President’s Message

Colleagues,

The New Year promises to be an exciting and productive time for SOCCA. The SOCCA Board of Directors held a strategic planning retreat in September 2018 to discuss the future of the organizations and review the information from the SOCCA membership survey. Thank you for your support and participation in the membership survey. We gained valuable insight and knowledge that helped shape our strategic plan conversation.

During the strategic planning retreat, we reviewed SOCCA’s mission, vision and strategic goals. Based on your feedback and our strategic discussion, the Board of Directors approved the new mission, vision, and strategic goals outlined below.

Mission
SOCCA is dedicated to the support and development of anesthesiologists who care for critically ill patients of all types. SOCCA fosters the knowledge and practice of critical care medicine by anesthesiologists through education, research, advocacy, and community.

Vision
To promote and advocate for current and future critical care anesthesiologists through collaboration and innovative patient care.

• Goal 1: Sustain and grow membership
• Goal 2: Foster and promote member engagement and contributions
• Goal 3:  Develop an active research section

Another task that came out of the strategic planning session was to review the SOCCA by-laws. Steve Surgenor spearheaded this effort to revise our society by-laws to best allow us to achieve the strategic goals set and increase value for our members. Soon, Active members will receive an email outlining the by-law revisions for your review and vote. Please confirm your support by participating in the electronic voting platform that will accompany the by-laws.

Here is a short a summary of the recommended revision:

• Section 2.6 – Added language “by a majority vote of all Active members” to the section highlighted to clarify voting rights.
• Section 2.9 – Eliminated the section on in person voting to allow for electronic voting
• Section 2.10 – Eliminated the Section
• Section 3.2 – Added Two Board of Director positions
• Section 4.4 – Deleted Committee on Past Presidents
• Section 4.5 – Updated language on determining the need for external financial audits
• Section 4.7 – Updated term limit language and Nominating Committee responsibilities
• Section 4.8 – Updated language on succession planning
• Section 5.2 – Deleted committee term limits to all for flexibility in committee term
• Article IX – Amendments to Bylaws – Revised language to allow for electronic voting of amendments
• Appendix – Committee Charges – Deleted Committee Charges because of a duplication of Section 5.10.1

Members have voiced considerable interest in becoming more involved in SOCCA. During our strategic planning retreat, the Board of Directors discussed ways to increase member engagement. There are now multiple ways for members to become involved and contribute to SOCCA this year. Past-President Avery Tung will be chairing the Nominating Committee that will determine the 2019 election slate for society officers. This group will meet virtually in the first quarter to review applicants and propose a slate of candidates for Board approval to the electoral ballot. This leads to the second request for volunteers. The society elects board members yearly. The new by-laws add to the number of board members, further increasing member involvement opportunities. Finally, the position of SOCCA Alternate Delegate to the ASA House of Delegates will be open for appointment. The Alternate Delegate to the ASA House of Delegates is appointed by the President of SOCCA to a term of three years and may be reappointed by the President for additional terms. The Society’s Delegate and Alternate Delegate to the ASA House of Delegates shall serve as ex-officio Directors without voting privileges. To volunteer for any of these opportunities, please contact our director, Vivian Abalama at vabalama@iars.org.

Our annual meeting will be held at Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Friday, May 17, 2019. Sheela Pai Cole and Peter Von Homeyer have developed what is sure to be another excellent educational offering. The Aligned Meeting Day of the IARS meeting follows on Saturday and is open to all SOCCA attendees. Also, on Saturday, SOCCA’s Education, Communication, Research and Membership Committees will be having face to face meetings. These committee meetings are meant to develop strategies that will yield value to members throughout the year and are additional opportunities for members to network and engage in society activities. For example, the Education Committee is restructuring and will be responsible for all of the educational offerings by the society. In addition to our annual meeting, this group will coordinate our educational partnerships with the IARS, ASA, SCA and the Indian College of Anesthesiologists. In addition, this committee will also work to develop liaisons with other committees such as Communications to expose our educational content to members via social media. In summary, Montreal in May will be an exciting gathering.

In closing, I ask for your involvement as SOCCA members by voting on our new by-laws and to make every effort to attend our annual meeting in Montreal this May. During the Annual Meeting, I will deliver a Welcome Address, where I will discuss the many ways in which you are able to contribute and how your efforts will help increase the value of the society to the membership. I wish you all a productive 2019.

Daniel R. Brown, MD, PhD, FCCM
President, SOCCA

Author

Daniel R. Brown, MD, PhD, FCCM

President

Mayo Clinic

Rochester, Minnesota