he educational mission of ASA is to elevate the standards of our specialty by “fostering and encouraging education, research and scientific progress in anesthesiology.”¹ The ASA Annual Meeting has been, and will continue to be, the foundation of continuing medical education (CME) for many anesthesiologists. The practice demands of our members, however, have necessitated innovation in the strategic plan for CME enrichment that ASA makes available to its members. Accordingly ASA has developed many high-quality alternative CME programs that utilize different platforms of delivery. Several of these programs have been developed and have matured over the past decade (e.g., Self-Education and Evaluation Program (SEE), Anesthesiology Continuing Education Program (ACE), Anesthesiology’s journal-based CME program, ASA Refresher Courses in Anesthesiology).

The Committee on Outreach Education has an important educational charge — to investigate the needs of the membership for future educational offerings — and the members of the committee take seriously their commitment to be proactive and innovative regarding future CME needs. Activities on which we have recently focused, and which comprise future plans, are detailed in this article.

Simulation Education
Over the past two years, the Committee on Outreach Education, and specifically its Workgroup on Simulation Education (led by Michael A. Olympio, M.D.), has focused on developing a strategic plan for the promotion and integration of simulation education into the armamentarium of learning options available to ASA members. ASA’s Simulation Education Program achieved several milestones over the past year, including a white paper on simulation education, a highly successful simulation expo that was featured at our Annual Meeting and the formation of the ASA Committee on Simulation Education.

This new standing committee, chaired by Randolph H. Steadman, M.D., will facilitate the implementation of simulation education to anesthesiologists and promote interdisciplinary efforts to improve patient safety through simulation and will specifically review and approve programs of quality in simulation education for anesthesiologists.

Annual Meeting Highlights
The Committee on Outreach Education and the Committee on Annual Meeting Oversight have jointly developed an exciting new CME program called “Annual Meeting Highlights.” The 2006 Annual Meeting Highlights CME program is an Internet-based production using audio recordings of contributors’ Annual Meeting presentations plus lecture slides. The subscriber will be able to sign up for the entire program or any specific presentation he/she chooses. CME credit may be obtained upon completion of a short post-test and course evaluation. This Internet-based program is now available and will include up to 10.75 hours of CME credit.

Electronic Education
In the long term, ASA plans to further develop and implement an architectural framework and the infrastructure necessary for a comprehensive and dynamic e-learning program. In the short term, the Committee on Outreach Education, under the leadership of Audreé A. Bendo, M.D., plans to develop additional electronic education programs via the ASA Web site. We continue to work in conjunction with Keith J. Ruskin, M.D., and the Committee on Electronic Media and Information Technology to develop and implement an “ASA Grand Rounds” program, which should debut in 2007.

Regional Workshops
The market for traditional CME offerings for anesthesiologists is saturated and has few content gaps. Members continue, however, to request a program on basic perioperative echocardiography. Although there are many quality CME programs on perioperative echocardiography, our committee has a workgroup, led by Robert M. Savage, M.D., that will develop a strategic plan on how ASA may “fill the gaps” regarding perioperative echocardiography education for anesthesiologists.

In the immediate future, we are planning a weekend Workshop on Perioperative Ultrasound for Anesthesiologists. The core of this workshop will be basic transesophageal echocardiography, with value-added modules on ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks and ultrasound-guided vascular access.

These offerings are the result of only a few of the recent activities of the Committee on Outreach Education and represent our future plans. The Committee on Outreach Education wishes to thank the members of the Workgroup on Simulation Education for their outstanding contribution to the education of ASA members and the resulting improvements in patient safety.

The success of our committee’s activities would not be possible but for the talents and commitments of its members. Any ASA member who has an idea or feedback concerning a specific CME activity may contact me as chair cole.daniel@mayo.edu or any member of the committee.

Members of the 2007 Committee on Outreach Education include: Audreé A. Bendo, M.D., Casey D. Blitt, M.D., Brenda A. Gentz, M.D., Nikolaus Gravenstein, M.D., Glenn P. Gravlee, M.D., Leslie C. Jameson, M.D., Jia W. Lin, M.D., Ph.D., Linda J. Mason, M.D., Mohammed Minhaj, M.D., Michael A. Olympio, M.D., Arpan J. Patel, M.D., Robert M. Savage, M.D., Armin Schubert, M.D., M.B.A., and Ellen Bateman, Ed.D., ASA staff liaison.

Reference:
1. Educational Mission Statement of ASA. Approved by the ASA House of Delegates on October 17, 2001, and amended on October 25, 2005. www.ASAhq.org/aboutAsa/EducationalMissionStatement.pdf.

Daniel J. Cole, M.D., is Professor of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona.