ow in its 22nd edition, the ASA Self-Education and Evaluation (SEE) program remains a “best buy” in continuing medical education. Subscribers to SEE can earn as many as 60 category 1 credits each year by completing 200 self-paced questions. SEE is offered in paper and electronic versions at a cost of $200 annually for ASA members ($350 for nonmembers) with discounts available for residents and academic groups. The SEE program as a whole had 8,000 subscribers in 2005 and generated more revenue for ASA — almost $1.5 million — than any other activity except the Annual Meeting.

Both the Anesthesiology Continuing Education (ACE) program and SEE use a question-and-answer format to educate the reader. Unlike ACE, which focuses on core knowledge, the SEE program is focused on emerging knowledge, the “cutting edge” of anesthesiology practice. Last year this included topics such as new techniques for ambulatory anesthesia, mitigation of cardiac risk factors, use of colloid resuscitation fluids, regional anesthesia for orthopedic surgery, anesthetic implications of nerve gas agents, prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting, the economic value of depth-of-anesthesia monitoring, the historical impact of sodium thiopentol at Pearl Harbor and the risks and benefits of COX-2 analgesics.

Each SEE item is based on an article in the current anesthesia literature, selected from a review of more than 50 journals each month, with an emphasis on original human studies of interest to practicing anesthesiologists. SEE questions are generated by one of 30 volunteer question writers, each of them an experienced anesthesiologist. Even more importantly, each question is followed by a short discussion of the scientific conclusions of the cited article referenced to one or more standard anesthesiology textbooks. These discussions are the real key to the success of SEE, explaining why the answers are the best responses to the question and highlighting the important new knowledge.

Submitted questions and discussions are reviewed and refined by the SEE Editorial Board. The editors also are practicing anesthesiologists, selected specifically for their writing skills and for their subspecialty expertise. Members of the board currently include recognized national experts in statistics and epidemiology, neuroanesthesia, regional and ambulatory anesthesia, trauma, critical care, obstetrics, pediatrics, anesthesia education, pharmacology, pain management, cardiac anesthesia and business management. The editors ensure that the methodology and conclusions of each cited study are valid and appropriate and that the questions and discussions are well-written and practical.

SEE is published twice each year, in two sets of 100 questions each. Each question is referenced to keywords for type and topic and to the taxonomy of the American Board of Anesthesiology In-Training Examination. Subscribers receive the questions and answers/discussions in separate books and can choose to take the SEE as a test of knowledge or as a review of current topics, with up to a year to complete each edition. Answer sheets are transmitted electronically or by mail to ASA headquarters (scoring is confidential and released only to the subscriber), and continuing medical education credits are awarded in accordance with the number of questions answered.

With maintenance of certification now a requirement for all anesthesiologists, ACE and SEE are two of the best ways to stay current in our profession. Why not subscribe today at <www.ASAhq.org>?

Richard P. Dutton, M.D., M.B.A., is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Director of Trauma Anesthesiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland Medical System, Baltimore, Maryland.