The organising committee of the 30th Annual International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPCON 2023) is excited to welcome conference delegates in Bengaluru.
IAPCON 2023 is a physical conference organised by Karunashraya at the Nimhans Convention Center, Bengaluru, India. The main conference is scheduled to be conducted over two and half days between Friday, 10th February 2023, and Sunday, 12th February 2023. Interesting pre-conference workshops are scheduled for Thursday, 9th February, 2023.
The conference is themed ‘Metamorphosis: The emergence of Subspeciality Palliative Medicine’.
The organising team of IAPCON 2023 envisioned for the conference to lead to some degree of a metamorphosis for Palliative Medicine in India and the growing subspeciality of Palliative Medicine in India. IAPCON 2023 would therefore have 9 tracks in total with 6 major tracks and 3 minor tracks, with each of the major tracks focusing on the 6 sub specialties.
The major tracks will cover palliative medicine in neurology, pulmonology, nephrology, cardiology, oncology, and intensive care. These tracks will be single standalone sessions traversing the entire day, integrating the medical, nursing, psychosocial and other aspects. Minor tracks will cover several novel intersection topics on advancements in medicine and its relevance to palliative medicine.
We invite you to read the below interview which reflects the thoughts of Dr Nagesh Simha, Organising Chairman, IAPCON 2023.
Dr Nagesh Simha is also the Founder Medical Director of Bangalore Hospice Trust – Karunashraya.
How are you feeling now, knowing that the conference is just around the corner?
Cautious optimism, tinged with a wee bit of anxiety! The Conference team has been working with diligence and I hope all things will go as expected.
We understand that the pre-conference workshops and the scientific sessions this year are structured differently in comparison to the previous IAPCONs. How do you think this will change the landscape of PC education and delivery in India?
This year, it is an attempt to look at subspeciality palliative medicine. It is the first time that we are reaching out to other sprcialities to showcase how palliative care can influence good patient care in non-oncology areas, as also how others can help us in our work. This will certainly be a gamechanger.
What according to you are the key takeaways for the various delegate groups, that they can expect from the conference?
The delegates at the Conference will note that we have done away with frills. We will have a short inauguration in the morning of the first day. This year, there will be free papers running continuously in a dedicated room as we are keen on providing opportunities for more people to showcase their work. There will be dedicated tracks running in a single room followed by a plenary where all the 3 tracks for the day are summarised. This will be a more focused approach. We would like to evolve a roadmap for action in the future.
What other activities await registrants at the conference?
Ohh, there will be good food reflecting local and international cuisine. A very interesting entertainment program, will include a dance recital, ‘Yakshagana’ which is a regional dance form. Delegates will then enjoy a music concert to relax and unwind.
As the Organising Chairman of IAPCON 2023, what are your thoughts in planning a physical conference for the palliative care community after 2 years?
We are very excited that this has been possible after a gap of two years due to Covid. A physical conference is so much better as it presents us with an opportunity for personal interactions, which is something that was missing in the virtual world. My entire team is looking forward to welcoming our friends and colleagues in February, 2023.
Please visit the conference website for further details and to register for IAPCON 2023.
Leave a Reply