he Anesthesia History Association (AHA) sponsors an annual contest for the best essay on the history of anesthesia, pain medicine or intensive care. This contest is open to all residents and fellows in anesthesiology. The purpose of the contest is to promote interest in the history of anesthesia and to advance professionalism in the specialty.

The essays must be written in English and be approximately 3,000 words in length. The first-place winner receives a $500 award, the second-place winner receives $200 and the third-place winner $100. The preliminary judging is done before the ASA Annual Meeting in October. That preliminary judging is used to pick the best five to 10 essays. These preliminary winners are invited to present their essays at the AHA Spring Meeting, and three winners are chosen on the basis of the content and presentation. The presentations of awards are made during the AHA Spring Meeting, which will be held on June 22-24, 2006. Winners are required to submit their essays to the quarterly Bulletin of Anesthesia History for publication.

The AHA Resident Essay Contest Committee is pleased to announce the 2005 winners:

First Place: Christian Gonzalez, M.D., Resident, Department of Anesthesiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas: “Many Men, Three Wars and One Question: Foundations for the Modern Understanding of Pain.”

Second Place: Isabel C. Legarda, M.D., Resident, Department of Anesthesiology, Beth Israel Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts: “Revival: On the Eighteenth Century Origins of the Modern Code and the Pioneering Work of Charles Kite and James Elam.”

Third Place: Lori Conklin, M.D., Resident, Department of Anesthesiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas: “James Young Simpson: The Voice of Reason for the Rights of Women in Labor 156 Years Later.”

Residents and fellows are encouraged to enter the contest for 2006. Submissions may be sent to William D. Hammonds, M.D., M.P.H., Department of Anesthesiology, University of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Drive, 6-JCP, Iowa City, IA 52242. The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2006.

William D. Hammonds, M.D., M.P.H., is Professor of Anesthesia and Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City.