Research, Awards & Prizes
The NZSA supports its members and community by awarding prizes and research grants to support excellence in anaesthesia.
President's Award
The NZSA President's award recognises an NZSA member who has provided a sustained or specific contribution to the Society and anaesthesia community.
Nominations for 2025 have closed.
The award will be presented at the NZSA AGM during the Aotearoa NZ Anaesthesia ASM.
If you have any questions please contact nzsa@anaesthesia.nz
The award recipient will be decided by the NZSA President, Vice-President, and Immediate Past President.
The Award is an engraved plaque and certificate. There is no monetary value to the prize.
2024 – A/Prof Wayne Morriss
2023 – Dr Rob Burrell
2022 – Dr Aiden O’Donnell, Dr Douglas Mein
2021 – Dr Indu Kapoor
Congratulations to 2024 recipient, Associate Professor Wayne Morriss.
Wayne’s considerable efforts towards advancing anaesthetic care in developing countries, long-term involvement with the NZSA’s Global Health Committee, and his pivotal role in the World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists (WFSA) have elevated anaesthetic standards globally and have raised the profile of Anaesthesia, and our Aotearoa anaesthesia community on the world stage.
The John Ritchie Prize
This John Ritchie Prize was established in 1983 by the New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists (NZSA), awarded for the best presentation by a candidate in the Prize Session at the Aotearoa NZ Anaesthesia ASM. It is open to NZSA members only and work must have been carried out predominantly in New Zealand.
The John Ritchie Prize is awarded to the presenter judged to have the best paper at the Ritchie Prize Session held at the Aotearoa NZ Anaesthesia Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) organised in whole or in part by the NZSA and at which the Society’s Annual General Meeting is held. In the year an ASM is not held, the Ritchie Prize is not awarded.
The value of the John Ritchie Prize is $2500.
The work of the winner may also be submitted to the AIC Journal (Anaesthesia and Intensive Care) for publication.
An award will only be made if, in the opinion of the judges, there is a paper of sufficient merit. The judges decision is final.
The Research Grant
The winner of the John Ritchie Prize will be invited to apply for the NZSA Ritchie Prize Research Grant, which has a value up to $5,000. Receipt of the Research Grant is not automatic. To be eligible for this Research Grant the winner will be asked to submit a proposal (one A4 page) to the NZSA Executive Committee within three months of receiving the award.
The award is to be for a specific project or part of a project and supported by a budget.
The proposal will be considered by a subcommittee convened by the NZSA Education Officer who will make a recommendation to the NZSA Executive Committee. A condition of the award is that a report on the project be submitted within 12 months of receiving the award and that work arising from the award should be presented at a meeting in New Zealand.
The Ritchie Prize Session is a named plenary session at the Aotearoa NZ Anaesthesia ASM. The format of presentations is a 10-minute oral presentation with 5 minutes for questions.
Selection for the Prize Session is made by the Scientific Convenor of the Aotearoa NZ Anaesthesia ASM in consultation with the NZSA Education Officer or deputy.
To be accepted for the session:
- The presenter should be the lead researcher and must have played the major role in the conduct of the study and preparation of the presentation.
- The presenter must be a member of the NZSA.
- The work must not have been presented previously at a major Australasian or International Meeting. (Note that presentation at a New Zealand meeting would not normally preclude later presentation elsewhere).
- The work must have appropriate Ethics Committee approval.
The selectors reserve the right to not select any papers if they do not feel any are of a suitable standard. The NZSA Executive Committee have final decision on eligibility.
Any questions regarding eligibility shall be referred to the NZSA Education Officer or deputy.
ASM Poster Prize
The NZSA and ANZCA NZNC joint ASM Poster Prize of $500 is awarded to the person judged to have produced the best poster at the Aotearoa NZ Anaesthesia Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) and who is not selected to present at the Ritchie Prize Session. The applicant should have made the dominant contribution to the work to be eligible for this prize and must be an NZSA and ANZCA member.
Posters will be presented at a separate session during the Aotearoa NZ Anaesthesia ASM.
Authors will be required to do a short presentation at their poster during the appropriate Session as scheduled in the Aotearoa NZ Anaesthesia ASM programme. Authors should prepare a two-minute oral presentation (no AV or PowerPoint) and be prepared to answer questions from the judges.
The judging panel of two will be selected and led by the NZSA and ANZCA NZNC Education Officers. The judges will not be eligible for the prize while acting in this capacity.
An award will only be made if, in the opinion of the judges, there is a paper of sufficient merit.
Eligibility is open to members of both the NZSA and ANZCA.
Annual Registrars' Meeting
The NZSA Registrar Prize for Best Quality Assurance/Audit Paper is awarded to a trainee for the best audit/quality assurance presentation at the annual NZ Registrars' Meeting (ARM) in Auckland. To be eligible, trainees must be a member of the NZSA.
The NZSA Registrar Prize of $1250 is awarded to a trainee for the best audit/quality assurance presentation at the annual Auckland Registrars’ Meeting (ARM).
Entrants are only eligible for this prize if they are members of the NZSA. Trainee membership is free.
The NZSA often provides additional support towards the NZ ARM event.
Honorary and Life Members
There are a few outstanding individuals who over the course of their career, or their lives, give so freely in their contributions to the Anaesthesia specialty and the New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists. The NZSA awards Life and Honorary Memberships to these individuals.