2019 | Issue 1

Healthcare is experiencing a time of major flux, and, now more than ever, academic leaders in anesthesiology have the opportunity and obligation to provide direction to the field. There are several readily identifiable major concerns that are highly relevant to the AUA.

As you likely noticed, there was a striking lack of gender balance in the recent candidate pool for the 2019 elections. Members of the AUA have expressed concern, a concern we in AUA leadership all share. The AUA is committed to diversity in all of its forms and it is clear that we now must be proactive in recruiting diverse candidates to leadership positions.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) introduced the concept of Milestones to the graduate medical education community in 2013. Milestones represent key developmental concepts that are used in resident and fellow outcomes-based assessment. The introduction of the Milestones was intended to help programs more effectively track resident and fellow performance over the course of their training.

The nervous system connects to virtually every cell in the body, and regulates remote organ function via rapid and fine-tuned circuits. The vagus nerve, a major component of the bidirectional communication between the brain and peripheral organs, is one of the best-studied circuits for central/peripheral neuro/immune interactions.

I’ve often heard it said that in research, “publications (or grants) are the currency of the realm.” Currency in this phrase could be shorthand to mean a few things. The metric of value, for example. Or by how investigators are judged by promotions committees, our peers, and our specialty. Without grant support it’s hard to envision a path for serious scientific contributions that will shape future understanding or clinical care in the specialty. And without sharing meaningful knowledge from research through peer reviewed publications, the work is wasted. 

Over the past several months, a group of prominent academic and research anesthesiologists have engaged in discussions regarding a perception that ASA has not adequately addressed the needs of the scientific and academic communities. This feeling is perhaps most pronounced in regard to the programming and structure of the ASA annual meeting.

The Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC) honors the legacy of William L. Young, MD with a research award for junior neuroscientists that bears his name. The award, which is presented annually, commemorates a groundbreaking clinician-scientist and role-model who was a longstanding active member of both SNACC and the AUA, and mentor and friend to many.

Dr. Simon Gelman was born in Leningrad, Russia in 1936. His family lived under the rule of Joseph Stalin until 1953. Despite dealing with the difficulties of World War II, his Jewish family faced their own difficulties in a communist country. The reality of discrimination was a common thread that entwined and shaped Gelman’s life.

If you have an idea for an article, an announcement, or an opinion on a recently published article, please submit your proposal/article to Dr. Lisa Wise-Faberowski, MD, [email protected] before Friday, June 21, 2019. If your article is selected, we will contact you for editing and formatting!