ASA Annual Meeting attendees will experience several new features and formats this year in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Subspecialty Tracks
The most significant change reflects the initial phase of reorganizing the meeting structure to feature a subspecialty track system. In 2004 a critical care medicine track will be held on Saturday and Sunday, and an obstetric anesthesia track has been scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. Most, if not all, educational sessions related to knowledge in these subspecialties will occur in each track rather than spread throughout the five-day meeting. The sessions within each track will occur concurrently with other educational sessions that are not specifically part of a track this year.

Attendees will have several educational options to choose within each track and can also customize their educational experience to individual needs by selecting sequential sessions from within and outside the two subspecialty tracks being offered this year. In addition new educational formats such as pro/con debates will be embedded within the subspecialty learning tracks.

Plans are under way to progressively expand the track concept with the anticipated addition of cardiac and neuroanesthesiology tracks at the 2005 Annual Meeting.

Plenary Session
Another addition to the 2004 Annual Meeting program is the introduction of a new plenary session focusing on translational research in medicine. The inaugural speaker for this plenary session will be 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine winner Louis J. Ignarro, Ph.D., who will speak on “Nitric Oxide as a Unique Signaling Molecule in Biology.” This nonticketed session will take place on Tuesday, October 26, from 12 noon to 12:50 p.m. at the Las Vegas Hilton (see page 14 for details). The Journal Symposium will immediately precede this session and will feature presentations on pharmacogenomics, which is sure to be an increasingly important area in the future.

Celebration of Research
The Celebration of Research session was initiated at the 2003 Annual Meeting to highlight research as an underpinning of the medical specialty of anesthesiology. This year the Celebration of Research session will be held on Monday, October 25, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Las Vegas Hilton. This session will feature overviews of research activities presented by the recipients of the Award for Excellence in Research, the Presidential Scholar Award and the first-place winner of the Residents’ Research Essay Award. (On Saturday, October 23, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Resident Component will present a Resident Research Forum showcasing posters authored by anesthesiology resident trainees.) With the generous support of the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER), lunch will be provided for attendees of the Celebration of Research session.

Rovenstine, FAER Lectures
Immediately preceding the Celebration of Research session on Monday, Jerome H. Modell, M.D., will present the Emery A. Rovenstine Memorial Lecture, “Assessing the Past and Shaping the Future of Anesthesiology” (see page 7 for details).

Following the Celebration of Research session, FAER will hold its Honorary Research Lecture and panel. David C. Warltier, M.D., Ph.D., will present the fourth annual FAER Honorary Research Lecture, “Protection Against Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury,” a topic with broad application across many areas of practice in anesthesiology and critical care medicine (see page 11 for details). The FAER panel “Reaping the Fruits of Research — Turning Great Ideas Into Marketable Products” will focus on the obstacles and opportunities involved in bringing innovative ideas to practical use.

Cadaver Workshops, PBLDs
As a continuation of efforts initiated at the 2003 Annual Meeting, an enhanced offering of sessions and topics related to pain medicine and regional anesthesia will be available in Las Vegas, including specialized one-half-day cadaver workshops that will be held on Saturday and Sunday to offer attendees a hands-on learning experience with newer modalities for treatment of chronic pain.

Finally, attendees will find an enhanced number of choices among workshops and Problem-Based Learning Discussions (PBLDs) that offer further opportunities for small-group/hands-on learning.

Exhibitors Reception
A reception will be held in the Exhibit Hall on Sunday, October 24, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. The reception offers attendees the opportunity for additional time with exhibitors, unopposed by the demands of a busy meeting schedule. This opportunity to view the exhibits in a less hurried venue also is a great time to network with colleagues after the day’s educational sessions.

CME Requirements
Because of current American Medical Association and Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) requirements for reporting and awarding continuing medical education (CME) credits, ASA will mail certificates for the 2004 Annual Meeting in November and December. Two absolute requirements must be met for receipt of a certificate. First, attendees must either turn in their attendance verification card on site or use a kiosk in the registration area to document their presence at the meeting (this can be done at any time during the meeting). In addition attendees must complete and return a session verification form to record the sessions that were actually attended. To comply with the regulatory policies of the ACCME, certificates can be issued only for those hours of CME for which individuals attest to attending.

Online Registration Updates
In 2004 online Annual Meeting registration will be extended until October 12 (three weeks closer to the start of the Annual Meeting than in the past) and will provide attendees with the ability to determine which ticketed sessions still have available openings. This information will be updated on the Annual Meeting Web site up to the day of the meeting, and on-site registrants also will have session availability information viewable on video screens in the registration area at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The members of the Section on Annual Meeting and the members of the track planning committees deserve many thanks and recognition for the hard work and substantial time they have volunteered to organize the numerous excellent educational opportunities attendees will encounter in Las Vegas.

Kenneth J. Tuman, M.D., is Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.