ASRA: Helping Residents Find Their Place in Our Specialty

Jan J. Kraemer, M.D., Co-Chair, Resident Section
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine

he first incarnation of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia (now the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, or ASRA) was founded on August 2, 1923. Since 1939, ASRA has been an integral part of ASA, working with ASA in all issues related to regional anesthesiology and pain medicine. Today, the second incarnation of ASRA (which began in 1975) has more than 7,400 members. The mission of the organization is to address the clinical and professional educational needs of physicians and scientists practicing regional anesthesia and pain medicine. ARSA strives to ensure excellence in patient care by utilizing the latest techniques in regional anesthesia and pain medicine while continually investigating and advancing the scientific basis of our specialty.

Regional Anesthesiology
For many, regional anesthesia is one of the most exciting parts of residency training. In the past, most of our patients believed that general anesthesia was the only option for most surgeries. With the boom of the Internet and education of surgeons about regional techniques by regional anesthesiologists, a growing number of patients are discovering that regional anesthesia is a viable alternative to general anesthesia for many surgical procedures.

The field of regional anesthesiology and the number of procedures amenable to this type of anesthesia continues to grow, encouraging many anesthesiologists to complete additional training in regional anesthesiology. Recently, regional anesthesiology fellowship directors have defined and delineated the recommended guidelines for this additional training within a supervised 12-month clinical intensive fellowship.¹

In a recent survey of anesthesiologists who completed a regional fellowship, an overwhelming 95 percent of respondents were pleased with the quality of their education. In addition 75 percent viewed their fellowship credentials as positively influencing their employability and their relative competitiveness as anesthesiologists.²

Pain Medicine
The perception of pain and its relationship to the well-being of the patient has been noted by experts as the “fifth vital sign.” The field of pain medicine has become the fastest growing field in the subspecialties of anesthesiology. More graduates are aware of the multidimensional problem of chronic pain; therefore, the application of a multimodal approach to pain management has grown exponentially. Pain medicine fellowships are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and consist of 12 months of pain medicine training after completing an anesthesiology residency.

ASRA is actively involved with anesthesia pain medicine programs and has developed the ASRA Pain Medicine Fellowship Scholarship Program to advance training and education within the areas of pain medicine. ASRA’s goal is to financially support pain medicine training centers dedicated to intensely training fellows in state-of-the-art pain medicine evaluation and treatment modalities by offering $60,000 fellowship grants. All CA-3 residents accepted into a pain medicine fellowship program are encouraged to apply.

Regional anesthesia and pain medicine will be two of the cornerstones of your anesthesiology training. ASRA can provide you with the tools you need to become a consultant in these fields during your training and professional career as an anesthesiologist. I would encourage you to get involved early in your anesthesiology training and look into these exciting opportunities available to you through ASRA.

References:
1. Hargett M, Beckman J, Liguori G, Neal J. Guidelines for regional anesthesia fellowship training. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2005; 30.218-225.
2. Martin G, Lineberger CK, MacLeod DB, et al. The training and careers of regional anesthesia fellows – 1983-2002. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2005;30.

Jan J. Kraemer, M.D., is a pain medicine fellow, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and clinical fellow, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.