I had the privilege to be present in the ASA House of Delegates when Dr. Litwiler delivered the above quote during his 2004 presidential address. He framed his message around a recurring theme, “It’s all about the patient … .” He posited that all we do and achieve in the medical specialty of anesthesiology is ultimately to benefit the health, safety and well-being of the patients under our care or for whom we may eventually provide care. That address has resonated with me for the entirety of my career because everything we do, from our education and training to clinical practice as physician anesthesiologists, is ultimately to the benefit of our patients. And yes, the advocacy that we do as physician anesthesiologists is all about the patient.
I have learned through the years that advocacy is not a difficult or complicated undertaking. Advocacy is a process of informing and...
