| |
As this issue of the ASA NEWSLETTER was being
prepared and contributions from the Society’s
members were being received and edited, a favorite
American pastime was slowly unfolding — the
National Football League playoffs leading to the Super
Bowl. Football enthusiasts root for their favorite
team (my team is the San Francisco 49ers), but only
that American city whose team wins the Super Bowl
will have bragging rights for the rest of the year.
I know that feeling from previous Super Bowls, and
it’s a great one!
Doctors Day
Each year at this time, another tradition unfolds
as ASA and its member anesthesiologists look back
in time with enviable pride. The contributions of
anesthesia to modern health care, which were first
appreciated in 1842 with the discovery of ether as
a genuine anesthetic, cannot be ignored. The names
of Crawford W. Long, M.D., Horace Wells, and William
T. G. Morton, remain vividly etched in the minds of
all anesthesiologists. Their initial experimentations
with ether that led to the ability to create a controlled
and reliable state of surgical anesthesia was revolutionary
and, at the same time, unique because of its American
origins. Yet it was only the beginning. In the 161
years since Dr. Long’s historic use of ether
on his patient, James Venable, the evolution of the
science of anesthesiology has radically changed the
surgical treatment of disease and trauma. The historic
significance of the emergence of physician-driven,
modern anesthesia practice to ensure a safe operative
experience for the surgical patient stands on a par
with the discovery of antibiotics, the development
of vaccines against contagious diseases and the successful
treatment of heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.
In 1958, Congress agreed that March 30 was a special
day to be observed — that day in 1842 on which
Dr. Crawford Long first used ether on a patient. While
perhaps Congress should have declared that date “Anesthesia
Day,” it did proclaim that March 30 would henceforth
be known as “Doctors Day,” an annual national
observance to honor all physicians in the United States.
Although the significance of this date may seem to
have been misdirected, March 30 is still a day on
which the historic achievements in anesthesia are
celebrated. As anesthesiologists, we too have bragging
rights, and it is a great feeling!
Research Theme
This year the members of the ASA Committee on Communications
have recommended that research should be the theme
for Doctors Day. For more than 100 years, research
in anesthetics, related pharmacology, life-support
systems and pain control have become the cornerstones
of the specialty. Following Morton’s public
demonstration of ether as an anesthetic at Harvard
in 1846, the English physician, John Snow, M.D., conducted
research and wrote extensively on the use of ether
and chloroform for surgery and childbirth.
In the United States during the late 19th and early
20th centuries, the initial forays into understanding
the utility of inhalation and local anesthetics were
by surgeons. The names of George Crile, M.D., Harvey
Cushing, M.D., and William Halstead, M.D., are legendary
in surgical lore, but they also were responsible for
helping to understand and define the appropriate use
of anesthetics to facilitate operative remedies. In
fact, Dr. Halstead and his colleague, Richard Hall,
M.D., became addicts in their attempts to map the
sensory distribution of the peripheral nervous system
on themselves through their use of the quintessential
local anesthetic of the time — cocaine.
The establishment of the first training program for
physician anesthetists (anesthesiologists) under Ralph
M. Waters, M.D., at the University of Wisconsin was
pivotal as it provided not only postgraduate teaching
in anesthesia for physicians, but it created an academic
environment for the scientific investigation of anesthetic
agents and their physiologic consequences. From this
milieu came many of the legendary pioneers in American
anesthesiology such as Emery A. Rovenstine, M.D.,
Arthur E. Guedel, M.D., John S. Lundy, M.D., Stuart
C. Cullen, M.D., Robert D. Dripps, M.D., and Virginia
Apgar, M.D. The recruitment of these pioneers by other
academic institutions across the country created the
groundwork for education and research in what would
become the medical specialty of anesthesiology. The
introduction of intravenous hypnotics, analgesics
and muscle relaxants as well as the development of
chemically engineered, stable, nonflammable inhalation
agents radically reconfigured and expanded the anesthesia
armamentarium, thus making the delivery of anesthesia
far safer than ever before. The specialty also can
be proud of its investigations and trailblazing innovations
in critical care medicine, life-support and monitoring
systems, neonatal respiratory care, obstetric analgesia
and chronic pain management. The list is long and
distinguished. It is to this research legacy that
ASA pays tribute this year on Doctors Day. Yes, we
really do have a lot to brag about!
ASA Communications
The ASA Committee on Communications oversees the activities
surrounding the Doctors Day celebration. With research
in anesthesia as a theme, relevant media materials
will be prepared. ASA members who are graduates of
the various media spokesperson training programs (the
“Media Response Network”) will be sent
media kits with sample messages for dissemination
to broadcast and print media. For the fourth consecutive
year, a video news release will be produced with a
pertinent public interest message. A large poster
featuring ASA’s popular bear theme will be distributed
to all ASA members for display in their hospitals
and offices.
In addition to Doctors Day, the Committee on Communications
is responsible for a variety of other outreach activities
that are designed to convey relevant and timely information.
Having a communications team and a communications
strategy is not unique for any corporate entity or
professional organization such as ASA. The ability
to communicate internally with members and staff as
well as externally with various audiences —
other physicians, patients, legislators and the media
— is essential.
As part of this issue of the NEWSLETTER,
other Committee on Communication members have written
about some of the many diverse activities. We urge
readers to learn about: Specialty Society Exhibits
(David J. Birnbach, M.D., and Rebecca M. Welch, M.D.);
the Leadership Spokesperson Training Program, the
Regional Spokesperson Training Program and the Annual
Meeting Workshop on Communications (Jeffrey B. Glaser,
M.D., Lawrence S. Berman, M.D., and Johnna Matthews);
Mini-internships (Norman Levin, M.D.); and Patient
Education Resources – Brochures, Slide Shows,
CDs and the Patient Education Videotape Project (Michael
H. Entrup, M.D.).
Happy Doctors Day!!!
| |
|
R. Lawrence Sullivan, Jr., M.D., is staff anesthesiologist
at O’Connor Hospital, San Jose, California. |
|
|
return to top
|