Generation X: How
Do Today’s Residents Communicate?
James F. Weller, M.D.
The Resident Component of the American Society of
Anesthesiologists was established in 1988 with three
goals: 1) to encourage resident participation in ASA;
2) to develop experience among young physician leaders
in organized medicine; and 3) to improve resident
awareness of the role of ASA in the evolution of the
specialty of anesthesiology. Implicit in these goals
is a need for residents from around the country to
share their experiences and ideas. So, how exactly
are the residents of Generation X doing this?
The ASA Resident Component meets formally every October
during the ASA Annual Meeting. Every resident in the
country is invited to participate in the Grassroots
Advocacy Training Program held each year on Friday
evening of the Annual Meeting as well as the Resident
Forum held on Sunday morning. The Resident Component
House of Delegates holds its annual meeting on Saturday
afternoon. This provides a forum for election of officers
and for discussion of resolutions that guide the activities
of the Governing Council.
In addition to the annual meeting, the Resident Component
Governing Council meets twice yearly at the spring
and fall meetings of the ASA Board of Directors in
Chicago, Illinois. During these sessions, topics for
the “Resident’s Review” section
of the ASA NEWSLETTER are discussed, Resident
Component outreach activities (such as the annual
airway workshops at the American Medical Student Association
meeting) are planned, and issues affecting residents
in general are discussed. Furthermore, the members
of the Resident Component Governing Council participate
in deliberations among the directors of ASA at the
meetings of the Review Committees, which ultimately
make recommendations to the ASA Board of Directors
regarding action on proposed activities.
ASA has been extremely supportive of efforts to increase
the number of residents actively involved in the Society.
Residents currently serve as adjunct members on more
than 30 ASA committees, giving us a voice in the deliberations
of ASA as a whole. At the 2002 Annual Meeting in Orlando,
Florida, the Resident Component House of Delegates
voted to require resident representatives to ASA committees
to submit regular reports on the activities of their
respective committees to the chair of the Resident
Component.
Over the past several years, an increased emphasis
has been placed on expanding communications between
the Resident Component Governing Council and resident
members at large throughout the year. With the debut
of the newly retooled ASA Web site, the Resident Component
is now directly indexed on the ASA’s homepage.
Our resident webmaster, Christine A. Doyle, M.D.,
has expended considerable effort over the past three
years to improve the functionality of the Resident
Component Web site. In addition to providing a history
of the Resident Component, our Web site offers an
index of Governing Council members, ASA committee
representatives and Resident Component activities.
Links also are provided for other Web sites of interest
to residents, including sites for educational resources,
residency programs and agencies that post jobs for
anesthesiologists.
Plans are under way to continue the development of
the Resident Component Web site. Our current chair,
Bracken James De Witt, M.D., has announced his intention
to post the reports from resident representatives
to ASA committees and the minutes of all Governing
Council meetings on the Web site. Dr. De Witt also
has hopes to oversee the establishment of formal bylaws
for the Resident Component, modeled on the Bylaws
of the ASA House of Delegates. Once approved, these
would be available for review on the Web site by all
residents.
In an attempt to electronically link residents nationwide,
ASA has created an e-mail listserv that provides a
forum for residents to address their concerns and
interests to ASA as well as the governing body of
the ASA Resident Component. Information on signing
up for the listserv is available on the Web site,
and all residents are encouraged to sign up for a
free subscription! By joining the resident mailing
list, every resident is afforded the ability to send
an e-mail via the listserv to every other resident
on the list.
Over the past two years, I have worked with residents
and attendings from all over the country on projects
vital to the future of our specialty. Given the support
of ASA, every resident in the country has an opportunity
to begin now to gain the experience that will allow
us to become the future leaders of our specialty.
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James
F. Weller, M.D., is an Instructor in Cardiovascular
and Thoracic Anesthesia, Johns Hopkins Hospital,
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care
Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. |
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