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ASA and AANA Meet, Plan for
Ongoing Dialogue
The leadership of the American Association of Nurse
Anesthetists (AANA) and American Society of Anesthesiologists
(ASA) met in Chicago, Illinois, on January 12, 2004,
to select a consulting firm to assist in facilitating
future dialogue. ASA President Roger W. Litwiller,
M.D., President-Elect Eugene P. Sinclair, M.D., and
Executive Director Ronald A. Bruns met with AANA President
Tom McKibban, CRNA, President-Elect Frank Maziarski,
CRNA, and Executive Director Jeff Beutler, CRNA.
After interviewing several management firms, the group
unanimously selected ThoughtBridge of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
For 15 years, ThoughtBridge consultants have served
as advisors, trainers and facilitators for hundreds
of organizations and individuals on a worldwide basis.
Both AANA and ASA have the following objectives in
mind:
• Development of a long-term, respectful
relationship.
• Development of enhanced communication lines
to improve future dialogue on a regular basis.
• Collaboration on issues of mutual interest
that would be beneficial to the associations’
members and their members’ patients.
A specific process and meeting dates will be established
during the coming months to work on these and other
mutually agreed upon objectives. We will keep
the membership fully informed on the process as well
as the results of any meetings as they develop.
The leadership of both organizations expressed optimism
for the opportunity to begin this important dialogue.
No timelines were established other than the joint
feeling that the process will begin soon and could
continue for a significant period of time.
2003 PBLD CD-ROMs Still Available
The 2003 Problem-Based Learning Discussions (PBLD) CD-ROM
is available at a cost of $15 per copy. This CD presents
the 130 cases discussed during the PBLD Program at the
2003 ASA Annual Meeting. For educational purposes, it
allows the learner to read each case and its objectives,
review the model discussion and references, and then
embark upon an individual study program to identify
and solve the problems posed in each case.
Anyone wishing to purchase copies should send a check
payable to the American Society of Anesthesiologists
for $15 (Illinois residents, add 8.25-percent sales
tax) per copy to: ASA Publications Department, 520 N.
Northwest Highway, Park Ridge, IL 60068-2573.
AMA President Donald
J. Palmisano, M.D., to Speak at March ASA Board Meeting
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Donald J. Palmisano,
M.D. |
In a strong show of support for ASA activities and interests
and solid proof of the reciprocal relationship between
ASA and the American Medical Association (AMA), AMA
President Donald J. Palmisano, M.D., will speak at the
ASA Board Meeting on March 6, 2004, in Chicago, Illinois.
He will talk on “Medical Liability Reform: Speaking
With One Voice.”
Dr. Palmisano’s appearance follows last year’s
election of anesthesiologist Rebecca J. Patchin, M.D.,
to the AMA Board of Trustees. Aside from being a prominent
figure in ASA activities, she is the only female physician
currently serving on the AMA board. More importantly
her election represents the first time in recent memory
that an anesthesiologist has held such an important
seat in the governance of organized medicine.
Dr. Palmisano’s tenure with AMA has been marked
by efforts to unify physicians and spur involvement
for the betterment of patients and all of medicine.
“If we as physicians don’t speak up
for the patients, if we as physicians don’t protect
ethical, science-based medicine, then chances are we
will lose [both] … Somebody has to be an activist,”
he said.
A general and vascular surgeon and clinical professor
of surgery and professor of medical jurisprudence in
New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. Palmisano has been an active
participant in both the science and politics of organized
medicine for more than 30 years. He played a key role
in the passage of the Louisiana Medical Malpractice
Act of 1975, which capped noneconomic damages in medical
liability cases and influenced tort reform across the
nation. He is a licensed attorney and has testified
to Congress and spoken to the national media about the
current medical liability crisis.
Dr. Palmisano sits on the Board of Directors of the
National Patient Safety Foundation and the Board of
Commissioners of the Joint Commission on Accreditation
of Healthcare Organizations and is president of a medical
risk management company in Louisiana. His clinical research
includes the first documentation that copper is an essential
nutrient to adult health.
“We’re
pleased and honored to have Dr. Palmisano speak at such
an important ASA function,” ASA President Roger
W. Litwiller, M.D., said. “His talk will underscore
the need for unity of purpose among all physicians —
for the health of medicine in general and for the health
of all our patients.”
In
Memoriam
Notice
has been received of the death of the following
ASA members: |
| Frank
A. Barnes, M.D.
Moraga, California
November 10, 2003 |
Murray
B. Jacobson, M.D.
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
November 15, 2003 |
Verne
A. Sperry, M.D.
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
August 13, 2003 |
| Anna
E. Barnstable, M.D.
Lindenhurst, Illinois
April 22, 2003 |
Carleton
J. Kavle, M.D.
Ocean City, New Jersey
December 12, 2003 |
Thomas
P. White, M.D.
Cave Creek, Arizona
October 3, 2003 |
Stanley Bresticker, M.D.
Somerset, New Jersey
December 28, 2003 |
Prakash Krishnasamy, M.D.
Franklin Park, New Jersey
December 9, 2003 |
Karl F. Urbach, M.D.
San Francisco, California
November 1, 2003 |
Cynthia B. Faust, M.D.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
November 14, 2003 |
Peter Markalous, M.D.
Tierra Verde, Florida
June 11, 2003 |
Nacianceno Valencia, M.D.
Medellin, Columbia
December 7, 2003 |
Michael Flynn, M.D.
San Antonio, Texas
November 14, 2003 |
William H. Nicolaus, M.D.
Bothell, Washington
December 21, 2003 |
Alfred T. Wagner, M.D.
Anchorage, Kentucky
July 17, 2003 |
Joseph W. Freeman, M.D.
Edwardsville, Pennsylvania
January 11, 2004 |
David M. Porte, M.D
Wilmette, Illinois
September 27, 2003 |
Dawood Yassa, M.D.
Sherborn, Massachusetts
December 9, 2003 |
Sam G. Frissell, D.O.
McMinnville, Tennessee
November 20, 2003 |
William H. Schwab, M.D.
Ballston Spa, New York
December 6, 2003 |
Giorgio Zanettin, M.D.
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
July 12, 2003 |
Kenneth W. Hillyer, M.D.
Eugene, Oregon
September 20, 2003 |
Edward B. Scott, M.D.
Burbank, California
February 15, 2003 |
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