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SPA: A Young Organization for the Young-at-Heart
Anne M. Lynn,
M.D., President
Society for Pediatric Anesthesia
The Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA) first met
in 1986. For a subspecialty group, its growth has
been as rapid as the patients for whom we care. SPA
is the largest pediatric anesthesia subspecialty group
in existence. The membership includes resident, international,
affiliate and active members and totals some 3,700-3,900,
numbers that have been stable over the past four years.
It became my great honor to serve as the Society’s
first female president beginning in October 2002,
and I look forward to the continued growth of our
Society over the next two years. Our purpose has always
been to invite and welcome to SPA all anesthesia providers
who have an interest in pediatric anesthesia. To foster
this, membership is not restricted only to those doing
some percentage of pediatric cases. The Society’s
mission statement expresses this:
| The purpose of the Society for Pediatric
Anesthesia is to foster quality anesthesia and
perioperative care and to alleviate pain in
children. This shall be accomplished by: |
| 1) Assembling in one group anesthesiologists
who practice and have a strong interest in pediatric
anesthesia. |
| 2) Advancing the study of pediatric anesthesia
and contributing to its growth and influence. |
| 3) Encouraging research and scientific
progress in pediatric anesthesia. |
| 4) Serving as a forum for discussion
of issues (scientific and political) of importance
to pediatric anesthesia. |
| 5) Supporting the goals of the American
Society of Anesthesiologists and the American
Academy of Pediatrics. |
To provide the forum described above, SPA has held
its annual meeting the day preceding the start of
the ASA Annual Meeting for the last 16 years. This
one-day meeting presents speakers on topics selected
by the Committee on Education with input from the
membership who attended the previous year’s
meeting and covers areas of physiology, pharmacology
as well as clinical practice. The luncheon and evening
reception are fun events that allow new and long-term
members to meet in informal surroundings. For the
past eight years, SPA has jointly sponsored a three-day
Winter Meeting with the Anesthesia Section of the
American Academy of Pediatrics. This longer meeting
format allows us to provide pediatric anesthesia-focused
workshops, review courses and problem-based learning
discussions as well as the plenary sessions that are
similar to the annual meeting format. While we have
not always been as successful as we would like to
be at getting cooperative, warm, sunny weather, the
meeting content has been excellent, and sessions are
well-attended even in sunny weather! This year we
return to Sanibel, Florida, on February 20-23, 2003,
for a meeting that will include presentations on sleep
apnea study interpretation, spine surgery and medicolegal
issues. There will be oral and poster sessions to
present current research projects. Come join us on
the Gulf Coast of Florida! To learn more, visit our
Web site <www.pedsanesthesia.org>.
In October 2003, SPA will host our first international
meeting with the Japanese Society for Pediatric Anesthesia
in San Francisco, California. Mark A. Rockoff, M.D.,
and Katsuyuki Miyasaka, M.D., Ph.D., have planned
an excellent agenda with simultaneous translations.
You can get a “United Nations” experience
and hear how the United States and Japan approach
infants with diaphragmatic hernias and upper airway
anatomy and its anesthetic implications. The last
afternoon speaker will be Sten G. Lindahl, M.D., Ph.D.,
a SPA member and a member of the Nobel Prize selection
committee, who will speak on the history of the Nobel
Prize. Our Web site will give you all the details
and allow you to register for the meeting.
As is apparent, SPA has an active Web site. Our newsletter,
which is mailed to members three times yearly, has
an expanded version with literature reviews and editorial
articles on the Web. We also present meeting syllabus
material there for members not able to attend the
meetings. SPA supports a Foundation for Anesthesia
Education and Research grant for pediatric anesthesia-related
scientific topics as part of our commitment to advancing
the field. We also have developed an Education and
Research Fund that allows members to make tax-deductible
contributions to help continue our educational meetings
with less reliance on the generous corporate sponsorship
we have secured.
One of the great accomplishments of SPA has been securing
Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education
certification for pediatric anesthesia fellowship
programs. Steven C. Hall, M.D., and Dr. Rockoff played
instrumental roles in achieving this certification,
which ensures that anesthesiology residents who wish
to spend time obtaining extra experience in pediatric
anesthesia can select an accredited program and know
that an educational program is in place to facilitate
their acquiring the skills and experience necessary
to practice the highest level of pediatric anesthesia
care.
Parents ask for pediatric anesthesiologists in many
areas of the United States, and SPA wants to help
all with pediatric interests keep current in their
knowledge and skills. Join us — kids are fun!
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Anne
M. Lynn, M.D., is Professor of Anesthesiology
and Pediatrics, University of Washington, Children’s
Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle,
Washington. |
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