12 Candidates Announce for Elected Office

welve ASA members recently have announced their candidacies for elected office. The anesthesiologists and the offices they seek are:

President-Elect
Orin F. Guidry, M.D.

First Vice-President
Mark J. Lema, M.D., Ph.D.

Vice-President for Professional Affairs
Alexander A. Hannenberg, M.D.

Vice-President for Scientific Affairs 
Arnold J. Berry, M.D.
Roberta L. Hines, M.D.
Charles W. Otto, M.D.

Secretary
Peter L. Hendricks, M.D.

Treasurer
Roger A. Moore, M.D.

Assistant Secretary
Gregory K. Unruh, M.D.

Assistant Treasurer
John M. Zerwas, M.D.

Speaker, House of Delegates
Candace E. Keller, M.D.

Vice-Speaker, House of Delegates
John P. Abenstein, M.D.

The ASA Board of Directors has approved the following regulations for the announcement of candidacies for elected office:

1. On or before August 1, any candidate for ASA office may send to the Executive Office a notice of intent to run for a specific office.

2. The Executive Office shall prepare a list of candidates submitted to be published in the September issue of the ASA NEWSLETTER and the Handbook of Delegates.

3. The announcement for candidacy does not constitute a formal nomination to an office, nor is it a prerequisite for being nominated.

4. Nominations shall be made at the Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates for all candidates as prescribed by the ASA Bylaws.

As approved by the Board of Directors in August 2000, a Candidates’ Forum is now available on the ASA Web site. ASA members can view candidates’ curricula vitae at <www.ASAhq.org/candidates>.

ASA and AANA Leadership Have 5th Meeting

he ASA and American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) leadership met for the fifth time on July 18, 2004. The group discussed the procedural agreement, Medicare anesthesia payment issues and how to introduce the joint meeting process to our respective members at the state and local level.

A draft procedural agreement was completed and will now be presented to the ASA and AANA leadership, respectively. The procedural agreement is a living, working document that will assist us in developing and maintaining a respectful professional relationship and act as a guide in addressing common issues in the future.

Two Medicare anesthesia payment system issues also were discussed, including the need to support the Medicare anesthesia fee schedule and the need to address the medical direction rules that negatively impact anesthesiology practice.

The need to integrate more state and local members into the process was expressed by all present. We will continue to work on a plan that will engage state and local ASA and AANA leaders in the process. Two new leaders were introduced to the mediation process at this meeting, Brian Thorson, CRNA, and Mark J. Lema, M.D., Ph.D. In August the AANA Board of Directors and the ASA Administrative Council will meet face-to-face for the first time as part of this process.

Tom McKibban, CRNA, announced that this would be his last meeting as AANA President and thanked all of the participants for their openness and dedication to the process.

Opportunites Abound at Technical Exhibits During Annual Meeting

he 2004 Technical Exhibit Program represents another exciting aspect of the educational experience at the 2004 Annual Meeting. The exhibits offer the opportunity for attendees to see demonstrations of many new products and obtain information about existing products and services. Exhibits are limited to those that apply directly to the practice of anesthesiology.

The exhibits will be located in Halls C3-C4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Hours are Sunday, October 24, 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Monday, October 25, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Tuesday, October 26, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Approximately 275 companies will exhibit.

An exhibit reception will be held again this year in the exhibit hall from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Registrants will receive one complimentary drink ticket.

Exhibitors contribute vital support to the ASA Annual Meeting and the medical specialty of anesthesiology, and attendees are encouraged to visit the exhibit hall.

James E. Cottrell, M.D., Named Fellow by Royal College of Anaesthetists

SA Immediate Past President James E. Cottrell, M.D., Brooklyn, New York, has been unanimously selected as a “Fellow by Election” by the Royal College of Anaesthetists.

James E. Cottrell, M.D.

Fellows by Election are distinguished medical practitioners who are elected by the College Council and “have shown themselves worthy of having made, or having played a significant role in the making of, an outstanding contribution to anaesthesia, critical care, pain management, or any other related field of medicine or science of relevance to the College, whether in the area of practice, education or research, and such contribution shall preferably, in the opinion of the Council, be regarded as of national or international significance; provided that, where such contribution has been wholly or largely made in a country or countries other than the United Kingdom, the candidate … shall be recognized as being of high standing in any country where the contribution has been made.”

Fellows by Election are entitled to use the post nominals F.R.C.A., vote at all College Council elections and stand for College Council.

Of the 9,000 Royal College of Anaesthetists, only 130 are Fellows by Election. With his election next year, Dr. Cottrell becomes only the 29th Fellow by Election in the United States. His admission ceremony will take place on January 19, 2005.

The Royal College of Anaesthetists is the professional body responsible for the specialty of anesthesiology throughout the United Kingdom.

Component Society News: ASA Member Appointed to Virginia Board of Medicine

SA Alternate Director for Virginia Patrick W. Clougherty, M.D., was selected last July by Governor Mark R. Warner to serve on the Virginia Board of Medicine. Dr. Clougherty’s term begins in July 2004 and ends in 2008.

Dr. Clougherty was President of the Virginia Society of Anesthesiologists in 2003. As a member of the Virginia Board of Medicine, Dr. Clougherty will help to develop rules and regulations for the provision of office-based anesthesia in the state.

Because of his knowledge of issues concerning nurse anesthetists, Dr. Clougherty also has been asked to serve on Virginia’s Committee of Joint Boards of Nursing and Medicine. This committee regulates nurse practitioners, who derive their authority to perform medical acts from the Board of Medicine.

Dr. Clougherty is Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia.