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ASA NEWSLETTER
 
 
July 2000
Volume 64
Number 7
   
Scientific Paper Process Moves Online

Charles W. Otto, M.D., Chair
Committee on Scientific Papers


At the 2000 ASA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California, 1,374 scientific papers will be presented in poster and poster-discussion formats. The accompanying box describes these presentation formats [Table 1]. To facilitate scientific exchange, knowledgeable reviewers will be available to comment on all abstract presentations. Two moderators will lead each poster-discussion session, and two or more facilitators will be available at each poster session.

Each poster or poster-discussion session will have a theme (indicated in the Annual Meeting Program) and include papers on similar topics. The moderators and facilitators assigned to the session will be experts in the general topic and familiar with the specific studies being presented. They will serve as resource persons for the session, coordinating the discussion in poster-discussion sessions and stimulating questions and interchange in the poster sessions. Participation by attendees is encouraged at all sessions. Moderators and facilitators will keep discussion focused and moving, but all attendees should feel free to contribute their own questions or comments. During the poster sessions, attendees may browse through the posters on their own or may follow the facilitators as they visit the posters and authors.

Electronic Online Processing Electronic submission and grading (begun last year) moved to an entirely online process this year. This process was successfully managed for ASA by Marathon Multimedia, Inc., of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Electronic processing online provided a number of benefits. Abstract size was expanded to the format used before 1999, allowing more information to be communicated. Imbedding tables and revising manuscripts were easier than with the previous electronic format. Errors in submission of critical identifying information were minimized. The online grading of abstracts streamlined the selection process, giving reviewers more time to consider the abstracts. Again this year, the electronic processing will allow publication of the abstracts earlier than in the past. Also new to the abstract submission process this year is a one- or two-sentence summary of the paper. Similar to the brief description used in the table of contents of Anesthesiology, these summaries along with the titles and authors will be published in the September abstract supplement of Anesthesiology as well as in the Annual Meeting program. The full abstracts will be available in three forms:
1) a supplemental CD-ROM in the September Anesthesiology containing all the abstracts for the past three years,
2) online via the ASA Web site beginning August 1, and
3) in computer kiosks at the Moscone Center during the ASA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, allowing access to the complete abstracts on site.

2000 Scientific Paper Selections This year, 2,115 scientific papers were submitted for consideration. Of these, 1,374 (65 percent) were selected for presentation. The selections were made by each of the 15 subcommittees of the Committee on Scientific Papers [Table 2]. Processing of papers by the subcommittees guarantees that selections are made by people who are knowledgeable in each of the major areas of anesthesia science. Additionally for the first time this year, investigators were allowed to designate subcategories within the major areas for their submissions. These self-designated subcategories were matched with the expertise of subcommittee members for review purposes. A great deal of thanks must go to the 15 subcommittee chairs and the 181 ASA members who graciously volunteered their considerable expertise and time to this process. Although we cannot list all of these individuals in this article, they are listed in the front of the 2000 ASA Directory of Members and in the 2000 Annual Meeting program.  

Journal Symposium The 2000 Journal Symposium, sponsored by Anesthesiology, will be held on Tuesday, October 17, 2000, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Alex S. Evers, M.D., and Richard B. Weiskopf, M.D., have organized this year's session, "Awareness During Anesthesia." Six scientific papers have been chosen for presentation during the Journal Symposium.

Summary We hope you will find this year's scientific paper presentations to be valuable and easily accessible. The quality of abstracts appears to be excellent. Please visit the sessions, talk with the authors and participate with the moderators and facilitators as they review the posters. We are sure you will find it interesting and educational.

Table 1

Poster and Poster-Discussion Sessions
Poster Sessions
2- or 3-hour sessions
Monday and Tuesday, mornings and afternoons
30 posters per session
2 or more facilitators to round, visit and discuss posters
Poster-Discussion Sessions
90-minute sessions, 12 daily
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, mornings and
afternoons
8 posters per session
Posters open for general review in first 30 minutes
Authors present key finding and answer questions led by two moderators during the final 60 minutes

Table 2

15 Subcommittees of the Committee on Scientific Papers
Ambulatory and Geriatric Anesthesia Experimental Neuro- sciences
Anesthetic Action and Biochemistry Local Anesthesia and Pain
Clinical Circulation Neuromuscular Transmission
Clinical Neurosciences Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology
Critical Care and Trauma Patient Safety/Practice Management/History/Education
Drug Disposition/ Anesthetic Action Pediatric Anesthesia
Equipment/Monitoring/ Engineering Technology Respiration
Experimental Circulation  

Charles W. Otto, M.D., is Professor of Anesthesiology and Medicine and Director of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, Arizona.



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The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views, policies or actions of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

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