Committee News
ASA Monitor Today
American Society of Anesthesiologists has approximately 100 committees, subcommittees and editorial boards. Get the latest news from these groups all in one place.
2023 – August 2 | June | April | March | January
Dollars and sense from the ASA Committee on Young Physicians
August 2
Catch up on ASA’s Committee on Young Physicians Personal Finance blog and the content important to your bank account. These posts are written by your fellow anesthesiologists, not wealth management firms. Here’s what is trending in 2023.
The Top 8 Financial Mistakes Doctors Make
Jimmy Turner, practicing academic anesthesiologist at Wake Forest School of Medicine, outlines how much physicians need to save each year to “catch up” on the years of lost income during training and reach retirement goals.
DIY Investing: A Closer Look at Target Funds and Robo-Advisors
Kayla Knuf, Texas anesthesiologist, demystifies two modern financial planning tools designed to help individuals manage their own investments.
Excellent Deductions, Dr. Watson! Cracking the Tax Code
Tax season may be over but Daniel Kinney, MD, Associate Residency Program Director for the Yale Anesthesiology Residency Program, outlines strategies to optimize deduction and reduce your tax burden.
How Much Do You REALLY Need to Save for Retirement?
Jimmy Turner, practicing academic anesthesiologist at Wake Forest School of Medicine, breaks down the back-of-the-napkin math on how much you need to save each year to reach your retirement goals.
June 2023
Global health, South American style
June 13
The ASA Committee on Global Health has an established partnership with the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) in Georgetown, Guyana, led by Dr. Reema Sanghvi. Through this partnership, I was fortunate to spend two weeks at GPHC in April 2023, which allowed me to experience the beauty of Guyana and the excellent care provided by the clinicians at the hospital. Guyana has a rich and diverse history that is illustrated in the patient population and varied backgrounds of the providers.
Guyana
My trip to Guyana was full of excitement, but I didn’t know what to expect. Formerly known as British Guiana, Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America and it is bordered by Suriname, Brazil, and Venezuela. British influence is very evident in multiple facets of Guyanese life, from the political infrastructure, educational system, and the availability of universal health care. Much of the population is coastal, leaving a sparsely populated interior. Guyana has a rich ecosystem with dense rainforests and mountainous terrain that can be reached by boat or plane. There are numerous ethnic groups that have generously influenced the culture of the country such as Afro-Guyanese, Indo-Guyanese, Amerindians, Indians, Canadians, Chinese, and Cubans. This list is not all-inclusive, but it exemplifies the beauty of Guyana and the origins of its flavorful cuisine!
Project Dawn
I was picked up at the airport just after midnight by a GPHC shuttle that transported me to Project Dawn, the residence for GPHC and Guyana Minister of Health visitors. The shuttle driver was very sociable and immediately made me feel comfortable. During the hour-long drive, I was able to appreciate some of the communal aspects of the Guyanese people. We passed by several social events, which were full of laughter, dancing, and upbeat music. I could smell the delicious fish and sweet potato from the shuttle window, which, despite my fatigue, gave me a jolt of energy.
At Project Dawn, I was greeted by the groundskeeper and shown to my room. All Project Dawn visitors are provided with a furnished room and bathroom ensuite. The kitchen is a communal space designed for community building and socialization. I would often wake up to the smell of fresh brewed coffee, eggs, and toast, which was typically made to share. There was another American visitor, but most of the people staying at Project Dawn were Canadian. Every day, a GPHC shuttle would pick us up from Project Dawn for transport to and from the hospital. The drivers took pride in ensuring that our needs were met – even offering assistance after hours. I was incredibly grateful for their service throughout my trip.
GPHC
On my first day, I was greeted and shown around GPHC by Dr. Youlanda Hendricks, the Residency Program Director and Senior Registrar. There are six rooms in the main theater, including one room designated for trauma. The cases ranged from minimally invasive hernia repairs to tracheal resections and pediatric lobectomies. There is another set of theater rooms for obstetrics and gynecology, but due to the focus of my visit I did not visit those rooms. Patients received general anesthetics, neuraxial peripheral, and truncal blocks for surgical anesthesia and postoperative pain management. The patient flow from preop to the OR and then to PACU was organized and seamless. The makeup of the perioperative team is based on the British model, with residents, junior registrars, medical officers, senior registrars, and consultants sometimes working together on the same case. The diversity of Guyana is also evident in the demographics of the OR personnel. I always looked forward to lunch because of the variety of tasty ethnic food options.
During my two-week stay, I assisted with several challenging cases in a consultant role, but spent most of my time doing in-room teaching with first- and second-year residents. I also gave teaching rounds in the ICU and provided critical care-based didactics for the residents. I genuinely enjoyed interacting with the residents at GPHC. They always showed interest and asked informed questions, especially during in-case discussions.
Why you must go!
