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Association of University Anesthesiologists: 50
Years and Counting
Donald S. Prough, M.D., President
Association of University Anesthesiologists
As the Association of University Anesthesiologists
(AUA) looks forward to its 50th anniversary celebration
this May, AUA remains committed to its traditional
goals of research and education in anesthesiology.
Founded in 1953, AUA is an elected academic anesthesiology
membership association whose mission is the advancement
of the art and science of anesthesiology by: 1) the
encouragement of its members to pursue original investigations
in the clinic and in the laboratory, 2) the development
of methods of teaching and 3) free and informal interchange
of ideas pertaining to these objectives.
During this landmark year, several AUA activities
merit particular mention.
Society Administration and Communication.
Two years ago, AUA contracted with ASA for management
services. AUA Executive Secretary Gary W. Hoormann
and AUA Conference Manager Nicole Casavechia and their
staff have functioned flawlessly. The 2002 Annual
Meeting, hosted by Vanderbilt University in Nashville,
Tennessee, was a great success with 231 registrants.
AUA also is grateful for support at the 2002 meeting
to two commercial sponsors: Aspect Medical Systems
and Masimo. Using the new AUA Web site <www.auahq.org>,
members can now more easily access administrative
functions, including registration for the Annual Meeting
and dues renewal. To enhance communication with AUA
members, W. Andrew Kofke, M.D., has agreed to edit
a quarterly newsletter. Dr. Kofke’s efforts
resulted in a newly designed publication, which was
mailed in December.
50th Anniversary Celebration at the 2003 Annual
Meeting. AUA will celebrate its 50th anniversary
at its Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on
May 1-3. The meeting, organized by David F. Stowe,
M.D., Ph.D., and John P. Kampine, M.D., Ph.D., will
be held at the historic Pfister Hotel in downtown
Milwaukee. Because of the anniversary celebration,
there will be several unique components to the meeting,
including a historical display, a streaming video
of long-term members sharing their experiences and
a plenary lecture by Tommy Thompson, former four-term
governor of Wisconsin and the current Secretary of
Health and Human Services. The social events at the
meeting include a welcome reception on Thursday, May
1, at the Milwaukee Art Museum, a reception on Friday,
May 2, at the Milwaukee Public Museum and a reception
and dinner banquet (black tie optional) at the Pfister
Hotel on Saturday, May 3. For the second year, AUA
will host a special reception for residents and fellows
and sponsoring members at the Pfister Hotel to precede
the welcome reception for all members at the Milwaukee
Art Museum. All members and program chairs are encouraged
to invite residents and fellows with an interest in
academic anesthesiology to attend the meeting in Milwaukee.
Attendance is limited to two residents or fellows
per program.
Scientific and Educational Program at the
2003 Annual Meeting. The Scientific Advisory
Board program will include, in addition to Secretary
Thompson’s lecture, oral and poster presentations
of abstracts and a lecture by Warren M. Zapol, M.D.,
titled “Scientist-Clinician: Going to Extremes.”
The Educational Advisory Board program will include
a panel on anesthesia perioperative medicine, a panel
on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
Education Outcomes Project and a National Institutes
of Health Session in which Debra A. Schwinn, M.D.,
will discuss the topic “Preventing the Extinction
of Anesthesia Research.” The host program on
Saturday, May 3, will include an exciting mix of medical
and nonmedical topics followed by a luncheon at which
William K. Hamilton, M.D., will review aspects of
the history of AUA in a talk titled “The Happy
Growth of AUA.”
Research Support. As part of the
AUA’s commitment to research, the Association
has again in 2002 donated $25,000 to the Foundation
for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) to partially
fund a research award. Since AUA first donated to
FAER in 1988, the Association has provided a total
of $405,000 to support FAER’s research program.
Membership Process. Although the
nominations deadline for 2003 was February 3, this
is a good time for AUA members to begin to consider
nominating appropriate candidates for membership in
2004. Currently, of approximately 6,000 faculty in
academic anesthesiology departments, 746 are members
of AUA. Fifteen new members were elected at the 2002
Annual Meeting. Details regarding the nomination process
are available online at <www.auahq.org>.
Usually, the chair of a nominee’s department
submits a nomination, but nominations can come from
any member of AUA. In addition to a letter from the
nominating member, a nomination requires a seconding
letter (usually from an AUA member from another institution),
a list of two to five AUA members who can serve as
sources for additional information and a copy of the
nominee’s curriculum vitae and bibliography.
Peer-reviewed grant funding is listed separately.
Future Meeting Sites for AUA Annual Meetings.
Future AUA meeting sites have been selected for the
next three years. In 2004, the Annual Meeting will
be hosted by the University of California-Davis; in
2005, the meeting will be hosted by Johns Hopkins
Medical Center; and in 2006, the University of Arizona
will host our meeting. AUA encourages applications
from institutions willing to host the 2007 meeting.
Guidelines for host institutions are available online
or from the AUA office at (847) 825-5586 or
<aua@ASAhq.org>.
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Donald
S. Prough, M.D., is Professor and Chair, Department
of Anesthesiology, University of Texas Medical
Branch, Galveston, Texas. |
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