ASA May 2003 Newsletter

As chair of ASA’s Committee on Residents and Medical Students, I have the distinct honor and pleasure of representing ASA at the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) National Convention on March 19-23 in Washington, D.C. ASA was one of several specialty organizations present, and we provided information on our specialty to medical students in the exhibit hall and demonstrated basic airway management techniques in a series of workshops for the student attendees. ASA Secretary Peter L. Hendricks, M.D., ASA Resident Component Chair Bracken J. De Witt, M.D., ASA Resident Component Chair-Elect Brian N. Vaughan, M.D., and former Resident Component Secretary James F. Weller, M.D., also represented ASA.

ASA’s involvement in the AMSA National Convention began in 1999, when Stephen J. Kimatian, M.D., chair of the Resident Component at that time, and Thomas B. Bralliar, M.D., then chair of the Committee on Residents and Medical Students, helped to organize formal ASA representation at that meeting. The Resident Component is to be commended for both initiating and continuing this tremendous opportunity to educate future physicians about the medical specialty of anesthesiology.

It was impressive to observe the large numbers of medical students at this convention who expressed a genuine interest in a career in anesthesiology. I recognize that medical students, particularly those early in their training, may exhibit a passing interest in a number of medical specialties and that undoubtedly most of these students will ultimately seek other specialties; however, I am equally certain that several of these students will indeed become anesthesiologists. Even in my relatively short career to date, I recall a time a few years ago when the interest in our specialty by medical students was virtually nonexistent. The “word on the street” was that there were no jobs for new residency graduates, nurse anesthetist domination was supposedly imminent, and primary care was the only certain path to prosperity. It was clear from the interest exhibited this year by the attendees at the AMSA Convention that the current “word” is that the demand for anesthesiologists is great and that tremendous opportunities exist for an exciting and rewarding career in anesthesiology.

We spoke with many students who cited a significant personal influence that sparked their interest in the specialty, such as an anesthesiologist relative, neighbor or friend. Many other students expressed a desire to learn more about our specialty but were uncertain how to find a contact in their area to serve as a resource. Whenever possible, we encouraged these students to seek out the chair of the anesthesiology department at their medical school. However, the increasing interest in the specialty has, in some cases, limited the opportunities for medical students (particularly in their preclinical years) to “shadow” in an anesthesiology department that is filled to capacity with students conducting clinical rotations. Furthermore, some medical students attend schools that are not in proximity to an academic anesthesiology department, and there are limited opportunities for those students to gain exposure to anesthesiology, again particularly in the preclinical years.

Certainly a highly motivated medical student will find a way to access clinical exposure to anesthesiology. There can be little doubt, however, that the specialty fails to capture some students because of the limited ability of many medical students to access our specialty compared to the specialties that make up the major clinical rotations in medical school such as internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology or pediatrics.

One of the missions of the Committee on Residents and Medical Students is to encourage collaboration between private practitioners and academic institutions to facilitate medical student exposure to anesthesiology. With the tremendous and growing demand for exposure to our specialty among medical students, this committee is seeking models of collaborative efforts between academic centers and private practice. Examples of anesthesiology rotations in private practice settings, of incorporating private practitioners in interest groups for medical students or any other examples of the “gowns” of academia incorporating the “towns” of private practice in medical student training or education should be communicated to the committee at <ronlharter@columbus.rr.com>. These model collaborative efforts could then be disseminated to academic anesthesiology programs to help foster the development of such collaborative efforts elsewhere.

State and local anesthesiology societies may offer examples of programs designed to provide information about this specialty to medical students. I would appreciate communication from any organization that has developed such a program so that ASA can share this information with its component societies.

Regardless of whether one believes the quantity of anesthesiology residents being trained should change, there should be little argument that attracting the highest quality medical students into our specialty will benefit our specialty and our patients for years to come. All anesthesiologists can and should help in the process of attracting and exposing our best and brightest medical students to the tremendous benefits of a career in anesthesiology.

Ronald L. Harter, M.D., is staff anesthesiologist, Mt. Carmel Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio.

return to top