Society for Education in
Dental Anaesthesiology and
Traumatic Events (SEDATE) Inc
About Us
Our organisation
The Society for Education in Dental Anaesthesiology and Traumatic Events (SEDATE) Inc, previously named as The Centre for Resuscitation Education and Simulation Training (CREST) Inc, (ABN 76 527 885 920 ) is an Australian non-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving quality of dental service and patient safety by applying medical simulation to training for oral health clinicians. Our organisation offers interactive courses and education programs, including competency-based training, Anaesthetic Crisis Resource Management (ACRM) and continuous professional development. The program aims to teach a wide array of medical emergency scenarios to dental staff via experiential learning.
SEDATE has been accredited by Dental Board Australia (DBA) / Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) since 2010 to run dental sedation re-endorsement courses for dentists who practise conscious sedation in order to facilitate dental treatment for phobic patients, children and special needs patients. Currently dental sedationists are required to attend annual refresher courses for re-accreditation by DBA for the following twelve months.
Our educational concepts
- Simplification of course content to facilitate course objectives.
- Consistency of course content to enable a reduction of instructor variability from the intended course syllabus and current guidelines.
- Training scenarios should be contextual and be applied practically in a real-world setting.
- Hands-on practice is needed to enhance skill performance objectives.
- Debriefing and feedback are critical components of experiential learning and allows participants the opportunity to reflect on their performance, and improve in the future.
- Assessment ensures both achievement of competence and provides the benchmarks that participants strive toward. Assessment strategies should evaluate competence and promote learning, and must be clear and measurable.
- Instructor, course and program should be evaluated regularly to promote continuous quality improvement.
Our staff
The facilitator for SEDATE courses has always been a consultant anaesthetist who is competent in providing conscious sedation and anaesthesia, and is also an accredited trainer in anaesthetic simulation and ACRM.
SEDATE has been staffed by experienced sedation specialists and highly qualified educators, all of whom have extensive training both in medical and dental fields, in Advanced Life Support (ALS) with Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) and in simulation training. Our staff has continuous liaisons and training with the Harvard Medical School and the International Federation of Dental Anesthesiology Societies (IFDAS).
Simon Zidar, B Med. FANZCA
Dr Simon Zidar is currently a consultant Anaesthetist and Perfusionist in Perth. He has also been a mentor for Regional Anaesthesia Fellowship training and Patient Blood Management anaesthetic liaison. Before he moved to Perth, Dr Zidar was a Consultant Anaesthetist at Westmead Hospital Sydney and a Retrievalist with Careflight NSW. Dr Zidar was a supervisor of anaesthetic training program at Westmead Hospital, was a Lecturer for the University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine, and was instructor for courses through the Sydney Simulation Centre at Royal North Shore Hospital. Dr Zidar has also carried out volunteer work with the Australian Government Dental Intervention program to Gove NT.
Douglas Stewart, BDS, GradDipScMed, MScMed, FRSH
(Lifetime memership, sadly passed away on 22 May 2020)
Dr Douglas Stewart trained as a dental surgeon at the University of Sydney followed by extensive postgraduate training in sedation, pain management and medical simulation in Australia and the United Kingdom. He is currently an ALS Provider (ALS2) with the Australian Resuscitation Council and has completed the Instructor Course in medical simulation from the Institute for Medical Simulation/Harvard-MIT. Since 2010, Douglas has been the Chairman of the Society for Education in Dental Anaesthesiology and Traumatic Events (SEDATE) Inc, previously known as CREST, in Australia, and is the Immediate Past President and Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the International Federation of Dental Anesthesiology Societies (IFDAS). Douglas was also Program Director of the Graduate Diploma in Conscious Sedation, University of Sydney, from 1995-2014. He also lectures extensively in Australia and internationally on topics covering sedation, pain management, medical simulation and advanced life support. Douglas is a member of the International Faculty of the Harvard Medical School (Pediatric Sedation Outside of the Operating Room). He has also been the Editor of the SAAD Digest, Honorary Secretary and Course Organiser for the Society for the Advancement of Anaesthesia in Dentistry (SAAD) in the United Kingdom, and the past Honorary Secretary/Course Organiser for the Australian Society for Dental Anaesthesiology (ASDA). Other activities have included being an examiner for the Royal College of Dental Surgeons (RACDS), past President of the Dental Alumni Society of the University of Sydney (DASUS) and past President of the Oral Health Foundation (OHF).
Yvonne Chow, BDS, GradDip (Conscious Sedation and Pain Control)
Public Officer of SEDATE Inc.
