he ASA Committee on Academic Anesthesiology, formed in 2004, is a manifestation of our Society’s vision and commitment to the needs of academic departments and their training programs. The committee ensures that the academic community has an official, consistent voice in the Society’s discourse and affairs. It is charged to address key issues of importance to academic anesthesiology departments, including future work force and training needs and the preparation of anesthesiology trainees for careers in both academic and community practices.

Within its charge, the committee serves to foster discussion and collaboration between ASA’s leadership and the academic community. It strives to address the challenges facing academic anesthesiology departments and to develop clinical and academic leaders for our specialty. At its meeting during the ASA 2006 Annual Meeting, the committee addressed a number of important issues for the specialty as a whole and the academic community in particular. Members discussed what they believe are the most important issues facing academic departments and brainstormed how the committee, the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) and ASA can be of assistance.

Mark A. Warner, M.D., Chair of the Residency Review Committee for Anesthesiology (RRC), provided the committee with an overview of RRC activities and described new initiatives being proposed by both the RRC and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). In addition to monitoring compliance with the resident duty hour limitations, the RRC is committed to ensuring that residents fulfill the competencies as defined by ACGME. The RRC is identifying “best practices” that can then serve as examples for teaching departments. Additionally it is reviewing proposals from residency program directors for innovative educational initiatives that will provide residents with broad-based clinical training as well as research opportunities to prepare them for successful academic careers.

A great deal has been said and written about the future of the specialty in the ASA NEWSLETTER and elsewhere. The committee has ongoing discussions about the future of the specialty and how the academic community, with the support of ASA and other organizations, can best respond to the changing environment.

In October 2004, ASA formed a Task Force on Future Paradigms of Anesthesia Practice to study factors related to the future of our practices and profession. Led by Ronald D. Miller, M.D., the group’s initial recommendations were both visionary and challenging to ASA membership and leaders of the specialty. The task force’s vision of the future did not, however, include several dramatic changes that are occurring in the practice of medicine in general and surgical specialties in particular. These changes will have major impact on anesthesia practices in both academic and community settings.

For example the impact on anesthesia services of the continuing shift toward minimally invasive surgery and endovascular stenting procedures remains unknown. As fewer surgeons have experience with “open” surgical procedures, will they be comfortable transitioning from a noninvasive approach to an open laparotomy? Will they recognize adverse surgical events sufficiently early to intervene before significant hemodynamic changes or other problems ensue? What will be the role of anesthesiologists in the acute identification of these problems and, when appropriate, subsequent development of recommendations to change surgical management processes? How will these changes affect our patient safety concerns and professional liability? Surgical specialty groups are tackling these challenging issues. It is imperative that we work collaboratively to address the changes affecting our practices and the quality of care for our patients. The committee members discussed how to ensure that the specialty continues to make advances in clinical care and patient safety.

With unrelenting pressure to provide more clinical care, most academic departments struggle to include research training and resident and faculty “nonclinical” time to pursue scientific activities. There are no easy answers. FAER has been instrumental in supporting research and is considering the “Centers of Excellence” designation to identify and acknowledge those departments that demonstrate clinical and scholarly excellence. To advance the scientific output of our academic departments, additional resources will be required. The committee will discuss ways to support academic departments in this mission and assist them in identifying potential research and funding opportunities.

The committee discussed educational opportunities and mentorship for faculty who aspire to leadership positions. The committee recognized the need to provide training in administration, management and finance, and research program development for future department chairs. In addition the committee supports better preparation for program directors whose tasks and responsibilities have escalated. The Society of Academic Anesthesiology Chairs and Association of Anesthesiology Program Directors (SAAC/AAPD) have addressed these needs and seek resources to assist chairs and program directors in strengthening their programs. ASA Immediate Past President Orin F. Guidry, M.D., indicated that ASA also will assist in this effort, and program directors are encouraged to let ASA know what is needed and how ASA leadership and staff can assist them.

As I assume the helm as chair of the ASA Committee on Academic Anesthesiology, I offer my sincere thanks to FAER President Alan D. Sessler, M.D., for his guidance, vision and commitment to academic anesthesiology and for his support of research and educational opportunities for the specialty. Chaired by Dr. Sessler since its inception, this committee has a solid foundation upon which to build. His devotion to the future of our specialty is well known to all, and his leadership has been invaluable. I am pleased to have been asked to chair the committee, recognizing that as the “new kid on the block,” I have some very large shoes to fill. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Mary M. Schrandt, Associate Director, without whose assistance the committee would have floundered.

Please forward comments or suggestions to me about how the committee can most effectively address the needs of the academic departments <cohenn@medsch.ucsf.edu>. We look forward to hearing from you!

Neal H. Cohen, M.D., is Vice-Dean, Professor of Anesthesia and Medicine, University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, California.

return to top