President’s Corner

Hopefully this edition of SOCCA Interchange you well and enjoying summer. There has been considerable discussion and deliberation by the leadership of SOCCA that will be of interest.

The 2018 SOCCA Annual Meeting and Critical Care Update occurred on April 27th in Chicago. It has been several years since our annual meeting was aligned with the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) annual meeting. Over 300 attendees participated in a day devoted to critical care education as well as having access to critical care content embedded in the IARS Annual Meeting that followed April 28-May 01. In addition to the educational content delivered, SOCCA leadership transitioned. A special thanks to immediate past-president Dr. Avery Tung for his outstanding service to SOCCA. His prose will certainly be missed in the President’s Corner.

It is not too early to save the date for next year’s meeting. The SOCCA 2019 Annual Meeting will be held on May 17, 2019 at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. SOCCA, the Association of University Anesthesiologists and IARS will hold aligned meetings May 16-21, 2019. May should be a fantastic time of year in Montreal and the SOCCA Annual Meeting Committee, including Drs. Sheela Pai Cole and Peter Von Homeyer, is already developing a program that promises to deliver state of the art content presented by experts in the field. If you have a topic or speaker ideas, please consider reaching out to either Drs. Cole or Von Homeyer or submitting a proposal to the IARS meeting by visiting https://www.aievolution.com/ars1901 (IARS deadline is July 9, 2018).

Elections for SOCCA Officer and Board of Director positions were recently held. There was considerable member interest in becoming involved in SOCCA, far more than available elected leadership positions. The deep talent pool is a strength of the society and we need to provide the avenues for members to contribute. In order to channel this effort, the structure of the society needs to facilitate accomplishing goals determined by the membership. As our relationship with IARS has matured, it became clear to the Board of Directors that our society by-laws were in need of revision. It was also noted that the society would benefit from an assessment of our vision and value that we provide members. To this end, the Board of Directors will be conducting a strategic planning meeting in early fall. We will be working to finalize a set of by-laws that serve the society, align efforts with deliverable outcomes and serve to enhance the value that SOCCA provides its members.

As part of revising the workings of the society, we will continue to focus on education. In order to do this most effectively and to engage those newer to the field, we will be asking for greater involvement by our newest members. The manner in which we learn and communicate is constantly evolving and we will look to those new in their careers to help keep us on the cutting edge. It is our goal to increase involvement in all aspects of the society and it is the responsibility of the leadership to channel the energy and talent of our members to improve the society as a whole. Please contact me directly (brown.daniel@mayo.edu) if you would like to be involved. You may wish to review the new by-laws, once approved, to appreciate the structure of the society and how your interests intersect with SOCCA activities.

Research is another historical focus of SOCCA. Research presented at the annual meeting continues to increase in terms of both quantity and quality. While primary funding is beyond the scope of SOCCA alone, please note the developing effort with IARS, SOCCA and other specialty societies in funding research (discussed in Dr. Tung’s winter newsletter contribution). In addition, there has been a grass roots call for work describing anesthesiologist intensivist models of care, scope of practice etc. that relies less on funding than involvement in order to accomplish. Be on the lookout for future opportunities to contribute.

Finally, please keep SOCCA in mind this fall. We plan on holding a social gathering this October in San Francisco. Details will be forthcoming but the hope is to further position SOCCA as the premier society for anesthesiologist intensivists. To accomplish this, we need people to be involved, share ideas and support one another. Increasingly, we are being asked by our institutions and employers to assume a larger role in delivery of care to the sickest patients. Working together, we can build on this strong foundation and take the next steps forward.

Author

Daniel R. Brown, MD, PhD, FCCM

President

Mayo Clinic

Rochester, Minnesota