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Allied respiratory professionals (ARPs), including physiotherapists, technologists, scientists, nurses, psychologists, occupational therapists and nutritionists, are involved at all stages of respiratory care, from prevention, diagnosis and evaluation, to treatment and management of acute and chronic respiratory diseases.
ARPs are particularly involved in the rehabilitation of patients with chronic respiratory conditions and are often the patient’s first point of contact. ARPs have been especially important for supporting the recovery of COVID patients following hospitalisation, highlighting the importance of ARP-led interventions and the transfer of knowledge between different professional groups and in multidisciplinary teams.
We are pleased to offer a range of sessions and educational activities during this year’s ERS Congress which address the needs, current issues and future developments in respiratory care from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Daniel is a respiratory physiotherapist and Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at the KU Leuven, Belgium. His clinical research is specifically focused on the value respiratory muscle conditioning during pulmonary rehabilitation. He is a member of the editorial boards of ‘Frontiers in Respiratory Physiology’, ‘Physiotherapy’ and ‘Breathe’.
Q: What makes the ERS Congress unique for allied respiratory professionals?
A: For the first time since 2019 you will be able to meet again in person with your allied respiratory professional colleagues from around the world. In addition to following the excellent program that the different groups of our assembly have prepared for you a central meeting point will be available for our Assembly members in the conference centre. This will facilitate arranging meetings with your colleagues, exchanging ideas and building new collaborations and friendships.
Q: What can allied respiratory professionals expect to gain from taking part in this year’s Congress?
A: Our groups have again received many high quality abstracts that will be presented in 13 sessions (8 thematic poster sessions and 5 oral presentation sessions) over the three days.
In addition there will be a great mix of practical sessions and symposia organised by our assembly offered both online and as live sessions during the congress. There will also be pre-congress content and a Spirometry postgraduate course offered online in November.
Q: In your opinion, what will be the popular topics for allied respiratory professionals during this year’s Congress, and what will be a particular highlight for you?
A: I’m very much looking forward to the two symposia organised by our Assembly that will be part of the live program. The first session is on utilising exercise testing in pre-operative assessment, rehabilitation and exercise prescription and the second is on state-of-the-art in the home mechanical ventilation.
Q: Can you select some sessions that you recommend to allied respiratory professionals?
A: In addition to pre-congress sessions on treatable traits in COPD rehabilitation and on the updated ERS/ATS statement on pulmonary function test interpretation I would like to specifically recommend to our Assembly members a Sunday morning symposium on the holistic management and rehabilitation of fibrosing interstitial lung diseases as well as a Sunday afternoon symposium on ‘What I learnt from COVID-19 to better manage my current patients’. On behalf of all Assembly 9 officers I wish all allied respiratory professionals an enjoyable congress either onsite or online.
