Suddenly, November isn’t looking quite so far away.

DevelopingEM 2026 is nearly here and, if you’re joining us in Saint Lucia, now is the time to move from “I’m going to the Caribbean in November” to actually making sure everything is organised.

We’ve done these pre-conference checklists before and they remain one of the more useful things we publish.

So passports out, flights checked and sunscreen purchased.

Here is your DevelopingEM 2026 Saint Lucia pre-departure checklist.

1. First things first: are you actually registered?

It sounds obvious.

But start here.

If you haven’t yet registered for DevelopingEM 2026, now would be an excellent time to fix that.

The main DevelopingEM scientific program runs from 16–18 November 2026, with pre-conference workshops on 14–15 November and post-conference workshops on 19 November.

The conference is being held at the Royalton Saint Lucia.

If you have already registered, log back into your registration and have a look at exactly what you booked.

A registration made months ago can become surprisingly vague in the memory by November.

CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION

2. Is there anything you want to add?

While you’re looking at your registration, check whether there are any additional workshops or conference activities you meant to book but never quite got around to.

Our workshops are deliberately smaller and more interactive than the plenary program, which also means numbers are limited.

If there is something you want to attend and places remain available, add it now rather than discovering in Saint Lucia that everyone else remembered to book it.

ADD TO YOUR REGISTRATION

3. And while you’re there — consider adding a donation

This one matters to us.

DevelopingEM has always been about considerably more than flying a group of international emergency clinicians somewhere interesting for a conference.

One of the central purposes of DevelopingEM is supporting participation by clinicians from the country and region in which we hold the conference.

In Saint Lucia that commitment is bigger than ever.

Saint Lucian and regional Caribbean clinicians will be joining our plenary sessions and workshops, with DevelopingEM providing complimentary registrations and, for a number of regional delegates, assistance with travel and daily expenses.

Your registration already helps make that possible.

But you can help us do more.

There is an option within the registration portal to make an additional donation towards our regional delegate support program. AUD $1,000 represents approximately our break-even cost of supporting one conference delegate attendance, but donations do not need to be limited to that amount.

If you are able to contribute, simply add a donation to your existing registration.

It directly helps another emergency clinician get into the room.

ADD A DONATION

4. Passport, visa and entry requirements

Please don’t leave this until the airport.

All visitors to Saint Lucia require a valid passport and should have evidence of an onward or return journey.

Visa requirements depend upon your nationality, so check the current requirements applicable to your passport before travelling.

For those arriving by air, Saint Lucia also has an electronic immigration form. Travellers are encouraged to complete this before arrival and it can be submitted up to three days before travel. One form can be completed per family, generating a QR code to present on arrival.

Put a reminder in your phone for three days before you fly.

And if your journey involves connecting through the United States, Canada, the UK or another Caribbean nation, remember that transit requirements are separate from Saint Lucia’s entry requirements. Check every country through which you will travel.

5. Check your flights — including the boring bits

You probably booked the flight to Saint Lucia.

Now check the whole itinerary.

Confirm:

• flight numbers and departure times
• baggage allowances
• terminal changes
• transit visa or electronic travel-authorisation requirements
• whether your luggage is checked all the way through
• the time available between connecting flights
• your return flight
• your airport transfer in Saint Lucia.

Saint Lucia has two airports. Most long-haul international travellers arrive at Hewanorra International Airport (UVF) in the south of the island.

The Royalton is in the north.

This is not an airport-hotel transfer measured in minutes.

Allow roughly 90 minutes or more for the journey, depending upon traffic and conditions, and organise your transfer before you arrive if possible.

Then sit back and enjoy your first look at Saint Lucia.

6. Accommodation — check what you actually booked

If you are staying at the Royalton, confirm your booking dates against your conference and workshop registrations.

Particularly check whether you need accommodation for the nights before a workshop or after the main conference.

Remember:

Pre-conference workshops: 14–15 November

Main conference: 16–18 November

Post-conference workshops: 19 November

If you’re staying elsewhere, check how you plan to get to and from the Royalton each day.

Nobody wants their first educational activity of the morning to be discovering the geography of northern Saint Lucia.

7. Travel Insurance

Get it.

Medical treatment overseas, cancelled flights, missed connections and lost luggage have a remarkable ability to cost considerably more than the insurance policy you decided you didn’t need.

Make sure your policy covers:

• medical treatment and evacuation
• your entire period away
• all countries through which you’re travelling
• any pre-existing medical conditions that need to be declared
• activities you’re planning after the conference — particularly diving, hiking, boating or other adventure activities.

If you’re adding a few days elsewhere in the Caribbean, make sure those destinations are covered as well.

8. Money

Saint Lucia’s official currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar — XCD or EC$.

US dollars are also widely accepted.

Major credit cards are accepted at most hotels, restaurants and larger businesses, and ATMs are widely available. Some local cash is nevertheless useful for smaller businesses, markets, taxis and incidental purchases.

It’s worth travelling with more than one means of accessing money.

And although modern banks are considerably better at recognising overseas travel than they once were, make sure you can access your banking app and know how your bank handles international transactions.

A frozen card is an unnecessarily complicated way to start a Caribbean conference.

9. Phones, data and roaming

Check your mobile provider’s international roaming arrangements before you leave.

International roaming can be perfectly reasonable.

It can also produce a bill that looks like you purchased part of the telecommunications infrastructure yourself.

Consider:

• your provider’s international roaming package
• an international eSIM
• a local SIM
• downloading important documents before leaving
• downloading offline maps.

Save copies of your passport, travel insurance, flights and accommodation details somewhere you can access even if your phone disappears.

10. Power

Saint Lucia generally operates on 240V/50Hz electricity and commonly uses British-style Type G plugs.

Australian and New Zealand plugs therefore won’t fit without an adaptor.

