Douglas R. Bacon, M.D., Editor

The PAC, Professionalism and Patrick Sim
atrick Sim, M.L.S., Librarian of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology (WLM), was my first introduction to ASA. As a fourth-year medical student, I was working on an essay for the Osler Medal competition of the American Association for the History of Medicine. The paper was on the development of the specialty of anesthesiology in the 1920s and 1930s. My advisor had discovered the existence of the archives at the WLM and made arrangements for me to spend two days in Park Ridge studying the material, as primary sources are critical to any outstanding historical essay.

I was staying in a downtown Chicago hotel, and I took a cab out to Park Ridge. Mr. Sim met me at the door to the old headquarters building on Busse Highway. We went up to his office and talked. Part of the conversation I remember well, as Patrick gently questioned my knowledge of the time period and the history of the Long Island, New York and American societies. I must have passed the quiz, for shortly thereafter I was reading the minutes of the Long Island Society in the original notebook. A couple of hours later, Mr. Sim asked if I was hungry and took me to lunch at Burger King across the street. Thus began one of my favorite interactions with Patrick, having lunch and talking about the history of anesthesiology.

The time seemed somehow shorter on the second day in Park Ridge. There were “mountains” of documents to pore through, all telling an intricate piece of the history of ASA and the specialty. Lunch was again another wonderful time, but at a Chinese restaurant near the Park Ridge building. Most of the afternoon was spent copying important documents that were critical to the paper. Although I did not win the Osler Medal that year, my career-long association with the WLM and Patrick Sim, both personal and professional, had begun.

For the past 35 years, Patrick has been the face of the WLM to ASA and the public. While presidents of the WLM have come and gone, Patrick has been the one constant — guiding, caring and preserving the history of anesthesiology. For the first 17 years of his career, Patrick toiled alone. In 1988 an assistant librarian was added to help Patrick with the reference work and allow him to concentrate on the rare book and other collections. Yet in the more than 20 years I have known Patrick, I have never seen him upset, angry or perturbed. He possesses a real “can do” attitude, and nothing seems impossible for him. Patrick is intensely loyal to ASA first and foremost, to the WLM and to the medical specialty of anesthesiology.

Why bother to tell this story?

Patrick, in my experience, is not unique. Free references from the medical literature, the WLM’s most visible benefit to ASA members, total more than 1,000 requests a year and are handled by Assistant Librarian Karen Bieterman, M.L.I.S. The WLM staff makes information accessible — without fanfare or the expectation of praise. When complimented on their work, the WLM staff, like the ASA staff, tend to shrug it off as just doing their job. Judith Robins, the Collections Supervisor, started on the day that new storage shelves were being installed. The entire collection, both of the museum and the archives, was being rolled out before her eyes. Keeping things organized is a daunting task, and walking away from the job would have been understandable. Yet Judy viewed this as an opportunity to get to know the collection better. She rolled up her sleeves and dug in.

Nor is the WLM staff unique at the ASA headquarters. The Annual Meeting could never have been moved from New Orleans to Atlanta last year without outstanding people willing to take a difficult challenge and get the job done. Working quietly, but behind the scenes, they make the work of ASA happen. The NEWSLETTER you are reading is not created through the effort of the editor alone, nor of the authors who write for it, but through a small staff of people who edit, proofread and discuss and debate the contents of each issue. The written word can be read — and perceived — in different ways. There are letters to the editor I would love to print — sharp, biting commentary on American anesthesiology that would spark debate and hopefully promote dialog. Yet, in the final analysis, printing such letters would make them public; thus anyone could quote them out of context and do irreparable harm to the very specialty we are trying to advance.

This election cycle, we are faced with what could be a significant change in the political winds. This could favor some who might like to see medicine or the medical specialty of anesthesiology crumble. I will wager that ASA can weather any storm because its members are strong, committed individuals backed by an outstanding staff in Park Ridge and Washington, D.C.; but even the strongest ships can sink. Political involvement, whether as individuals or through political action committees (PACs), helps anesthesiologists participate in an important part of our political system. Elected officials remember who helped them with their campaigns, especially those who contributed early in the election cycle. While many feel that this equates to “buying” votes and ought not to happen in a democracy such as ours, the reality is that elections cost huge sums of money, and individual involvement and PACs, like our own ASAPAC, are parts of this “good government.” Friendship and honest dialog, once access is gained, can push forward the political agenda.

At our recent Minnesota Society of Anesthesiologists Executive Committee meeting, we reviewed our PAC contributions, which were average for a society of our size. The general feeling was that we could and should increase the percentage of Minnesota anesthesiologists who contribute to the PAC. Furthermore the executive committee felt that we ought to make a serious effort to win the “Alabama Cup,” which is given to the group with the highest percentage of members contributing to ASAPAC.

Yet political involvement is an individual matter, and it depends heavily upon being motivated to participate. Back in Minnesota, there was a lively discussion about why someone would not donate, from the old-time “I gave at the office” or “I’m not politically involved” to the real concern that the PAC may have contributed to a candidate not of the contributor’s liking. The point to remember about a PAC is that it is member- and issue-specific; thus the anesthesiology PAC is not overly concerned about the politician’s position on the spotted toad. Rather, health care, and anesthesiology in particular, remains the focus that determines contributions. Thus the PAC makes donations to those candidates who support anesthesiologists’ position on health care issues. It’s that simple.

One very simple description of professionalism is one who cares deeply about and acts to improve the specialty. For the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Patrick Sim embodies that ideal of professionalism. He elevates everyone around him, and all who interact with him believe that he acts only in the best interest of the WLM. For each of us, we must make a decision about what being an anesthesiologist and professionalism means. We need to decide what actions are in the best interest of the specialty to preserve and advance our practice. One way to achieve those goals may well be to educate yourself about political involvement and our PAC. It helps ensure that our voices, our concerns and praises are heard in the political arena. Failure to do so may in the end undo all of our advances of the last several decades.

And as for the Alabama cup (with apologies to New York) — go Minnesota!

— D.R.B.

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