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January 1999
Volume 63 |
Number 1
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PRESIDENT'S PAGE
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| ASA's Strategic
Planning Process Reflects Values, Sets Goals |
John B. Neeld, Jr., M.D., President
Concerns about the absence of a formal long-term planning process
for ASA have been expressed on a number of occasions over the
years. Most recently, the Ad Hoc Committee on Executive Vice-President,
chaired by Harry H. Bird, M.D., addressed this issue in its report
to the House of Delegates in October 1996.
That committee recommended that the Administrative Council,
already charged with the responsibility for ASA's long-range planning
by the House, set out to define ASA's expectations and to describe
a Society most likely to accomplish those expectations. The House
approved this recommendation.
The Administrative Council felt that the utilization of a strategic
planning process would best meet ASA's planning requirements.
The process was initiated by sending a detailed survey sent to
more than 1,100 active members to determine our organizational
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The results
were then assigned to a Task Force on Strategic Planning, which
was composed of several members of the Administrative Council
augmented by individuals who were carefully selected because of
their knowledge of ASA affairs, their creative thinking, their
recognized leadership and their diversity. An excellent balance
of various geographic regions and practice styles was achieved.
Members of the Task Force were: John B. Neeld, Jr., M.D., Chair;
Jared C. Barlow, M.D.; Phillip O. Bridenbaugh, M.D.; Neal H. Cohen,
M.D.; Joanne M. Conroy, M.D.; James E. Cottrell, M.D.; Norig Ellison,
M.D.; Burton S. Epstein, M.D.; Alexander A. Hannenberg, M.D; Joanne
Jene, M.D.; Linda F. Lucas, M.D.; David C. Mackey, M.D.; Ronald
A. MacKenzie, D.O.; Donald E. Martin, M.D.; Charles R. Schmitter,
M.D.; Eugene P. Sinclair, M.D.; Neil Swissman, M.D.; James R.
Tyler, M.D.; Gregory K. Unruh, M.D.; Mark A. Warner, M.D.; and
John M. Zerwas, M.D.
The ASA Strategic Plan was accepted by the ASA Board of Directors
and the House of Delegates (pages 18-19). Key elements of the
ASA Strategic Plan include:
Vision - ASA is dedicated to the interests of the patients
and ASA members in all aspects of the practice of anesthesiology.
Mission - ASA is the organization of physician specialists
in anesthesiology representing professionals providing ethical
anesthesia care. ASA serves patients, the public, physicians and
other professionals who deliver such care by defining and advancing
the standard of anesthesia care and supporting the practice of
anesthesiology.
Organizational Values - These values reflect our deeply
held belief that anesthesiology is the practice of medicine, that
patient welfare and advocacy is foremost in all ASA activities,
and that we must value education, research, ethical principles,
professional advocacy and community service.
Goals - Our major strategic focus will involve programs
that provide education to members, improve public education, support
practice management programs, improve communication and marketing
of the specialty, and identify and promote professional opportunities.
We also will continue to advocate for the needs of patients, the
public and ASA members with state and federal governmental entities,
third-party payers, consumer groups and other professional organizations.
Support of research and an effective governance/administrative
system that supports current and future member needs are also
major goals.
The final step in the planning process was the articulation
of 39 specific objectives to be achieved under the five goals;
these objectives were then forwarded to the appropriate ASA committees
that created the strategies for developing and implementing each
of the plan's objectives.
The ASA Strategic Plan has been based upon realistic judgment
and decisions that will focus on our desired outcomes and, most
importantly, will integrate our activities to achieve clearly
understood goals. The plan will be updated annually to ensure
its accuracy, and future proposals will be analyzed to ensure
consistency with the plan.
Once the plan is operational, it should facilitate more productive
deliberation by our Reference Committees, the House and the Board,
promote better integration and consistency of policies, and make
ASA the flexible, adaptable organization that it must remain to
fulfill our members' needs.
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