North American travellers should also check whether their appliances support 240V before plugging them in.

Most modern phone, tablet and laptop chargers accept 100–240V, but check the label.

A small universal travel adaptor with multiple USB outlets is probably the simplest solution.

11. What will the weather be like?

Warm.

Very warm.

Saint Lucia has a tropical climate, with temperatures generally around 24–31°C.

November is toward the end of the wetter part of the year, so sunshine, humidity and occasional tropical rain can all be part of the same day.

Pack accordingly:

• lightweight clothing
• sunscreen
• hat
• sunglasses
• swimwear — obviously
• comfortable shoes
• a light rain jacket or small umbrella
• insect repellent
• something suitable for the conference rooms, where air-conditioning may be rather more enthusiastic than the temperature outside.

Smart casual is perfectly adequate for most evenings.

This is DevelopingEM.

Nobody needs a tuxedo.

12. Medications and health

Bring enough regular medication for your entire trip, preferably with a little extra in case travel is disrupted.

Keep essential medications in your hand luggage rather than checking them into the mysterious international baggage ecosystem.

If you carry prescription medications, particularly controlled medications, check any applicable entry requirements and consider travelling with documentation from your doctor.

And don’t forget the boring but useful things: analgesia, regular medications, insect repellent and sunscreen.

Tap water in Saint Lucia is generally considered safe to drink, and bottled water is readily available.

13. Dietary requirements

If you told us about a dietary requirement when you registered, excellent.

If you didn’t — and you have one — please update your registration or let us know.

Vegetarian, vegan, allergy-related, religious or medically required diets are much easier to organise before several hundred people arrive looking for lunch.

14. Download the program and check your workshops

Our scientific program has been available since February.

Now is a good time to actually look at it again.

Work out:

• which days you are attending
• which workshops you have registered for
• what time they start
• where you need to be
• which sessions you particularly don’t want to miss.

The main conference runs 16–18 November, surrounded by workshops on 14–15 and 19 November.

And yes, there is quite a lot happening.

15. Leave some space in the itinerary

This may be the most important non-conference item on the list.

You’re coming to Saint Lucia.

Don’t fly halfway around the world, spend every daylight hour inside a conference room and then announce that you have visited the Caribbean.

Swim.

Take a boat somewhere.

See the Pitons.

Visit Soufrière.

Snorkel or dive.

Walk along a beach.

Eat somewhere local.

Talk to people.

Stay a few extra days if you possibly can.

Part of the reason DevelopingEM moves around the world is because place matters.

The conference should be part of the experience — not the entire experience.

The DevelopingEM 2026 Final Checklist

Before you close this page:

☐ Registration confirmed

☐ Workshops and additional activities checked

☐ Considered adding a regional delegate donation

☐ Passport valid

☐ Visa/transit requirements checked

☐ Flights and connections confirmed

☐ Accommodation confirmed

☐ Airport transfer organised

☐ Travel insurance purchased

☐ Electronic immigration form reminder set for three days before arrival

☐ Cards/cash sorted

☐ Phone roaming/eSIM organised

☐ Travel adaptor packed

☐ Medications packed

☐ Dietary requirements updated

☐ Program checked

☐ Sunscreen packed

☐ Swimmers packed

☐ Annual leave definitely approved

And that’s about it.

After years of planning, DevelopingEM 2026 is no longer something sitting somewhere comfortably in the future.

We’re going to Saint Lucia.

Workshops begin on 14 November.

The main conference begins on 16 November.

We’ll see you at the Royalton.

Preferably with your passport.

#DevEM2026

DevelopingEM has never been designed as a conference that could happen anywhere.

The destination matters.

We deliberately take DevelopingEM to places where emergency medicine is evolving, where local and international clinicians can learn from one another — and where getting out of the conference room is part of understanding the place we have come to.

In November, that place is Saint Lucia.

And if you are travelling halfway around the world to join us, our advice is simple:

Do not just fly in, attend the conference and fly home.

Give Saint Lucia a little more time.

Start in the north

DevelopingEM is based at the Royalton Saint Lucia in the north of the island, close to Gros Islet and Rodney Bay.

That makes the conference a good base for exploring the northern end of Saint Lucia.

Pigeon Island National Landmark combines beaches, historic military ruins and short walks to viewpoints over Rodney Bay and the Caribbean. Reduit Beach, Rodney Bay and Gros Islet are also close enough to fit around the edges of a conference day.

And if your timing works, Gros Islet’s Friday night street party offers a rather different form of post-conference networking.

Then go south

If you have only seen northern Saint Lucia, you have not really seen the island.

The road south leads towards Soufrière and the landscape most people picture when they think of Saint Lucia: Gros Piton and Petit Piton rising dramatically from the Caribbean coast.

The Pitons form part of a UNESCO World Heritage landscape and dominate the southwest of the island.

Soufrière is also the base for Sulphur Springs, volcanic mud baths, waterfalls, rainforest, botanical gardens and some of Saint Lucia’s best-known beaches.

See the Pitons from the water

There are many ways to experience the Pitons, but one of the best requires almost no effort at all.

Get on a boat.

Saint Lucia’s west coast is spectacular from the sea. A sailing or boat trip gives you the scale of the volcanic coastline, bays and Pitons in a way that is difficult to appreciate from the road.

It also has the considerable advantage of generally involving the Caribbean Sea.

Get under the water

Saint Lucia is also a serious diving and snorkelling destination.

The west coast offers warm Caribbean water, reefs, walls and marine life, with well-known diving around Soufrière and Anse Chastanet.

If you dive, consider adding two or three days after the conference rather than trying to squeeze it between plenary sessions.

If you do not dive, snorkelling gives you a much lower-administration version of the same idea.

Walk somewhere

If you want to earn the view, Gros Piton can be climbed with a guide.

