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February 2004
Volume 68 |
Number 2
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From The Crow's Nest
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Douglas R. Bacon, M.D., Editor
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Four Checks
When I took my first job as a consultant anesthesiologist,
the department chair showed me into his office and closed
the door. Fearing the worst, I sat down in a chair across
from his imposing desk wondering just whom I had offended.
Yet the chair’s tone was gentle, and he stated
that he wanted to give me some advice. He asked me to
consider writing three checks.
As a new attending anesthesiologist, money was not as
free as I would have liked. Debts needed to be paid,
and I had a mortgage and a family to support. Sensing
these concerns, the chair began to explain his request.
The first check should go to the political action committee
(PAC) of our state anesthesiology society. He was adamant
that no one else would look after the political needs
of the specialty in our state better than the state
PAC. The money was critical to gain access to state
legislators — to get them to listen to our needs
and weigh them against the needs of the people they
represented.
The second check was destined for ASAPAC. The argument
continued that on a national basis, dealing with Medicare
and federal government regulations, no one else was
prepared to stand up and give legislators our message.
Each year ASA held a Legislative Conference in Washington,
D.C., and PAC money helped to open the door to many
interviews with either the legislator or the lead staffer.
The third check ought to go to the PAC of either the
state medical association or the American Medical Association
(AMA). Two checks would even be better, but the state
medical association represented more physicians and
therefore would be more effective in lobbying state
legislators. AMA was the only national society representing
physicians, and while not always specifically concerned
with anesthesiology issues, it was a tremendous voice
for all physicians, and its political mission was worthy
of support.
Over the ensuing decade and a half, I have found the
chair’s advice to be sound, but I would emphatically
add that a fourth check needs to be written annually.
The four foundations associated with ASA are worthy
of and in need of our support. The Foundation for Anesthesia
Education and Research (FAER) supports young investigators
and others who continue to grapple with ways to improve
education and to develop the scientific underpinnings
of anesthesiology. While it is often difficult to see
how supporting FAER may pay dividends in the operating
room, it is an investment in our future and needs to
be supported. The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology
(WLM) has preserved the history of our specialty and
provides important insight into the past, which may
help to determine future directions. The WLM also is
a functioning library whose shelves are brimming with
almost every anesthesiology journal, monograph or book
published worldwide. The WLM staff handles hundreds
of reference requests; some from the most recent medical
literature, others much older and perhaps more obscure.
Because of the work of the Anesthesia Patient Safety
Foundation (APSF), anesthesiology is viewed as having
proactively tackled the problem of human error. APSF
has been held up as the model upon which the entire
nation should build if our hospitals are to improve
their safety record. Finally, the Anesthesia Foundation,
which has no direct contribution from dues but is administratively
supported from ASA headquarters, needs our support.
This foundation lends money to residents in anesthesiology
to help tide them over until training is complete. During
my tenure as a vice-chair for education, I saw many
residents who were able to finish training based upon
support from the Anesthesia Foundation.
In the end, putting pen to check at least four times
helps to ensure that anesthesiology remains strong.
Thus the needs of the most important person in the specialty
are protected — the patient. Writing these checks
is in each ASA member’s best interest. There is
no time for delay.
Editor’s Note: In this day
of disclosure, the reader needs to know that I have
been a Trustee of the Wood Library-Museum since 1996
and the Secretary-Treasurer since 2001.
– D.R.B.
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