Despite the great care and expertise at GPHC, the anesthesia department still suffers from limited resources, just like other low- to middle-income countries. The surgeons, nurses, and anesthesia professionals often travel abroad for additional training and return to GPHC to increase the overall level of expertise. I had several conversations with clinicians at GPHC who were trained to do complex procedures, that, due to resource limitations, could not be performed at GPHC. The great news is that the hospital is steadily growing, and there are strategies in place to address many of the resource gaps.
For the purposes of global health outreach, Guyana is a perfect location to visit because of the diversity of the demographic, topography, and cuisine. The staff at GPHC are clearly dedicated to providing excellent patient care. The residents are appreciative of your time and any educational initiatives you would like to share. From the moment I arrived at GPHC, I felt at home, and I plan to remain engaged with the wonderful team in the Anesthesia department.
Special thanks to Dr. Sanghvi, Dr. Harvey, Dr. Fernando, Dr. Hendricks, and the entire Anesthesia and Critical Care department at GPHC.
For more information on this program, please contact Dr. Reema Sanghvi at rsanghvi@health.ucsd.edu.
April 2023
Rwanda trip captured in ASA member’s blog posts
April 27
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to volunteer on a medical trip through the ASA Committee on Global Health, a good place to start might be the recent blog posts by Brown University resident Kenny John, who participated last month in a two-week trip to Rwanda (though the duration can be up to four weeks, depending on preference and needs). Dr. John was joined by his fellow Brown colleague Sara Park, and Shyamal Asher, ASA Global Health partnership lead for the Rwanda program.
Since 2006, ASA volunteer faculty like Drs. John, Park, and Asher have made a remarkable difference in the lives of Rwandans by helping to increase the capacity for safe and effective anesthesia care across the country. The students in these programs consistently transition to faculty themselves and are now promoting safe anesthesia and patient advocacy in their home country.
Like many before them, Dr. John and his colleagues found the Rwanda program to be fun, rewarding for all involved, and indelibly memorable.
Don’t miss Dr. John’s blog posts, which include an exhaustive collection of photos, videos, and even the option of hearing his journey narrated.
Week 1 in Rwanda
Week 2 in Rwanda
ASA Mentoring Program facilitates new research on health equity in cardiac anesthesia
April 21
Read “mentor” and “mentee” perspectives in the article “ASA Mentoring Program Opens Doors for Cutting-Edge Research on Health Equity in Cardiovascular Anesthesia.” Ervin Ham, BS, considers himself fortunate to have been connected with Dr. Trevor Sutton to learn about health care disparities.
His research, which is funded by the ASA Mentoring Grant, is an immersive experience in a community health clinic. Ham collects qualitative and quantitative data that may inform improvements in the coordination of health care with a long-term goal to make care more accessible to vulnerable populations.
Dr. Sutton, Hartford Hospital, said he has grown professionally from this partnership. The two are working to determine if physicians and patient questionnaires can be utilized to evaluate patient care trajectories that lead to physician inertia in referring patients to cardiovascular specialists or, alternatively, lead to patients resisting medical service offers for cardiovascular specialty care.
“The opportunities the grant provided for my mentee to obtain broad exposure to anesthesiology will undoubtedly support his decision to pursue a career in anesthesiology, and I have grown professionally from the experience of serving as an ASA grant mentor. In addition, the ASA Mentoring Grant has enabled my mentee to consider career pathways in anesthesiology where he will seek to engage population health, an area that is valuable for the future of our profession,” Dr. Sutton stated.
March 2023
4 critical things anesthesiologists need to know
March 22
In a preview of April 2023 content, members of the ASA Committee on Critical Care Medicine outline 4 Things Anesthesiologists Should Know about Critical Care Medicine. Whether in the OR or NORA setting, anesthesiologists should be knowledgeable on:
- Acute kidney injury (AKI). The multinational AKI-EPI study revealed the incidence in the first week post-ICU admission was 52% after scheduled surgery and increased to 56% after emergency surgery. AKI causes may be multifactorial, requiring different types of treatment modalities.
- Lung protective ventilation. We as physicians have the potential to exacerbate injury to already damaged lungs through improper and injurious ventilator settings.
- Sepsis and septic shock. Surgeries are often performed for source control of sepsis, putting the anesthesiologist in the position of immediately taking care of these critically ill patients.
- Type of I.V. fluid. The type of intravenous fluid we administer may impact outcomes.
January 2023
Committee on Practice Management compiles compendium on RFPs and your value proposition
January 12
It’s been a busy past few months for members of the ASA Committee on Practice Management. In August 2022, committee members Jason Greenberg, Joe Szokol (former member), and Shena Scott (vice chair) published an outstanding piece titled Your Hospital Put Out an RFP – What Do You Do Now?, which offered a practical, step-by-step guide through the ins and outs of the RFP process for physicians.
And just this month, Phillip Richardson and Ms. Scott published the article Create Your Value Proposition Before You Need It, in which they introduced the Creating and Communicating Your Value Proposition (RFP Response Essentials) compendium.
Both articles are worth a read before you dive into the compendium, where experts from the Committee on Practice Management walk you through the key elements of establishing a value proposition, all the nuances of the RFP process, and what to do after you’re awarded a contract.