For something less ambitious, Saint Lucia has shorter nature trails and viewpoints that still deliver the rainforest-and-volcano experience without requiring you to turn the trip into an endurance event.

Bring proper shoes. This is not the occasion for attempting a tropical trail in conference footwear.

Eat and listen locally

Saint Lucia is more than scenery.

Make time for local food, markets, villages and music. English is the official language, while Saint Lucian Creole — Kwéyòl — remains an important part of everyday culture.

One of the pleasures of moving beyond the resort is getting a better sense of the island that is hosting us.

How much extra time?

If you can manage it, we think three or four days after the conference is ideal.

That is enough time to relocate to the Soufrière area, slow the pace down and experience the south without turning every day into a race between attractions.

A simple post-conference plan might be:

Day 1 — Travel south to Soufrière, stop along the west coast and settle in.

Day 2 — Pitons, Sulphur Springs, waterfall or rainforest.

Day 3 — Diving, snorkelling or a boat day.

Day 4 — Nothing particularly productive. Beach. Lunch. Caribbean Sea. Then start thinking about the trip home.

Why we keep doing this

There are easier ways to organise a medical conference.

We could hold DevelopingEM in the same convention centre every two years.

We could put everyone in a dark room, deliver excellent lectures, collect the CPD hours and send everybody home.

But that was never the idea.

DevelopingEM is about emergency medicine in context — different systems, different resources, different cultures and different solutions.

Saint Lucia is not the backdrop to DevelopingEM 2026.

It is part of the conference.

So extend the trip

If you have already registered, have another look at your flights before everything becomes difficult to change.

If you have not registered yet, there is still time to turn a conference into a genuinely memorable trip.

Come for the emergency medicine.

Stay for Saint Lucia.

DevelopingEM 2026 — Saint Lucia

Pre-conference Workshops: 14–15 November 2026

Main conference: 16–18 November 2026

Post-conference Workshops: 19 November 2026

#DevEM2026

You will probably come home from Saint Lucia with photographs.

Possibly some rum.

Almost certainly more washing than you left with.

But what we really want you to bring home from DevelopingEM 2026 is something useful.

Not another conference notebook full of interesting things you never look at again.

Not 400 photographs of PowerPoint slides.

And not simply a certificate showing that you accumulated some CPD hours.

We want you to leave Saint Lucia with ideas, skills and connections that change something when you walk back into your emergency department.

One thing you do differently on your next shift

DevelopingEM has always tried to keep its clinical teaching practical.

Our morning clinical tracks in adult emergency medicine and critical care, paediatrics and trauma are designed for clinicians who already practise emergency medicine. The aim is not to repeat the textbook. It is to find the useful detail — the decision, technique, warning sign or approach that changes what you do next time.

If you return home with even a handful of genuine next-shift changes, the conference has done its job.

A skill you are more confident using

The workshops take that idea further.

Advanced Ultrasound, Radiology Interpretation, Paeds BASIC, and ECG interpretation all create opportunities to move beyond listening and actually work through problems.

Some learning belongs in a lecture theatre. Some does not.

DevelopingEM deliberately makes room for both.

An idea from a health system unlike your own

This is where Saint Lucia and the Caribbean become part of the education rather than simply the location.

The Saint Lucia and Caribbean tracks put local and regional clinicians at the front of the room, discussing the systems they actually work in: workforce, training, prehospital care, disaster preparedness, resource limitations, innovation and the development of emergency medicine across small island states.

For delegates from larger and better-resourced systems, there is a lot to learn here.

Constraints often produce solutions. Different systems ask different questions. And occasionally somebody working with considerably less has solved a problem rather better than we have.

A broader view of emergency medicine

The International Emergency Medicine sessions take the same conversation further.

Emergency care is delivered in conflict zones, developing systems, mature systems, small islands, huge cities, rural hospitals and places where the resources many of us consider routine simply do not exist.

Understanding how clinicians adapt to those environments is not peripheral to emergency medicine.

It is emergency medicine.

Someone new in your phone

This may be the most important one.

DevelopingEM is deliberately built to make people meet.

Faculty do not disappear into a speakers’ lounge after their presentation. Delegates, speakers, nurses, doctors, paramedics, educators and regional colleagues share the same spaces, meals, workshops and social events.

Over eight DevelopingEM conferences, those conversations have repeatedly turned into friendships, teaching visits, collaborations and projects that continued long after everyone went home.

So talk to somebody you do not know.

Sit with someone different at lunch.

Ask the speaker the question.

Exchange details.

Some of the most valuable things you take home from Saint Lucia may never appear on the program.

To kick this off join our conference WhatsApp group Now!

Something to take back to your department

Before you leave Saint Lucia, ask yourself one question:

What am I taking back?

It might be a clinical change.

A teaching idea.

A different approach to triage.

A way of structuring a resuscitation.

An ultrasound technique.

A workforce idea.

A contact in another country.

Or simply a renewed enthusiasm for a job that can occasionally make enthusiasm difficult.

Pick something.

Then use it.

And perhaps a slightly different idea of what a medical conference can be

We think conferences work best when education, place and people reinforce one another.

That is why DevelopingEM moves.

It is why local and regional clinicians are part of the faculty and delegate community.

It is why we support regional attendance.

It is why we do not have a trade exhibition or industry-controlled educational sessions.

And it is why we care as much about the conversations around the program as the program itself.

Saint Lucia will be our ninth DevelopingEM.

We still think the best measure of success is not what happens in the lecture theatre.

It is what happens afterwards.

DevelopingEM 2026 — Saint Lucia

Pre-conference workshops: 14–15 November 2026

Main conference: 16–18 November 2026

Post-conference activity: 19 November 2026

Come home with more than CPD.

#DevEM2026

Emergency medicine looks very different depending on where you stand.

