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May 2000
Volume 64 |
Number 5
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RESIDENTS' REVIEW
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| A Call to All
Residents: Get Involved |
John A. Cooley, M.D.,
Interim "Residents' Review" Editor
As I thought about the subject of my first column for the "Residents'
Review" since being appointed Interim Editor, I noticed that there
is a lot going on in anesthesiology that not all residents may realize.
Many of us are finally settling into a comfort level in the next
year of our medical training: CA-1s are comfortable running their
cases and finding what they need for a smooth anesthetic; CA-2s
are looking forward to July when they can run the show and get their
pick among the best cases; and the CA-3s are anticipating the welcome
change into their new job or fellowship. There is, however, a lot
more going on in anesthesiology outside of our microcosm of residency
training.
Everyone should know about the recent debate surrounding the
Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA's) proposal to "separate
the CRNA supervision issue from the overall hospital CoPs [conditions
of participation] and move to finalize it ahead of the rest of
the hospital CoPs regulation by June 2000" (March 31, 2000, President's
Update). This is an excellent opportunity (closer to an obligation,
actually) for every anesthesiologist, resident and graduate alike
to get involved. Let your senators and congressmen know that not
only do we care about what this will do for patient safety, but
that we are also willing to do something about it. This can be
anything from a simple telephone call, e-mail or letter to your
representative to joining and contributing to our political action
committee to better articulate the "doctors' of anesthesiology"
view on this issue to our representatives in Washington, D.C.
Our disagreements with proposed laws and regulations do not
end at the national level. Several states are having legislative
and regulatory debates surrounding patient safety issues in anesthesia
this year, one of the most hotly contested being office-based
anesthesia. Our opportunity to voice our view is even more pronounced
at the local level. A simple e-mail to my state representative
resulted in a letter confirming her opposition to a bill before
the House that adversely affected anesthesiologists. A representative
of your local state society of anesthesiologists will be able
to get you information about local issues facing our profession.
You can find your state society representative on the ASA Resident
Component Web site at under State Components. It only takes
a few minutes of your time to have a positive effect on the debate.
Finally, every anesthesiologist should be involved in ASA and
their local state society at some level. There are resident sections
in ASA and the state societies that offer a niche for anyone to
get involved, whether CA-1 through CA-3 or a recent graduate of
residency training. I was pleasantly surprised at the warm welcome
and sincere encouragement for involvement in ASA at the March
Interim Meeting of the Board of Directors in Chicago, Illinois.
I believe their welcome and encouragement is a plea to all residents
and recent graduates to get involved and stay involved. Only through
participation can we exert a positive effect on our profession,
the delivery of anesthesia and the safety of our patients. I repeat
my call: Get involved.
Let your senators and congressmen know that not only do
we care about what this will do for patient safety, but that we
are also willing to do something about it.
Write to your legislator in the U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, D.C. 20515, or U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510,
or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. For sample
letters, see the ASA Web site at.
John A. "Jack" Cooley, M.D., is a resident
at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland.
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