nce again it is time to think about the ASA Annual Meeting and the many educational opportunities afforded there. The ASA Clinical Forums are the place to find out what is happening in your specialty. The Clinical Forum sessions at the 2005 ASA Annual Meeting will be held Monday through Wednesday, October 24-26, at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Over the years, the forums have proven to be one of the best educational tools at the Annual Meeting. The format allows a panel of experts to discuss one or two cases in a thought-provoking manner. Everyone in the audience is invited to participate in the clinical decision-making. In fact it is the audience participation that really makes the forums interesting and fun. Furthermore there is no charge for this activity!

All of the Clinical Forum cases will appear in the 2005 Annual Meeting program book, allowing participants a chance to review the cases before the sessions. Expanded outlines and important controversial issues will be available at the sessions themselves for those who attend. Each Clinical Forum is scheduled to last 90 minutes, and most will discuss two cases in the specific area of interest. There will be no audiovisual aids used by the panelists — discussion is the operative word.

We have taken your suggestions and comments from last year and incorporated them into this year’s programming. Traditionally we have had forums covering all of the subspecialties in anesthesiology, and we will run seven this year. Because of the education tracks in obstetric anesthesia, critical care medicine, neuroanesthesia and cardiothoracic anesthesia, the forums will be held during their own special time periods.

Education literature is full of research suggesting that adults learn better through group discussions. Therefore we look forward to your participation in the Clinical Forums this year with your many questions, ideas and suggestions. Feel free to add your opinions to what is being said. Lively discussions are the order of the day. The panelists are often deliberately controversial, inspiring the audience to respond. They are looking forward to the prospect of differing opinions that will add spice to the discussions and learning for all attendees.

A 40-year-old man with CPAP-treated sleep apnea is scheduled for knee arthroscopy in an ambulatory center. Would you do this case?

Trauma Clinical Forum. Moderator: Wendy B. Kang, M.D., J.D., University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas, and Usharani Nimmagadda, M.D., Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.

A 40-year-old woman is brought to the ER with several stab wounds to the abdomen, which occurred soon after dinner. She is 5’2” and weighs 275 pounds. Considerations?

Ethics Clinical Forum. Moderator: Gail A. Van Norman, M.D., University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

What are the ethical considerations for anesthesiologists in the case of a nonheart-beating organ donor?

Pediatric Clinical Forum. Moderator: Linda J. Mason, M.D., Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California, and Johanna C. Schwarzenberger, M.D., Columbia University, New York, New York.

An 8-year-old obese boy with asthma and a recent URI is admitted for an urgent laparoscopic appendectomy. He is presently wheezing. How would you manage this case?

Practice Management Clinical Forum. Moderator: Gifford V. Eckhout, Jr., M.D., Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.

You are consulting for an anesthesiology group practice. They have older partners who want to slow down and take less call. They also have new GenXers who have been trained with the concept of limited work hours. What advice can you give this group on how to get its work done?

Geriatrics. Moderator: Jerome F. O’Hara, Jr., M.D., Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.

A 68-year-old 75 kg male presents for bilateral knee replacements. Past medical history is significant for CABG and AVR involving an embolic CVA four years ago, anticoagulation therapy (on coumadin with an INR of 2.4). How do you handle this case?

Pain Management Clinical Forum. Moderator: John C. Rowlingson, M.D., University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.

“Doctor, you’re telling me I have got cancer causing my back pain and complicated shingles to boot?” How do you handle this patient’s pain issues?

Saundra E. Curry, M.D., is Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology, Columbia University, New York, New York.