For some of us, emergency care means a well-resourced department, established systems, specialist training programs and ready access to diagnostics, intensive care and definitive treatment.

Elsewhere, emergency care is being delivered in health systems still building their foundations.

In conflict zones, clinicians may be working with damaged hospitals, interrupted supply chains, mass casualties and profound shortages of staff and equipment.

And in many countries, the development of emergency care continues to be influenced by international organisations, visiting clinicians and models of care imported from elsewhere.

On the final afternoon of DevelopingEM 2026 in Saint Lucia, our Global Emergency Medicine track will explore that much bigger picture.

Global Emergency Medicine — from people who have actually done it

The session is led by Dr Natalie Thurtle, Clinical Director of the Emergency Departments at North West Regional Hospital and Mersey Community Hospital in Australia, and former Medical Coordinator with Médecins Sans Frontières.

Her experience reflects what we want this session to be about: not global emergency medicine as an abstract academic exercise, but emergency care as it is actually delivered, developed and challenged around the world.

Across the afternoon, faculty with experience in conflict, health-system development and international emergency medicine will examine where global emergency care has come from — and where it needs to go next.

Emergency care in forgotten conflicts: Sudan

Dr Amy Neilson opens the afternoon by looking at emergency care in Sudan.

Some conflicts dominate international attention.

Others progressively disappear from the headlines despite continuing humanitarian catastrophe.

For clinicians trying to provide emergency care, however, the consequences remain very real.

What does emergency medicine look like when health infrastructure itself becomes part of the casualty?

How do clinicians prioritise, improvise and continue providing care when resources, referral pathways and sometimes even basic security can no longer be assumed?

Sudan provides a confronting setting in which to examine what emergency care means when almost every component of a functioning health system is under pressure.

Lessons learned in developing emergency care systems

Global emergency medicine is not only about responding to disasters.

Much of the work is slower, less visible and ultimately perhaps more important: helping countries develop emergency care systems that can function every day.

Dr Terry Mulligan will examine lessons learned from the development of emergency care systems internationally.

What works?

What doesn’t?

And perhaps most importantly, how do we move beyond importing systems developed in wealthy countries and instead support emergency care structures appropriate to local populations, resources, geography and workforce?

Building an emergency care system is not simply about training more emergency physicians.

It involves triage, nursing, prehospital care, referral networks, education, data collection, governance and integration with the wider health system.

The lessons from countries that have already travelled this road have enormous relevance to regions where emergency medicine is now rapidly developing.

Emergency care in conflict: Gaza and Lebanon

Conflict places extraordinary demands upon emergency clinicians and health systems.

Dr Mina Naguib will examine emergency care in Gaza and Lebanon, where clinicians have faced the intersection of trauma, displacement, infrastructure disruption and overwhelming demand.

The clinical challenges are obvious.

The wider questions are harder.

How do emergency systems function when hospitals themselves are threatened? How are scarce resources allocated when demand exceeds anything a conventional emergency department was designed to manage? And what responsibilities do the international emergency medicine and humanitarian communities have when local health systems are overwhelmed?

These are uncomfortable subjects.

They are also part of contemporary emergency medicine.

Structural decolonisation of global emergency care

Global health has increasingly been forced to examine its own history and assumptions.

For decades, international healthcare projects have often involved expertise, priorities, research agendas and funding flowing from wealthier countries towards lower-resource settings.

Even when well intentioned, that model can reproduce unequal relationships.

Dr Shama Patel will explore the structural decolonisation of global emergency care.

Who decides what a health system needs?

Who controls funding?

Who determines the research questions?

Who receives authorship and recognition?

And when international clinicians leave, what remains?

This isn’t about abandoning international collaboration. It is about making that collaboration more equitable, locally led and sustainable.

For anyone who has worked, taught, researched or volunteered internationally, it is a conversation worth having.

Timor-Leste: what happens at the international interface?

After afternoon tea, Dr Aruna Shivam turns the discussion towards Timor-Leste and the impact of the international interface with emergency care.

International engagement can bring expertise, resources, education and connections.

It can also create duplication, dependency or systems poorly suited to the environment in which they are expected to operate.

Timor-Leste provides an opportunity to examine what happens where international emergency medicine meets a developing national emergency care system — including what has helped, what has not, and what we should learn from that experience.

What’s next for Global Emergency Care?

It is deliberately an open question and Nat will conclude the afternoon by bringing the faculty together to consider this question.

The next phase of global emergency medicine probably shouldn’t look exactly like the last one.

The specialty is expanding internationally. Emergency care systems are developing across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean and Latin America. Local clinicians and organisations are increasingly defining their own priorities and building their own models.

At the same time, war, climate-related disasters, displacement and widening inequalities continue to place enormous pressure on emergency care systems.

The challenge is no longer simply to ask:

How can we bring emergency medicine to other places?

Perhaps the better questions are:

How can we support locally led emergency care systems?

What can different health systems learn from each other?

And what should genuinely equitable international emergency medicine look like?

Why this belongs at DevelopingEM

DevelopingEM has always been built around the idea that emergency medicine benefits when we get outside our own hospitals, our own health systems and sometimes our own assumptions.

Holding DevelopingEM 2026 in Saint Lucia makes that conversation particularly relevant.

The Caribbean sits at the intersection of small-island health systems, limited specialist resources, geographic isolation, disaster vulnerability and an extraordinary network of clinicians working to strengthen emergency care across the region.

So on our final afternoon in Saint Lucia, we are going global.

Sudan.

Gaza and Lebanon.

Timor-Leste.

Developing emergency care systems.

Decolonisation.

And finally, the question that ties the afternoon together:

Where does global emergency medicine go from here?

Join Natalie Thurtle, Amy Neilson, Terry Mulligan, Mina Naguib, Shama Patel, Aruna Shivam and the DevelopingEM faculty on Wednesday 18 November for one of the conversations we think emergency medicine needs to be having.

