Can you tell us a bit about the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA) and the goals they strive to achieve?

ASA is the peak scientific body in Australia and New Zealand representing clinicians, scientists and researchers in the broad area of Sleep Health and Sleep Research. It has a multi-disciplinary membership which includes physicians, surgeons, scientists, dentists, psychologists, psychiatrists, to name but a few.

The Vision of ASA is provision of world standard research, education and training, and establishment of clinical standards to ensure clinical best practice in sleep medicine resulting in an informed community with healthy sleep practices.

What are the Australasian Sleep Association most successful membership strategies to increase engagement and membership retention?

Our major activity each year is our Annual Scientific Meeting, Sleep DownUnder 20... This 3 day conference offers our members an opportunity to present their research (this year alone over 200 abstracts of new research were received and accepted for presentation), and learn from the experts, the latest and greatest innovations and current best practice. Members are given a substantial discount to attend this event, and student members receive an even greater discount, plus an opportunity to apply for travel grants to attend. Over 70% of our membership attend this event each year.

We introduced a Members Only Facebook page, which has now gained traction, and is a great tool for members with questions about difficult cases or treatments. We also have a public Facebook page where we are able to promote the research of our members to interested people.

State meetings are held in each State to encourage networking amongst local members, Some States are holding these more often than others, but all States will have at least two meetings in 2016.

Representation of the field of Sleep Medicine to Government bodies and other professional bodies, such as the RACP, ADA, Department of Health etc., is an on-going task but the efforts of the ASA Board and Committees is recognised by our Membership as being very important.

We offer a mentorship programme that matches up students and those new to the field with more experienced members, and this often encourages members to remain working in the field of sleep, and retain their ASA membership.

Our latest membership offering is an Educational Resource Centre, where Members can access a large amount of educational material, at no cost (or substantially reduced costs) while non-members can access this information, there is a charge for them to do so. We are hoping that this will encourage interested non-members to join the ASA, and members to utilise this new resource.

What do you personally feel has been the biggest challenge that the Australasian Sleep Association has overcome in your time with the organisation?

The multi-disciplinary nature of ASA, ensuring that each discipline is adequately represented, is always a challenge. To try to overcome this we have established Councils (Special Interest Groups) in these disciplines to ensure that groups have an opportunity to meet together, and have representation on Board Committees, including the Conference Committee, ensuring topics of interest to each group are included within the conference programme.

We work very closely with Sleep Health Foundation, a DGR Charity, originally established by ASA, to raise awareness of the importance of sleep to the wider community. This ongoing relationship allows the two organisations to concentrate on their different audiences, while still giving the same message “Sleep is essential for good health”.

How does the future look for the Australasian Sleep Association (or what exciting projects are underway at Australasian Sleep Association?)

As with all Associations it never pays to be complacent, but I am confident that the increase in awareness of the importance of sleep within the health profession and general public, will ensure the ASA continues to grow in both size and influence.

What would you say to someone starting out in this profession with a view to become a future leader?

Association Management is an interesting and challenging role.

It is important to always remember that Board and Committee members are volunteers working full time in the field, you and the team in the office are the paid officers, and while it is often frustrating, they do not necessarily have the same priorities as you do, and considerable time can be spent waiting and chasing up on issues you believe are urgent – therefore patience is important.

Priorities can change quickly, and there is seldom, if ever just one task waiting to be done, flexibility and ability to multi task are therefore imperative.

Job satisfaction though is tremendous, leading a team to make things better for the future in the field in which the organisation operates is a real buzz. I cannot recommend the profession highly enough to anyone who enjoys a challenge and does not require routine in their daily work activities.

Stephanie Blower

Executive Officer

Australasian Sleep Association