Candace E. Keller, M.D., M.P.H.

he theme could easily have been “let’s be the best of the best” at our most recent Administrative Council retreat. With record attendance at annual meetings and membership exceeding 42,000, our association is indeed one of the most respected in health care. Our educational programs consistently receive high marks and are expanding. Our political presence at the state and national levels is formidable and continues to grow. As stated in the President’s Update by Mark J. Lema, M.D., Ph.D., we have never been stronger as an association throughout our 102-year history than we are today. So if things are so great, why change? Taking the initiative and improving from a position of strength is the smartest move that we as an association could possibly make. Those who wait until crises occur to assess and plan frequently do not survive, and they rarely if ever excel.

ASA has a tremendous history! Setting the standards of anesthetic practice, serving as the model of safe patient care, and improving our processes are all hallmarks of our success and are woven into the very nature of our specialty’s existence. We are strong today because for more than a century our dedicated members have always asked, “How can we improve? How can we achieve an even higher standard of excellence? How can we provide even safer anesthetic care?” Then together we delivered answers and positive solutions! Our Standards for Basic Anesthetic Monitoring have been adopted nationwide and have been widely recognized for improving patient safety. We have developed numerous evidence-based practice guidelines used routinely in a wide variety of settings. We have produced many helpful practice management tools to assist our members in their daily work. We’ve done exceptional work, but can we do better?

Your Administrative Council has undertaken an extensive review of the 2000 Strategic Plan during this summer’s planning retreat. It was and is clear to us that resting upon our past accomplishments alone will not optimally position us for the rapidly changing landscape in health care. Envisioning our future, there was consensus that we desire ASA to be the world’s premier medical specialty organization. We want to continue to expand our grand traditions of leading through innovation in patient safety, clinical care, education, advocacy and research.

Dr. Lema, Jeffrey L. Apfelbaum, M.D., and Roger A. Moore, M.D., in their capacity as the ASA Executive Committee, conducted an in-depth organizational effectiveness analysis in conjunction with the Gordon Group from November 2006 to March 2007. In order to prepare our association for the future, they believed a sustained innovation effort was required and commissioned the ASA Organizational Improvement Initiative. The Executive Committee’s insight and leadership in launching this program follows in the distinguished history of ASA as a proactive, forward-thinking group.

For us to be the “best of the best,” we must have an infrastructure that can not only respond but also excel. While ASA’s total membership has continued to grow linearly in the past two decades, the range and complexity of services needed and expected by our members has increased exponentially. This knowledge, when coupled with the findings and recommendations from the Gordon Group’s Organizational Effectiveness Assessment, indicates that a multiyear effort to innovate is necessary for ASA to rise to the next level. Your officers and staff are firmly committed to the betterment of our administrative structure and function in particular as well as that of our profession as a whole. The ASA’s Organizational Improvement Initiative provides us a systematic and multiyear process to refine, improve and expand key aspects of ASA.

The Administrative Council has formulated a new and dynamic strategic plan that will be presented for consideration upon completion. This updated strategic plan will be a foundational tool that officers, committees and ASA staff can use as the guiding and integrating chart for navigation. Today is an exciting time for ASA. We are living our rich history of innovation by embarking on a bold new voyage — the Organizational Improvement Initiative. As we discuss, plan and decide our strategic goals and objectives in upcoming meetings, our actions are clearly focused on the future, but we also are deeply rooted in our culture of innovation and excellence … always striving to be “the best of the best.”

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