise in the areas of lung surveillance and early intervention programs, Ewan helped to spearhead the launch Heart of Australia’s mobile radiology truck in 2022, home to the world’s first battery-powered, mobile CT scanner. Through that innovation, Heart of Australia has been delivering comprehensive lung and occupational health programs to communities across Queensland.
In 2025 Heart of Australia became the official provider for the Commonwealth Government for mobile lung cancer screening in rural and remote communities across Australia. Ewan is actively involved in the rollout of this service to support access to the National Lung Cancer Screening Program for rural, remote, and First Nations patients.
Ewan holds a Bachelor of Exercise Science and Rehabilitation from the University of Wollongong and an MBA from the University of Newcastle.
