he ASA Annual Meeting continues to evolve. New sessions, added over the last several years, include a plenary session on translational science, the Celebration of Research sessions, point-counterpoint sessions and Medically Challenging Cases. In 2004, the Annual Meeting incorporated its first learning tracks, which were based on intellectual and subspecialty content. The goal of learning tracks is to offer an integrated program for anesthesiologists who desire focused content within a specialty area. Attendees can participate in an entire track, or they can choose to mix portions of different tracks to suit each individual’s needs.

The change to a content-based track structure also changed the planning process. In past years, the Annual Meeting was organized by committees assigned to plan presentations by format: We had committees on Refresher Course Lectures, clinical forums, panels and workshops. The coordination of educational offerings was limited to review by the chair and vice-chair of the Section on Annual Meeting. The 2005 House of Delegates approved the report of the Task Force on Annual Meeting Opportunities, thereby changing this planning process dramatically. Since 2004, when the first two tracks were introduced, track offerings increased to four in 2005, to eight in 2006 and will reach the full complement of 10 this year.

The 2007 ASA Annual Meeting in San Francisco will be the first to incorporate all educational sessions of the Annual Meeting into learning tracks with the exception of Problem-Based Learning Discussions and Medically Challenging Cases. Also, scientific abstracts will continue to be evaluated and selected by the Scientific Advisory Committee. Thus the content of our Annual Meeting now will be primarily based on content, resulting in a more coordinated, comprehensive and diverse curriculum.

The eight subspecialty tracks introduced last year are ambulatory anesthesia, cardiac anesthesia, critical care, neuroanesthesia, obstetric anesthesia, pain medicine, pediatric anesthesia and regional anesthesia. The two new tracks added this year, “Fundamentals of Anesthesiology” and “Professional Issues,” were tasked with ensuring that all important areas of anesthesiology that may not be covered in the subspecialty tracks are represented. Every track’s content is distributed across the entire five days of the Annual Meeting (October 13-17). Overall planning for the meeting is carried out by the Committee on Annual Meeting Oversight (AMOC), which is composed of the chair of the Section on Annual Meeting, first and second vice-chairs and the immediate past chair of the Section on Annual Meeting, chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee, chair of the Committee on Problem-Based Learning Discussions, chair of the Board of Directors Committee on Finance, Vice-President for Scientific Affairs, chair of the Committee on Scientific and Educational Exhibits and the specialty content subcommittee (“SCS track”) chairs. Members of each SCS were appointed by the ASA President-Elect, and subspecialty societies were consulted for recommendations for appointments. The committees on clinical forums, refresher courses, panels and workshops ceased to exist after the 2006 Annual Meeting as their functions were absorbed by the 10 track subcommittees.

Planning of the tracks began one year ago when the SCSs met to design a curriculum and to identify potential speakers and sessions for their tracks. Additionally, for the first time this year, ASA members were asked to submit session proposals for consideration for inclusion in the various track programs. The SCSs considered submissions to their tracks and identified sessions that would ensure a broad curriculum in a variety of formats: refresher courses, lectures, panels, point-counterpoint sessions, clinical forums and workshops. SCS chairs recommended sessions to the Executive Committee on Annual Meeting Oversight. This Executive Committee chose to include sessions based on ASA members’ evaluation and feedback, continuing medical education needs, breadth of content and space availability. The new oversight process has already strengthened the content and distribution of the educational sessions.

Educational and scientific sessions will be held at Moscone Center, as will all exhibits. The co-headquarters hotels will be the San Francisco Hilton and the San Francisco Marriott. We extensively used the feedback from 2006 meeting attendees in an attempt to improve the 2007 Annual Meeting and to help it meet the needs of ASA members. Members of AMOC enthusiastically look forward to a meeting with rich and diverse educational and scientific sessions!

M. Christine Stock, M.D., is James E. Eckenhoff Professor and Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.