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​ASA Mentoring Grant Program

The mission of the Committee on Professional Diversity is to promote membership and support members of diverse backgrounds, which include gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and religious affiliation. The duties of the committee include addressing issues that affect members’ professional development and career satisfaction, and to promote an environment that encourages personal well-being and contentment as caring physicians, productive professionals and responsible family members.

Call for Proposals

The ASA Committee on Professional Diversity announces its annual call for proposals for the ASA Mentoring Grant Program in the spring of each year. The goal of this grant is to foster diversity within ASA through mentorship. The program provides funding up to $5,000 to mentor/mentee pairs who submit a project that addresses the goals of the Committee on Professional Diversity. The project may be oriented to research, education, political advocacy or an organized medicine endeavor that clearly speaks to the mission and duties of the ASA Committee on Professional Diversity.

The matched mentee/mentor pair should submit their application form, individual curriculum vitaes and a 1-2 page description of their project to the ASA Committee on Professional Diversity no later than June 26, 2020. The submission should include:

  • A detailed description of the project’s objective along with an explanation of how it will enhance the professional growth and leadership potential of the mentee.
  • A designation of the length of time, required equipment/supplies, travel, meetings and requested funding; also include co-funding provided by the home institution of record in support of the project chosen by the mentee/mentor, if any. No electronic equipment such as computers or tablets may be included in the budget. The budget will not support alcoholic beverages.
  • Potential barriers to the completion of the grant.
  • Description of how this project speaks to the mission and duties of the ASA Committee on Professional Diversity

Both the mentor and mentee must be active ASA members at the time of submission of their application (.docx).

Mentor

Mentors should be well-established clinicians, educators and researchers, as well as current ASA leaders who have an interest in and passion for mentoring a rising medical student, anesthesiology resident/fellow, junior faculty member or new graduate in private practice. An ASA leader is defined as an individual who has the following experience:

  • Is currently an ASA member and has been so at least 2 consecutive years,
  • Has served on an ASA committee, editorial board, or House of Delegates (Board included), and
  • Be a member of their state anesthesia component.

The mentor will voluntarily provide guidance, direction and counsel to the mentee on a mutually agreed-upon project. The 1-2 year project must have the goal of enhancing the professional career, leadership potential and active involvement of the mentee within ASA. Mentors will be held responsible for submitting a half-year report on the progress of the grant by June 30, 2021 and ensuring their mentees are upholding the expectations of the grant, including advocacy.

Email reminders for the half-year progress report will be sent to the mentor/mentee pair in May. If a progress report is not received in a timely manner, the mentor will be prohibited from applying for another ASA Mentoring Grant for two years.

Mentee

Mentees should be ASA members of diverse racial, ethnic or gender backgrounds who are interested in gaining experience in leadership, exposure to research, education or political advocacy opportunities within ASA. Mentees may be medical students, anesthesiology residents/fellows, junior faculty members or new graduates in private practice. In addition to facilitating their chosen project and maintaining regular interaction with their mentors, mentees are expected to:

  • Join their ASA state component society and attend at least one local meeting annually; volunteering for involvement within component activities and local and ASAPAC participation is encouraged.
  • Self-nominate for at least one ASA or subspecialty society committee and actively participate if selected.
  • Submit an educational, clinical or research abstract, or poster at the ASA or subspecialty society meeting within 12 months of project completion.
  • Along with their mentor, briefly present their project at the annual ASA Committee on Professional Diversity meeting.
  • Submit half-year progress report on the status of the grant.

Timeline

For 2020 applicants, the committee will review all submissions and notify the mentor/mentee pairs of potential funding status and support of the project by August 8, 2020. Funding to grant recipients will be distributed via mailed check after the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2020 annual meeting. A 1 page written update of the progress of the project will be due June 30, 2021.

Mentees are expected to give a one-slide, five-minute presentation at the Committee on Professional Diversity reception at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® annual meeting upon completion of their project at ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2021. If attendance is possible, mentees are encouraged to give a brief overview of their project at ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2020.

For 2020 recipients, funds will be distributed after the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2020 annual meeting. A one-page written update of the progress of the project will be due June 30, 2021.

2019 Recipients

Ruben Azocar, M.D., M.H.A./Rebecca Hamilton, M.D.
Can Global Health opportunities for Residents Benefit the Quality of Anesthesia Training?

Kathy Glas, M.D./Vinita Singh, M.D.
Improving Unconscious Bias Awareness amongst Anesthesiologists

Fatoumata Kromah, M.D./Chinwe Anumudu, M.D.
Consequences of Implicit Bias on Resident Evaluations Illustrated by Internal Medicine Residencies in the U.S.

Yelena Spitzer, M.D./Nitish Gupta, M.D.
Effect of Language-Specific Educational Videos on Patient Anxiety and Satisfaction in the Labor & Delivery Suite

Annemarie Thompson, M.D./Elizabeth Malinzak, M.D.
Examining Gender and Racial Diversity in Anesthesiology Grand Rounds 

January Tsai, M.D./Omar Alnatour
Anesthesiology Education in Developing Countries through Airway, Vascular, and Regional Workshops

Anna Woodbury, M.D.; Grant Lynde, M.D., M.B.A./Melat Gebre, B.S.
An Evidence-Based Educational Program to Increase Multimodal Analgesia and Decrease Perioperative Opioid Administration

Luis Tollinche, M.D., FASA; Cindy Yeoh, M.D., FASA/Richard Shi
Healthcare Providers and Transgender Health: A Single Institution Survey to Drive Quality of Care Improvements for the Transgender Population

Roya Yumul, M.D., Ph.D.; James Grant, M.D., FASA/Adam Milam, M.D.
Understanding Unconcscious Bias in the Anesthesiology Residency Interview Process

Acsa Zavala, M.D./Karen Delgado
Introduction of Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Certification in Underdeveloped Countries and Sister Institutions of MD Anderson Cancer Center

2018 Recipients

Wendy Bernstein, M.D., M.B.A., FASA/Melissa Kreso, M.D.
Pregnancy Outcomes in the Anesthesiology Workforce

Robert Schonberger, M.D./Sofia Ivana Diaz, M.D.
Perioperative Blood Pressure Screening to Improve Long-Term Cardiovascular Health

Vilma Joseph, M.D., M.P.H., FASA/Guensley Delva, M.D.
Minority Men in Anesthesiology 

Lisa Solomon, D.O./Michelle Lim
Leadership Skills Development and Mentoring at UICOM-Rockford 

Odinakachukwu Ehie, M.D./Michael Lubrano, M.D.
Developing an LGBT Anesthesiology Professional Networking Event 

Iyabo Muse, M.D./Ricardo Maturana, M.D.
Practices to Reduce Stress and Burnout among Anesthesia Residents

Alexandra Bastien, M.D./Jocelin Jones Molina, M.D.
Telemedicine in an Underdeveloped Country 

Jochen Muehlschlegel, M.D./Gwen Owens
Large Scale Perioperative Genomics Research Study

Omonele Nwokolo, M.D./Tolulope Oso, M.D.
The Impact of Microagressions on Minority Resident in Anesthesia

Deborah Plagenhoef, M.D./Xuan Tran, M.D.
Finding Your Seat at the Table: A Resident Driven Initiative to Promote Advocacy