A Global View of Emergency Medicine has been a part of DevelopingEM right from the beginning in 2012 and is the perfect way to finish our plenary sessions this year.

JOIN US IN SAINT LUCIA.

Suddenly, we are close.

After years of planning, hundreds of emails, dozens of Zooms and one delightful planning trip, DevelopingEM Saint Lucia 2026 is now less than 100 days away.

On 14 November, our first workshops begin,

And on 16 November, DevelopingEM 2026 properly kicks off.

And four days later we’ll probably all be wondering how it went so quickly.

So, with the countdown now well and truly underway, here’s where things stand.

The program? Done.

Not “coming soon”.

Not “subject to confirmation”.

Not a collection of empty boxes with Speaker TBA written inside them.

Done.

In fact, we’ve had our program out since February.

You can see exactly what you’re coming to Saint Lucia for, who is speaking, and what they’re speaking about

Across three plenary days we’re covering adult emergency medicine and critical care, paediatric emergency medicine, trauma, emergency medicine in Saint Lucia and the Caribbean, and international emergency medicine.

Then there are the workshops, two days before and one day after the plenary sessions.

Ultrasound. Paeds BASIC. Radiology. ECG. Emergency nursing. EMS management. And more.

There is an enormous amount happening.

The faculty? Also done.

And they’re good.

Really good.

This isn’t a conference built around one or two headline speakers surrounded by filler.

We’ve assembled emergency physicians, nurses, educators and clinicians from around the world alongside a substantial Caribbean and Saint Lucian faculty.

People such as Nat Thurtle, Nate Kupperman, April Kam, Peter Viccellio, Julie Valenzuela, Mike Secko, Terry Mulligan and Neil DasGupta will be joining an extraordinary group of international and regional clinicians in Saint Lucia.

The venue? Definitely done.

This may be one of our better decisions.

We’re taking over conference space at the Royalton Saint Lucia, with the Caribbean Sea just outside.

No buses across town every morning.

No hunting for somewhere to eat between sessions.

No disappearing to twenty different hotels at the end of the day.

Conference. Resort. Beach. Food. Drinks.

Repeat as required.

There are worse places to spend a week in November.

The local and regional aspects are taking shape too.

This has always been a central part of DevelopingEM

Already we know that nearly 200 Saint Lucian and 20 regional Caribbean delegates will be participating alongside our international delegates.

For many, registration is complimentary. For a number of regional clinicians, we’re also helping with travel and daily expenses.

That means the people discussing emergency medicine in the Caribbean won’t simply be visitors talking about it.

They’ll be the people actually doing it.

And no, we still don’t have a trade exhibition.

You won’t spend your coffee break walking through rows of booths.

There isn’t a premium sponsorship lounge.

Nobody has bought the right to determine what appears in the scientific program.

There are no sponsored lunchtime lectures masquerading as education.

That’s deliberate.

DevelopingEM remains an independent, not-for-profit conference.

It makes organising the thing considerably harder.

We think it makes the conference considerably better.

So what’s left to do?

Mostly, turn up.

If you’ve already registered, now is probably the time to start thinking seriously about flights, workshops, sunscreen and how much annual leave you actually booked.

If you’ve been following the conference but haven’t registered, the endless period in which November 2026 seemed comfortably distant has ended.

It’s August.

We’re inside 100 days.

The program has been available since February.

You know where we’re going.

You know who’s coming.

You know what we’re doing.

At some point, “that looks like a fantastic conference” has to become either:

“I’m going.”

or

“I wish I’d gone.”

We know which one we’d choose.

See you in Saint Lucia.

DevelopingEM 2026

Pre-conference workshops: 14–15 November 2026

Main conference: 16–18 November 2026

Post-conference workshops: 19 November 2026

Royalton Saint Lucia

Less than 100 days.

It’s getting very real.

Join us.

Every year there are hundreds of emergency medicine conferences around the world.

Many offer outstanding scientific programmes.

Many have internationally recognised speakers.

Many provide CPD.

DevelopingEM offers all of those things—but that’s not what makes it special.

What makes DevelopingEM different is the experience.

It is deliberately designed to maximise learning, conversation and collaboration, while removing many of the distractions that have become common at large medical conferences.

Unlike many conferences, we’ve had our complete scientific program available since March.
We believe delegates should know exactly what they’re investing in.

You shouldn’t have to register based on promises that ‘more speakers will be announced soon’ or wait until the last minute to discover what is actually on offer.
For months, prospective delegates have been able to explore our plenary program, workshops, faculty and educational content in detail.

We’re proud of the program we’ve assembled and encourage everyone to look through it before making a decision.

Take a look at the program first. Then imagine missing all of this…

You’ll miss genuine access to world-class faculty

Our speakers don’t disappear into VIP rooms or exclusive events.

They have breakfast with delegates, answer questions over coffee, join workshops, attend social events and continue discussions long after their presentations finish.

Some of the most valuable learning happens outside the lecture theatre.

A small selection of our amazing 70 strong faculty

TOP ROW MIDDLE ROW BOTTOM ROW

Nate Kupperman- USA Elissa Kennedy-Smith- AUS Terry Mulligan- USA

April Kam- Canada Mike Secko- USA Nat Thurtle- AUS

Brian Wright- USA Shannon Markus- USA Lashorn Christian- Saint Lucia

Peter Viccellio- USA Gerard Moynihan- AUS Sohil Pothiawala- Singapore

Julie Valenzuela- USA Kate Curtis- AUS Farina Jeyaraj- AUS

Neil Ballard- AUS Simone French- Jamaica Aruna Shivam- AUS

You’ll miss conversations that can’t happen online

Watching a lecture later isn’t the same as asking the follow-up question that changes how you’ll manage your next critically ill patient.

