Support provided by the Emergency Care Foundation
FLAME – Future Leaders in Academic Medicine in Emergency
Igniting the future of Emergency Medicine scholarship in Waitaha/Canterbury
FLAME (Future Leaders in Academic Medicine in Emergency) is a Waitaha-based collaborative that supports medical students, junior doctors, early-career clinicians and nurses, and allied healthcare professionals with a passion for emergency medicine.
We aim to ignite early interest in the academic pillars of emergency medicine — including research, teaching, quality improvement, and leadership — by providing mentorship, opportunities, and a vibrant community for those at the beginning of their journey.
Based in Christchurch (Waitaha) and supported by senior emergency medicine clinicians and researchers, FLAME is where curiosity meets collaboration, and where the next generation of academic emergency leaders find their spark.
Core Values
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Ignite – curiosity, innovation, and leadership
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Connect – students and junior doctors with mentors and peers
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Grow – academic skills across research, education, and systems improvement
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Contribute – to the future of emergency medicine in Aotearoa
FLAME Scholarship 2026
Igniting the future of academic Emergency Medicine
Proudly supported by the Emergency Care Foundation (ECF)
Are you a medical student, junior doctor, nurse, or allied healthcare professional based in Waitaha/Canterbury with a passion for emergency medicine and ready to present your research to the wider clinical and academic community?
The FLAME Scholarship supports one early-career clinician to present their original research at a national or international conference related to emergency medicine.
🏆 What the Scholarship Offers:
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💰 Funding to assist with conference costs (travel, registration, accommodation)
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🎤 Recognition as a FLAME Scholar and emerging academic leader
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🔥 Mentorship and support from senior FLAME mentors in academic EM
✅ Eligibility Criteria
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Medical students (University of Otago, Christchurch), junior doctors, nurses, or allied healthcare professionals based in Waitaha
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Accepted to present research (oral or poster) at a relevant conference in 2026
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Research must be relevant to emergency medicine (clinical, educational, or systems-based)
FLAME Scholarship Winner 2025
The Emergency Care Foundation was delighted to award the 2025 FLAME Scholarship to Angad Vraich.
Read Angad reflection's on his experience below.
As a trainee intern in Ōtautahi, I was incredibly grateful to receive the FLAME (Future Leaders in Academic Medicine in Emergency) scholarship which supported me to attend the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine 2025 ASM on the Gold Coast. I presented a poster on my research into ED management of “Fast AF” across Aotearoa, a project that began as a summer studentship the previous year under the guidance of emergency medicine clinician and researcher, Dr Laura Joyce.
Going into the conference, I was excited to present research but a little sceptical of how much of a conference geared toward senior clinicians would resonate with someone very early in their training. My expectations were quickly exceeded. The calibre of speakers and science was outstanding, and the community was genuinely welcoming and invested in supporting early-career clinicians. From the opening plenary, it became clear that the discussions extended well beyond niche practice points but covered a wide plethora of generalisable principles explained by exceptional communicators. Highlights for me included sessions on hospital flow, access block, inter-specialty “tribalism”, and the environmental impact of healthcare. I’m very grateful to have encountered these conversations so early in my training, and I hope to hold onto this wider perspective of our health system through years of clinical practice to come.
Sincerely thankful to the FLAME scholarship for making this experience possible and for deepening my appreciation not only of high-quality medical research but also, the importance of communicating it well. A further thank you to Dr Joyce for her continuous support.
Sponsoring the New Zealand Emergency Medicine Network since 2013
A collaborative research network for acute care in New Zealand
Emergency Medicine was a specialty without a formal, national and international connection. The idea of a New Zealand-wide network with links to other countries grew into a structured group of over 50 members that meets regularly and has momentum to start, support and follow through a wide variety of research projects in the field of Emergency Medicine.
The Emergency Care Foundation is a proud sponsor of the New Zealand Emergency Medicine Network, which is a group of individuals linked by common goals to foster discovery and advance the art and science of emergency medicine.
Sponsoring the Rhise Database project
Rhise - Researcing the Health Implications of Seismic Events
The Rhise Group is an inclusive Canterbury-wide collaborative established after the February 22nd earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The impact of the earthquake on the health system, and the system’s response, have provided insights of international interest.
The Emergency Care Foundation has provided funding for resources and staff time, and for specific activities such as the 2013 Rhise Symposium, the 2016 People in Disasters Conference and a number of publications.
Education
The Foundation has improved Emergency Health Care through education and innovation.
The Foundation provided training mannequins for doctors and nurses at Christchurch Hospital to learn and practice resuscitation of adults and children. The mannequins are computerised life-like models, allowing rehearsal of difficult resuscitations, just as a pilot might practice difficult landings in a flight simulator.
Innovation
The 2011 Canterbury Earthquakes gave rise to many innovations in terms of patient triaging, diagnosis and care. The Foundation has been able to respond by providing battery-powered equipment which would be greatly beneficial in periods of unreliable grid or generator power.
