Pre-conference symposia - Wednesday Sept 9, 2026
13:00 - 14:00
Registration
14:00 - 17:00
Vaccination Symposium (in DUTCH)
What is Compassionate Vaccination and why does it matter? Which tools do we have to make a vaccination pain-and f ear-free? And how do we apply them in practice? How can we adapt the vaccination process in order to prevent the development of needle fear?
This symposium will be coordinated by the Dutch-Flemish working group on ‘compassionate vaccination in children’. The program includes new insights on trauma-free vaccination technology, family-centered preparation and comfort-enhancing strategies during vaccination. This edition Professor Anna Taddio from Canada will attend again. She is a world authority in the field of trauma-free vaccination.
14:00 - 17:00
Establishing Trust in Children Masterclass Baruch Krauss and Rose-Marie Daly
While establishing trust is a foundational skill for healthcare providers who care for children, there is no systematic approach to teaching this skill set, nor is there formal training during medical school or residency. Traditionally, these skills have been taught by example, in an unstructured and ad hoc manner, with trainees picking it up along the way by observing and modeling their instructors.
In his masterclass Professor Baruch Krauss (pediatric emergency doctor at Boston Children’s Hospital) and Rose-Marie Daly (pediatric dentist in Dublin) teach the core elements of establishing trust and describe a methodology for establishing trust and managing a child’s emotional state during medical encounters. This practice-based masterclass is a unique opportunity to meet two outstanding experts in the field.
14:00 - 17:00
The Comfort Promise Masterclass - How to change your hospital into a trauma-free place for children Stefan Friedrichsdorf
The Comfort Promise is a hospital-wide commitment to do everything possible to prevent and treat pain for every child, every time. This revolutionary concept, that was created by Stefan Friedrichsdorf, transformed pain management from something offered "for some children, some of the time" into a standard of care applied systematically across an entire hospital system, affecting hundreds of thousands of children annually. The ‘comfort promise’ has since been adopted by numerous children's hospitals worldwide. In this master class, Stefan Friedrichsdorf, the founding father himself, will teach the key components of this concept and will explore solutions for successful implementation.
conference day 1 - thursday sept 10, 2026
07:30 - 08:45
Registration
08:45 - 09:00
Welcome
09:00 - 09:35
Keynote lecture 1 Joseph Cravero
'Optimizing Pediatric Procedural Sedation - Human Factors Analysis and Multi-specialty Collaboration'
09:35 - 10:10
Keynote lecture 2 Mary Doherty
'Autism and Procedural Comfort: a simple framework for everyday practice'
10:10 - 11:00
Coffee break + transfer time
11:00 - 12:30
1. Special Populations
1A. Strategies for procedural comfort in neonates
1B. Establishing trust in children with autism
2. Play, Suggestion & Learning
2A. Suggestion and Hypnosis for procedural comfort
2B. Playing in the Operating Room: managing pre-operative anxiety in children
3. Common Procedures
3A. Sedation strategies for imaging procedures
3B. Managing Difficult Intravenous Access (DIVA) in children: where PROSA meets Ultrasound-Guided vascular access
4. Family Integrated Procedural Care
4A. Parents as competent partners in procedural care
4B. The Nasogastric Tube challenge: how to make it a pleasant experience for all?
Sedation Symposium A - Safety first - risk recognition and rescue
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
14:00 - 15:30
1. Special Populations
1B. Establishing trust in children with autism
1A. Procedural comfort in Neonates
2. Play, Suggestion & Learning
2B. Playing in the Operating Room: managing pre-operative anxiety in children
2A. Suggestion and Hypnosis for procedural comfort
3. Common Procedures
3B. Managing Difficult Intravenous Access (DIVA) in children: where PROSA meets Ultrasound-Guided vascular access
3A. Sedation strategies for imaging procedures
4. Family Integrated Procedural Care
4B. The Nasogastric Tube challenge: how to make it a pleasant experience for all?
4A. Parents as competent partners in procedural care
Sedation Symposium B - Successful Sedation: Medication Strategies, Dosing, and Outcomes that Matter
15:30 - 16.00
Coffee break + transfer time
16:00 - 16.40
Keynote lecture 3
'Learning from the veterinarian: managing procedural distress in animals'
From 16.40
Paolo Valerio Award + Social Event
conference day 2 - friday sept 11, 2026
07:30 - 09:00
Breakfast sessions on Sedation Drugs
09:00 - 09:35
Keynote lecture 4 Mats Eriksson
'Procedural Comfort in the very young'
09:35 - 10:10
Keynote lecture 5
10:10 - 11:00
Coffee break + transfer time
11:00 - 12:30
1. Special Populations
1C. The special procedural comfort needs of ‘Special needs children’
1D. Guiding children with severe psycho-trauma through medical procedures
2. Play, Suggestion & Learning
2C. Virtual and augmented reality for procedural comfort
2D. Ready for procedural comfort care: PROSA training and education
3. Common Procedures
3C. Procedural comfort during Eye and Ear-Nose-Throat procedures
3D. Managing pain- and stressful procedures in the Emergency Department
4. Family Integrated Procedural Care
4C. Listening with eyes and ears: the child’s ‘voice’ in procedural decision-making
4D. Implementing the ‘Comfort Promise’ in your own practice: learning from examples
Sedation Symposium C - Beyond the Algorithm: Complexity, Diversity, and the Power of the Parent Voice
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
14:00 - 15:30
1. Special Populations
1D. Guiding children with severe psycho-trauma through medical procedures
1C. The special procedural comfort needs of ‘Special needs children’
2. Play, Suggestion & Learning
2D. Ready for procedural comfort care: PROSA training and education
2C. Virtual and augmented reality for procedural comfort
3. Common Procedures
3D. Managing pain- and stressful procedures in the Emergency Department
3C. Procedural comfort during Eye and Ear-Nose-Throat procedures
4. Family Integrated Procedural Care
4D. Implementing the ‘Comfort Promise’ in your own practice: learning from examples
4C. Listening with eyes and ears: the child’s ‘voice’ in procedural decision-making
Sedation Symposium D - Innovations & Future Directions
15:30 - 16:00
Coffee break + transfer time
16:00 - 16:35
Keynote lecture 6 Lucy Bray
'Children’s and young people’s take to work messages'
16:35 - 17:00
Closure