The best ideas begin in the hallway, over lunch or while walking between sessions.

Those conversations simply can’t be streamed.

You’ll miss practical education you can use immediately

Trauma.

Critical care.

Paediatric emergencies.

Ultrasound.

ECGs.

Radiology.

Emergency nursing.

EMS.

International emergency medicine.

Our goal isn’t simply to inspire you—it’s to make you a better clinician on your very next shift.

You’ll miss workshops designed for participation—not spectators

We deliberately keep workshop numbers limited, allowing more discussion, more hands-on practice, more interaction, more feedback and less watching.

You’ll miss learning from emergency clinicians working in very different health systems

Learning flows in every direction.

Faculty learn from Caribbean clinicians.

Caribbean clinicians learn from international faculty.

Delegates learn from one another.

You’ll miss building an international professional network

Delegates leave with collaborators, mentors, teaching opportunities, research partnerships and lifelong friendships.

You’ll miss experiencing emergency medicine in the Caribbean

Learn directly from clinicians delivering emergency care in small island developing states and discover innovations born from unique healthcare environments.

You’ll miss supporting the next generation of Caribbean emergency clinicians

Every registration and donation helps support complimentary attendance for Saint Lucian and regional delegates, strengthening emergency medicine throughout the Caribbean.

You’ll miss one of the few conferences that is genuinely independent

• Our complete scientific programme has been public since March.
• There is no trade exhibition.
• There are no commercial booths competing for your attention.
• There are no sponsored symposia.
• There are no industry-funded educational sessions.
• There is zero compromising sponsorship.

Every session has been selected because it makes emergency clinicians better—not because it helps sell a product.

You’ll miss a conference where people come first

DevelopingEM is intentionally small enough that you’ll recognise faces by the end of the first day, share meals with speakers and become part of a genuinely international emergency medicine community.

You’ll miss Saint Lucia itself

Outstanding emergency medicine education in one of the Caribbean’s most beautiful destinations, with warm hospitality, spectacular scenery and an unforgettable atmosphere.

But Most of All…

The lecture recordings may eventually appear. The slides may be shared. The papers can always be read.

But the conversations.
The friendships.
The inspiration.
The ideas.
The opportunities.

Those only happen once.

They only happen when you’re there.

We hope you’ll join us in Saint Lucia this November.

Because some conferences simply provide information.

DevelopingEM builds relationships, strengthens emergency medicine and creates experiences that stay with you long after you return home.

Don’t just hear about DevelopingEM 2026 afterwards. Be part of it.

DONT MISS ALL OF THIS!!

Why DevelopingEM Is Different

Every year there are hundreds of emergency medicine conferences around the world.

Many offer excellent speakers, attractive venues and comprehensive scientific programs. DevelopingEM was never created simply to add another conference to that list.

It was created with a different purpose: to build lasting relationships, strengthen emergency care systems and ensure that high-quality education reaches clinicians who need it the most.

From the beginning, DevelopingEM has operated as an independent, not-for-profit initiative.

Our objective has never been to create profit and our management team remain unpaid.

Instead, every major structural decision has been guided by a simple question: how can we maximise educational impact?

That philosophy has allowed us to support local clinicians, regional delegates and emerging leaders while bringing internationally recognised faculty together with practitioners working in resource-limited environments.

This year’s conference in Saint Lucia continues that tradition.

Alongside internationally recognised faculty, around 100 delegates from Saint Lucia and across the Eastern Caribbean will attend through DevelopingEM plenary and workshop programs. Complimentary registrations, travel assistance and daily stipends are not marketing exercises—they are investments in the future.

By the end of this conference DevelopingEM will have supported around 1000 delegate attendances over 9 events and it is your registration payment that allows this to happen.

DevelopingEM deliberately creates opportunities for conversation.

Faculty are accessible throughout the conference, workshops are designed to be interactive, and delegates routinely develop professional relationships that continue long after everyone has returned home.

Previous conferences have led to ongoing educational collaborations, visiting faculty programs and friendships that have strengthened emergency medicine internationally.

Our program combines evidence-based plenary sessions with practical workshops and collaborative forums.

The goal is not simply to deliver information, but to provide skills that delegates can immediately apply within their own departments and communities.

As we approach Saint Lucia 2026, we invite you not just to attend another conference, but to become part of a community that believes collaboration, generosity and shared learning improve emergency care for everyone.

Dr Lisa Charles.

“Developing emergency medicine isn’t just about teaching medicine. It’s about building relationships that last long after the conference ends.”

When delegates arrive in Saint Lucia for DevelopingEM 2026, they will be welcomed by someone whose story has become inseparable from the evolution of emergency medicine on the island.

Dr Lisa Charles has spent her career caring for patients, building services, mentoring clinicians and helping connect Saint Lucia with the global emergency medicine community.

As Co-Director of DevelopingEM 2026, she brings together local knowledge, international experience and more than a decade of collaboration with DevelopingEM.

A Partnership More Than Ten Years in the Making.

Lisa first became involved with DevelopingEM more than a decade ago, presenting at DevelopingEM Cuba 2013 on the development of emergency medicine in Saint Lucia.

What began as a conference presentation quickly became something much more.

Following that meeting, friendships developed between clinicians from Saint Lucia, Australia, North America and around the Caribbean. Those relationships translated into practical projects that directly benefited patient care.

One of the earliest successes was the donation of portable ultrasound machines to Victoria Hospital in Castries, allowing clinicians to expand point-of-care ultrasound in daily emergency practice. It became one of DevelopingEM’s earliest examples of how international collaboration could continue long after delegates returned home.

Building Emergency Medicine in Saint Lucia.

Working in a small Caribbean island nation presents unique opportunities and challenges. Lisa has consistently been one of the country’s strongest advocates for developing emergency medicine as a specialty, improving emergency care systems and strengthening education for future clinicians.

