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March 1997
Volume 61 |
Number 3
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'A Day in the
Life of an Anesthesiologist' - Developing a Mini-internship
in Anesthesiology
Part 2 |
Margaret G. Pratila, M.D., Chair
Committee on Communications
(This is the second article in a two-part series that explains
the mechanics and the benefits of hosting a mini-internship at
your institution for a community leader, legislator or media person
(see Part 1 in the February 1997 ASA NEWSLETTER). The information
provided in the two-part article is based on the experiences of
the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists (NYSSA) and its
Public Education and Information Committee. Another good source
of information is the section on mini-internships provided by
ASA in the State Government Affairs Handbook. Contact ASA for
more information.)
Once you have planned to conduct a mini-internship at your institution,
materials will need to be prepared to background the participant
on the practice of anesthesiology and the mini-internship schedule
for the day. The mini-internship kit should contain:
- An agenda that outlines the day's activities [Samples A and
B]
- Questions and answers about the mini-internship [Sample C]
- Fact sheets on your agenda topic(s), e.g., types of anesthesia
[Sample D], reducing your risk [Sample E] or the preoperative
visit [Sample F]
- Background information on your Society
- Questions and answers about anesthesiology [Sample G]
- Biographies of the president of your Society, the host anesthesiologist
and the chair of your public information/public relations committee,
or any other members who will be present
NYSSA includes a copy of Monitor, a newsletter produced by the
NYSSA Public Education and Information Committee that targets
legislators, the media and special interest groups and stresses
patient safety.
A short and focused mini-internship has proven most successful
because it takes three or four hours of your guests' time instead
of asking them to commit to one or two days. Institutions will
set up different agendas, each usually wishing to "showcase"
its particular area(s) of expertise (e.g., day-surgery unit, pain
clinic, anesthesia outside the operating suite). Two sample agendas
are shown on page 23 as Sample A and Sample B.
Need Help?
Please review the following sample letters and handouts, keeping
in mind that each state component society, institution or anesthesiology
department will need to tailor the mini-internship program to
reflect its goals as well as the goals of your visitors. Your
best preparation is to be involved in planning the mini-internship
and the necessary support material.
If after reviewing the information in this two-part article you
wish to discuss the details of hosting "A Day in the Life
of an Anesthesiologist," contact: Denise M. Jones, Director
of Communications, or Philip S. Weintraub, Manager of State Program,
ASA Executive Office, telephone (847) 825-5586; fax (847) 825-5658;
e-mail <communications@ASAhq.org>.
You are also welcome to contact NYSSA or Margaret G. Pratila,
M.D., Chair, Committee on Communications, telephone (212) 639-6840,
fax (212) 737-0668; e-mail: <mpratila@MSKCC.org>.
Click here
to download the complete Mini-internship kit. This file is in pdf
format. You must have the free utility, Adobe Acrobat Reader, in
order to read or print the application. The utility is available
for Macintosh, Windows, Sun SPARC, HP/US, Silicon Graphics, and
IBM AIX platforms.
Click
here to download a free copy of Acrobat Reader.
Margaret G. Pratila, M.D., is Associate
Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology, Cornell University Medical
Center, and Associate Attending Anesthesiologist, Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center, New York, New York.
E-mail the author.
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