he 2006 Annual Meeting in Chicago will incorporate eight full learning tracks as the Annual Meeting is planned and organized according to educational content. The inclusion of tracks in the meeting has progressed since 2004, when two tracks were introduced. Track offerings were increased to four in 2005. In 2007, content will be organized into the full complement of 10 tracks.

The 2006 learning tracks are: ambulatory anesthesia, cardiac anesthesia, critical care medicine, neuroanesthesia, obstetric anesthesia, pain medicine, pediatric anesthesia and regional anesthesia. Content also will be offered in the areas of basic science/clinical anesthesia and professional issues.

A track is a concentrated curriculum on a focused area presented throughout the meeting. A key concept of the track system is to highlight aspects of subspecialty care that interest a broad audience. The track format is intended to foster the integration of subspecialty anesthesiologists with the needs of the membership as a whole. Track content will be spread across the entire five days (October 14-18) of the meeting and will consist of a variety of learning formats: Refresher Courses, workshops, panels, luncheon panels, point-counterpoint sessions, Problem-Based Learning Discussions and Breakfast Panels. Tracks will not be assigned to specific days.

Most sessions will be held at McCormick Place. Because ASA hotels are not adjacent to McCormick Place, and to allow adequate travel time to the sessions, the schedule has been altered so that many sessions will begin at 9 a.m. Breakfast Panels will begin at 7 a.m. and conclude at 8:15 a.m., again to allow time for attendees to take the shuttle to McCormick Place in time for the next sessions. The Committee on Annual Meeting Oversight also has standardized sessions by type and starting times.

All exhibits will be located at McCormick Place. Medically Challenging Cases, introduced last year in the exhibit hall to provide an opportunity to discuss particularly interesting cases, will be featured again.

Co-headquarters hotels will be the Chicago Hilton and Towers, Chicago Marriott Downtown and Hyatt Regency Chicago.
Special sessions will include a Tuesday plenary lecture on translational research given by John B. West, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Physiology, University of California, San Diego. A future NEWSLETTER article will provide additional information about Dr. West. A new simulator session planned by the Committee on Outreach Education and its Simulation Education Workgroup will be offered on Saturday.