Dr Yvonne Chow graduated from the University of Sydney in 1999. She has since worked at Westmead Hospital as a Dental Officer treating phobic patients and special needs patients. In 2005, Dr Chow obtained the Graduate Diploma in Clinical Dentistry (Conscious sedation and Pain control) at The University of Sydney. Since then she has practised dentistry and conscious sedation in both private and public sectors. Dr Chow has been an active member in SEDATE council in improving courses provided to dental practitioners in Australia.
Rachel Lijue Ma, MBBS (China), BHSc (NZ), MEdu (Adult Edu) (Australia)
Rachel has been the Convenor of SEDATE (previously known as CREST) courses since its establishment. She has extensive knowledge and experience in dental sedation education and medical emergency simulation training. Rachel was a Clinical Lecturer for the University of Sydney Faculty of Dentistry teaching for Postgraduate Diploma course of Conscious Sedation and Pain Control. She has also been involved with teaching dental graduate students in medical emergency management and Advanced Life Support in the dental setting for six years. Rachel is an accredited simulation instructor by the Centre for Medical Simulation, Harvard Medical School and an endorsed Advanced Life Support Provider by Australian Resuscitation Council. Rachel has been an International Faculty for the Pediatric Sedation outside of the Operating Room by Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital. She has also given presentations in various national and international dental anaesthesiology conferences.
Luke Leung, BDent (HK), GradDip (Conscious Sedation and Pain Control)
Dr Leung graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry in the University of Hong Kong in 1988. Having practised six years in general dentistry in Hong Kong, he came to Australia in 1994 and joined Westmead Centre for Oral Health in 1996. He has developed an interest in teaching since 1998. Dr Leung spent most of his teaching time in Oral Surgery. In 2003 he graduated from The Graduate Diploma in Clinical Dentistry (conscious sedation and pain control). Encouraged by Professor Doug Stewart, in 2006 he joined the Intravenous Sedation Unit and took up the role of clinical supervisor for the sedation postgrad students which he thoroughly enjoyed for the last 15 years. Dr Leung also has his own general dental clinic and a mobile sedation setup to help dental colleagues in Sydney north-western suburbs. Dr Leung joined the SEDATE council in June 2020 and would like to serve the sedation community.
Antonio Lee, BDS (University of Sydney) MSc in Sedation and Special Care Dentistry (University of London)
SEDATE, previously known as CREST, has been an important part of Antonio’s continuing professional development schedule for many years. Being able to keep abreast with current resuscitation protocol, having opportunities to practise what is learnt in a simulation centre allows him to provide dental conscious sedation safely and effectively. Antonio is grateful for the opportunity to help out with the organisation.
Katherine Barrett, BDent, GradDipClinDent Sedation (USyd), BA (Honours)
Dr Katherine Barrett is a Dental Sedationist based in the greater Sydney region. She is the founder of New South Wales Dental Sedation, which provides a mobile sedation service to dentists and patients. Dr. Barrett graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Dentistry and Bachelor of Arts (Honours). Following dental practice in regional NSW, Dr Barrett went on to further her studies and attained a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Dentistry (Conscious Sedation & Pain Control). Dr. Barrett is a Dental Board of Australia (DBA) Certified Sedationist and is endorsed to practise conscious sedation by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). She is an active member of the Australian Dental Association (ADA) and SEDATE council.
Our Technology
The clinical simulation laboratory at the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences uses a bespoke setup of cutting-edge technology to deliver life-like clinical simulations to both students and healthcare professionals.
The laboratory is fitted with an operating theatre (with lights/pendant and anaesthetic machine), a two-bedded hospital ward, breakout rooms, lecture rooms and kitchen facilities. Simulation activities can be observed from the control room or any of the breakout rooms with world-wide live streaming and recording capabilities for debriefing scenarios.
The Simulation Laboratory is managed by the MD program Clinical Skills Development Coordinator and support staff. It is well equipped with a wide range of simulation manikins, part task trainers, ultrasound machines, emergency trollies and more to suit most clinical training scenarios.
Fully renovated in 2017 as part of the Macquarie MD and Doctor of Physiotherapy programs at Macquarie University, the clinical simulation laboratory provides students with invaluable skills that translate directly to real life situations they may face as clinicians. Doctors in training and other practising healthcare professionals have the opportunity to hone their clinical skills before translating them into practice. The advanced healthcare training delivered here include: the Training in Professionals Skills (TIPS) through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons; Neuroanaesthesia Simulation – accredited by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists to deliver Emergency response Activities; Advanced Trainee Right Heart Catherisation Simulation Seminar supported by Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, and this Dental sedation re-endorsement course accredited by the Dental Board of Australia.
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