Her work has included developing emergency and critical care services, promoting point-of-care ultrasound, supporting multidisciplinary education, fostering international educational partnerships and mentoring the next generation of Caribbean emergency clinicians.

A Voice for Small Island Emergency Medicine.

In 2020 the International Federation for Emergency Medicine profiled Lisa as part of its Emergency Physician Stories series. She described the realities of practising emergency medicine in a small island developing state, highlighting innovation, teamwork and collaboration as the keys to delivering outstanding emergency care.

Why DevelopingEM 2026 Matters.

For Lisa, bringing DevelopingEM to Saint Lucia represents the continuation of a journey that began more than ten years ago. Together with the Saint Lucia Ministry of Health, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and emergency clinicians from across the Caribbean, DevelopingEM 2026 aims to strengthen regional education while supporting more than 60 Saint Lucian and Caribbean delegates.

Looking Forward.

The return of DevelopingEM to the Caribbean represents much more than just another conference. It is the next chapter in a partnership that began in Cuba over a decade ago and has continued through workshops, ultrasound programmes, faculty exchanges, mentorship and enduring friendships.

In November 2026, delegates will not simply be visiting Saint Lucia—they will be joining a community that Dr Lisa Charles has spent many years helping to build.

Become part of the DevelopingEM family with Lisa, Mark and Sanj this November.

One of the founding principles of DevelopingEM has always been simple: great emergency medicine education should be accessible to the clinicians who need it most.

At this years’ conference, DevelopingEM 2026 Saint Lucia, DevelopingEM is supporting the attendance of an unprecedented number of local and regional healthcare professionals.

Through sponsorships, donations and careful financial management, we are planning to provide:

• Complimentary registration for 50 Saint Lucian delegates each day of the plenary conference.
• Complimentary registration for 15 regional Caribbean delegates each day.
• Complimentary registration for half of the available workshop slots which are reserved for Saint Lucian and regional delegates.
• Support for many regional delegates includes travel assistance and daily stipends, allowing clinicians from across the Caribbean to attend who otherwise could not.

These delegates include emergency clinicians and healthcare leaders who will take new knowledge and skills back to their hospitals and communities.

The result is education that extends far beyond the conference itself.

We are assisted in this venture by EMRAP:GO

EMRAP: Global Outreach has assisted our efforts with both monetary support and the provision of complimentary subscriptions to regional delegates over our last two conferences and we are honoured to have their support once again.

On this occasion EMRAP:GO contributions will assist with the provision of travel support for delegates from Jamaica and Haiti and complimentary EMRAP subscriptions for all regional attendees.

We remain enormously grateful for the support of EMRAP:GO and would recommend you check out their amazing work HERE.

You Can Also Help!

By registering for DevelopingEM you are already helping us

But

Not everyone who would like to attend DevelopingEM can make the journey to Saint Lucia this year.

If that’s you, there is still an opportunity to become part of what’s happening and to help maximise our regional support program.

For AUD $1,000—that’s our break even point for a single conference delegate attendance —you can help us get even more local and regional delegates to the conference.

The option of donating this amount is available in our REGISTRATION PORTAL

So if you’re already joining us or want to help from afar you can be a part of the DevelopingEM family and assist our support of delegates from the following places.

Education That Multiplies

One clinician attends.

An entire emergency department benefits.

New skills are taught to colleagues.

New systems are introduced.

Patients receive better care.

That is why helping us support regional delegate attendance is far more than paying for a conference registration—it is an investment in the future of emergency medicine across the region.

Join Us

Whether you’re joining us in Saint Lucia or supporting from afar, you can play a part in helping us make DevelopingEM 2026 our most impactful conference yet.

Together we can ensure that financial barriers never prevent motivated healthcare professionals from accessing world-class emergency medicine education.

Help us Support Regional Delegates.

Invest in Emergency Care.

Help Build the Future of Emergency Medicine Across the Caribbean.

The core of our conference are the plenary sessions.

In the morning sessions we have our short sharp clinically focused sessions on Trauma, Paediatrics and Adult Critical Care.

The presentations here will focus on clinical next shift pearls for the experienced clinician who’s heard it all before.

Out of all the elements of our previous conferences it is this part of DevelopingEM that gets the most positive feedback.

With our excellent faculty we hope once again to maintain the high standards

Trauma Plenary Track

Trauma remains one of the defining challenges of emergency medicine.

While headlines focus on helicopters, major trauma centres and dramatic resuscitations, most trauma care occurs in emergency departments where clinicians must make critical decisions with limited time and imperfect information.

The DevelopingEM 2026 Trauma Track explores the practical realities of trauma care across diverse settings. From major urban centres to regional hospitals and island healthcare systems, the principles of teamwork, leadership and decision-making remain universal.

Track Lead Neil Ballard brings extensive experience in trauma systems and education. Under his leadership, the track will focus on translating evidence into practical strategies that can be applied immediately in clinical practice.

Delegates will also hear from internationally recognised faculty including Jimmy Bliss, Gerd Pust, Julie Valenzuela, Ilana Delroy Buelles and Nicholas Carter.  Their collective experience spans trauma surgery, prehospital and retrieval medicine, emergency medicine leadership, critical care and systems improvement.

Topics will include some of the key elements of modern trauma management including imaging modalities, damage control, transfusion strategies and maintaining personal currencies . More importantly, discussions will focus on what clinicians can actually do differently on their next shift.

Whether you work in a major trauma centre or a small emergency department, the Trauma Track offers lessons that extend well beyond trauma itself. It is ultimately a conversation about how teams perform when every decision matters.

Paediatric Plenary Track

Children present some of the most rewarding and challenging cases in emergency medicine.

