Committee on Communications Update

I would like to start by saying it is an honor to take over the Communications Committee at SOCCA and subsequently as editor of Interchange. I have to give immense credit to my immediate predecessor Craig Jabaley for continuing to maintain—and even expand—the committee’s roles throughout the initial waves of the COVID pandemic. I hope to continue that process and build upon the foundations provided to better serve our organization. To that end we have created two subcommittees to better focus on the varying roles of the Communications Committee. These two subcommittees will focus on Twitter and SOCCA Interchange / Drip respectively. I would encourage any of our members who don’t yet follow us on Twitter (@SOCCA_CritCare) to do so as well as frequent our blog (SOCCA Drip) to stay up to date on all things SOCCA including webinars, meetings, and organizational opportunities.

While it is an exciting time for our organization in terms of interest and growth, we as critical care physicians likely find our free time limited with yet another COVID surge and our ICU beds filling quickly. In light of that, I want to extend a special thanks to all of the contributors to this edition of Interchange who were willing to create quality content for our newsletter despite these busy times. In light of the recent match, this edition is dedicated to our new colleagues who will soon begin their critical care fellowship training across the country. Inside you will find thoughts on how COVID has impacted our interview process from recent applicants, content on choosing future leaders within our departments, and a recent literature review on targeted temperature management, amongst others.

With no end in sight regarding the pandemic as we move into the fall and winter months, I hope that our society can continue to bring timely information and updates to its members through the various arms of the communications committee. I always welcome feedback and suggestions from you, our members, about how we could better achieve that. At its core, this is a close-knit society for all of us who chose anesthesia critical care as a specialty and if we have learned nothing else from the last ~20 months battling COVID, it is how to adapt quickly when necessary. I hope you enjoy this edition and please take care of yourselves and each other.

Author

Brent Kidd, MD

Chair, SOCCA Communications Committee

University of Kansas Medical Center Kansas City, Kansas