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Committee Changes to Strengthen ‘E’ in
FAER
Members of the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and
Research (FAER) Board of Directors are working to broaden
the visibility of the foundation consistent with its
mission statement: “To promote the generation
of new knowledge in anesthesiology that advances patient
care and to foster career development of anesthesiologists
dedicated to research and education in preoperative,
critical care and pain medicine.” To guide this
process, consultation was sought, additional board members
were appointed (see October, November and December 2002
NEWSLETTERs), new committees were formed, and
most recently, a full-time development officer/administrator
has been engaged.
The FAER Board met May 1, 2003, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
immediately before the Association of University Anesthesiologists
(AUA) 50th Anniversary Meeting. The committees on Strategic
Planning, Education and Mentoring met on the previous
day. Discussion from the committees and meetings will
guide future decisions and actions. Specifically, the
ideas brought forth from these May meetings are preparatory
to an August retreat. The product of the August deliberations
will result in recommendations for the FAER Board meeting
at the ASA Annual Meeting in October 2003.
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| Myer H. Rosenthal, M.D. |
The charge to the Committee on Strategic Planning, chaired
by Myer H. Rosenthal, M.D., was to
focus on developing a “white paper” and
disseminating it widely to organizations and individuals.
This white paper can be seen on the FAER Web site at
<www.faer.org>.
Over the past year, FAER has worked on this white paper,
which in many ways further expresses the concerns voiced
by others: namely, workforce shortages and the resulting
decrease in academic output. A Society of Academic Anesthesiology
Chairs/Association of Anesthesiology Program Directors
(SAAC/AAPD) paper titled “The Perfect Storm”
outlined these issues as identified in 2000 and can
be reviewed in the February 2001 NEWSLETTER
and on the ASA Web site at <www.ASAhq.org/Newsletters/2001/02_01/tremper0201.htm>.
FAER has solicited the help of anesthesia leaders by
inviting them to attend the August retreat. Officers
from ASA, AUA, SAAC, AAPD, the American Board of Anesthesiology,
FAER, the Residency Review Committee and several anesthesiologists
who serve as medical school deans were asked to participate.
The goal of this retreat will be not to reiterate the
problem but rather to evaluate objectives, i.e., expanding
productivity of academic programs and faculty recruitment
and implementing strategies so that definitive proposals
with achievable outcomes can be defined. Ultimately,
the goal is to strengthen anesthesiology and develop
realistic optimism for the future. Expressions of concern
for the future must be translated into a positive action
plan to solve major issues confronting health care and
alter dire predictions.
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| John P. Kampine, M.D., Ph.D. |
The Committee on Mentoring, chaired by John
P. Kampine, M.D., Ph.D., was established in
mid-2002 and is entrusted with increasing awareness
of the importance FAER places on mentoring. The committee
is working on developing a mentoring program. We thank
Abbott Laboratories for funds contributed to FAER as
a founding member of this program.
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| Sean K. Kennedy, M.D. |
The Committee on Education, chaired by Sean
K. Kennedy, M.D., was established to bring
back the “E” in FAER. The number of Research
Education Grant submissions have been sparse. If we
are to continue to fulfill our entire mission, we must
be more aggressive in developing the education component
of FAER. The charge to this committee is to identify
factors that would increase both the visibility and
interest among anesthesiologists to generate and submit
competitive proposals in this area. A goal is to increase
the quantity and quality of education grant proposals.
This committee also is considering other ways for FAER
to promote more effective education of anesthesiologists.
One thought is how we might make it possible to guide
a number of anesthesiologists through a program with
professional medical educators in university schools
of education.
This direction and these committees and ideas are works
in progress. We invite and encourage comments on these
concepts. We need open dialogue from now until the August
retreat to the ASA Annual Meeting, the FAER Board meeting
and beyond. Collaborating together, we can take action
to ensure anesthesiology’s place in the 21st century.
We are fortunate to be working with you, the members
of the anesthesia community, to strengthen and advance
the medical specialty.
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