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As residents we are always involved in a lot of work, stress
and dreams. One dream concerns acquiring as much knowledge and
skill as possible during our training time, and I believe each
of us admires the qualities of some of our professors. At some
point during our medical education or postgraduate years, we all
have heard of or attended a meeting. At those meetings we have
been able to witness the ability of great speakers who increase
our knowledge base, and we are astonished by the humbleness, kindness
and wisdom within these great doctors. It has not been only the
advances reached at the investigative level nor the publications,
but also the opportunity to share knowledge with peers that has
brought us to where we are now.
We have to remember with respect and attempt to honor our predecessors,
the pioneers of our specialty, who in the late 19th and early
20th centuries presented to their peers the results of their clinical
research. In this way, they initiated the movement that nourished
our specialty and helped it grow to be what it is right now and
what it will become.
It is in these fertile grounds that medical associations have
been created and sustained through to our time. These meetings
and conferences are bigger, better and able to display a great
array of information in the right amount of time and space. Some
of the greatest physicians are invited to impart their knowledge
and abilities to others in the same specialty or other specialties
and fields. It is always a great pleasure to be able to attend
these meetings, and the ASA Annual Meeting happens to be an example
of quality, quantity and desire to excel when it comes to sharing
information pertaining to our specialty.
The ASA Annual Meeting, to be held this year on October 12-16
in Orlando, Florida, fosters a perfect environment for learning.
Its goals are noble and fulfilled as tens of thousands attend
every year. I have still yet to meet anyone in the specialty who
is unsatisfied with it. However, not all residents attend this
meeting or any other anesthesiology-related meeting.
As residents, we have several obligations, a few rights and a
lot of dreams. We dream of being able to sleep at night, enjoy
the company of our loved ones, have a good meal and attend a big
meeting in anesthesiology. We want to hear the results of investigations,
experiences and opinions from the best on subjects that pertain
to the daily practice of anesthesia. To a great extent, we aspire
to become like them in one degree or another. I would bet that
every resident, whether practicing regularly without involvement
in the scholastic arena or whether involved in the training and
education of new anesthesiologists, has felt this way.
Sadly, however, reality strikes: not all program directors are
interested or able to allow their residents to experience this
opportunity during training time. Reasons vary with the program,
the overall work load and the past experience of those in charge.
Many of those in charge feel that the resident can attend any
meeting he or she wants, but not until graduation. Not all of
us are blessed with an institution that has as part of the curriculum
a chance to attend a major meeting in the specialty nor the financial
allowance to do it.
At some point during training, every resident should be able
to experience this rich exchange of knowledge and ideas.
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Carlos
O. Viesca, M.D., is a pain medicine fellow at the Texas Tech
University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock, Texas. |
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