They often arrive unable to clearly explain their symptoms, supported by anxious families and accompanied by high clinical stakes.
The DevelopingEM Paediatric Track is designed to improve confidence and capability in caring for children across the spectrum of emergency presentations.
Track Lead April Kam has developed a reputation as an outstanding clinician and educator with a passion for practical paediatric emergency medicine. Her focus is on translating evidence into bedside care.

The faculty includes internationally respected speakers such as Nate Kuppermann, Gerard Moynihan, Tanya Solano, Camilo Gutierrez, Gerard Moynihan and Lashorn Christian. Together they bring expertise in paediatric emergency medicine, Intensive care, POCUS, resuscitation, research and clinical decision-making.

Sessions will explore common paediatric presentations, critically ill children, risk assessment, procedural skills and family-centred care. Rather than focusing on rare zebras, the emphasis is on the decisions clinicians face every day.

Delegates can expect practical pearls, useful frameworks and immediately applicable learning. Whether you see children every shift or only occasionally, the Paediatric Track will provide skills and confidence that translate directly to practice.

Adult EM and Critical Care Track

Emergency medicine sits at the intersection of uncertainty, complexity and urgency.

Every shift involves balancing risk, making decisions with incomplete information and managing patients whose conditions can deteriorate rapidly.
The Adult Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Track sits at the heart of DevelopingEM 2026.
Track Lead Brian Wright has assembled a faculty focused on practical emergency medicine rather than theoretical debate. The goal is simple: help clinicians improve care on their next shift.

Faculty contributors include Chidi Nwakanma, Lindsay Reardon, Peter Viccellio, Ben Wyler, Jon Kerr, Arie Francis, Christopher Hahn, Suchi Datta, Neil DasGupta and other internationally recognised emergency medicine educators. Their experience spans emergency departments, critical care units, academic centres and healthcare systems around the world.

Topics will include severe asthma, sepsis, toxicology, critical cardiology, respiratory failure, obstetric emergencies, palliative care and emergency department critical care. Discussions will also address decision-making, communication and the challenges facing modern emergency departments.

This track is designed for clinicians who want practical, evidence-based education delivered by faculty who remain actively engaged in frontline care.

Our afternoon sessions will focus on the development of emergency medicine in the region and internationally outside of the luxurious high income settting.

The presentations here will be experiential and inspirational and it is one of my favourite parts of DevelopingEM.

EM in Saint Lucia Track

One of the unique features of DevelopingEM 2026 is the opportunity to learn directly from clinicians working in Saint Lucia.

Led by DevelopingEM Co-Director Lisa Charles and OECH ER Director Bernadette Joseph-Labadie, this track explores emergency medicine through the lens of a small island nation with a growing emergency care system and a strong commitment to education.

Delegates will gain insight into local healthcare delivery, emergency care challenges, workforce development and the opportunities that come with practising medicine in a close-knit community.

The sessions will highlight local leadership, innovation and the development of emergency medicine within Saint Lucia. More importantly, they will create opportunities for genuine exchange between local and international clinicians.

The EM in Saint Lucia Track reflects a core DevelopingEM belief: every healthcare system has something valuable to teach.

EM in the Caribbean Track

The Caribbean is home to diverse healthcare systems, cultures and clinical environments.

Despite these differences, clinicians across the region share common challenges and a commitment to improving emergency care.
The EM in the Caribbean Track showcases regional innovation, collaboration and leadership.
Led by our team from Jamaica, Eric Williams and Simone French, and supported by faculty from across the Caribbean, the track will explore disaster preparedness, workforce development, emergency medicine training and healthcare system design.

Delegates will hear directly from clinicians working throughout the region, providing perspectives that are rarely featured at international conferences.

For many attendees, this track will offer one of the most unique educational experiences of the conference. It highlights not only the challenges facing Caribbean healthcare systems but also the creativity and resilience that drive ongoing improvement.

International EM Track

International Emergency Medicine is about far more than travel. At its best, it is about partnerships, shared learning and sustainable development.

Track Lead Natalie Thurtle has been involved in emergency medicine education and collaboration across multiple countries and healthcare systems. Her work reflects the DevelopingEM philosophy of mutual learning and respect.

This track will explore how clinicians can contribute to education, capacity building and system improvement while remaining grounded in local priorities.

Faculty will discuss successful international partnerships, lessons learned from global projects and opportunities for future collaboration.

For delegates interested in education, leadership and healthcare development, the International EM Track provides both inspiration and practical guidance.

Get Prepped for DevelopingEM

November is approaching quickly and now is the ideal time to prepare for DevelopingEM 2026.

Delegates should finalise travel arrangements, review workshop options and begin planning their conference experience.

Check our guides on Travel and Accommodation.

With tracks covering trauma, paediatrics, adult emergency medicine, critical care, international emergency medicine and regional healthcare development, there is plenty to explore.

This year also offers significant CPD opportunities through the scientific program and workshops.

Attendees are encouraged to familiarise themselves with faculty profiles, identify sessions of particular interest and leave room for networking and collaboration.

A little preparation can make a big difference. DevelopingEM is designed to be immersive, educational and highly interactive. The more prepared you are, the more you will gain from the experience.

Get Connected at DevelopingEM

Some of the most valuable moments at DevelopingEM happen outside the lecture theatre.
Over the years, DevelopingEM has built a reputation not only for educational quality but also for fostering genuine professional relationships.

Many collaborations, projects and friendships have begun over coffee breaks, workshops and evening discussions.
The 2026 conference provides numerous opportunities to engage with faculty, regional leaders and colleagues from around the world.
Whether you are looking for mentorship, educational partnerships, research collaborations or simply the chance to learn from others, DevelopingEM creates an environment where those connections can flourish.
The conference is more than a collection of lectures. It is a community of clinicians committed to improving emergency care through education, collaboration and shared experience.

Come and join the DevelopingEM family in Saint Lucia this November!