The Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists

It is an exhilarating time for SOCCA! I hope to see as many of you as possible at the 2024 annual meeting presented by IARS and SOCCA in Seattle on May 17-19. This is an excellent opportunity for SOCCA because we have more critical care educational content in this new format than we have ever had in any of our annual meetings.

The SOCCA membership committee had quite a busy year in 2023, and we are now working diligently with our new management team to continue to provide valuable programming for our members. The Early Career Intensivists group and the Physicians in Private Practice group are organizing their events for 2024.

The field of transplant surgery, with its roots traced back to the pioneering work of Sushruta in 600 BC, has undergone a remarkable evolution. On behalf of the SOCCA-SATA Work Group, this review focuses on transplant anesthesiology, a field of medicine that has played a pivotal role in transforming transplantation into a life-extending therapy for patients with end-organ failure. Advances in multidisciplinary collaboration and research have improved surgical success and patient outcomes.

The SOCCA Early Career Intensivists group welcomed Dr. Gerald Maccioli this past November to learn about contract negotiations. Dr. Maccioli is an accomplished anesthesiologist with multiple leadership roles throughout his career, including being the former President of SOCCA and Chair of the ASA section on education and research. He is currently the Vice President of Medical Affairs for the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, CMO and Board Advisor of Quick’rCare, CMO of Care Angel, and CMO of Moterum.

Need answers to pressing questions in clinical practice, career advancement, research, work-life balance, or academic journey? Explore the WICC’s peer mentorship model – the consultancy – which may help in answering these queries. Starting on March 28, WICC will present a quarterly one-hour Fireside Consultancy style hour.

We present a 36-year-old woman, BMI 19, with a history of deep vein thrombosis (on Apixaban), rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease status post previous left hemicolectomy,11 years ago and completion proctocolectomy with end ileostomy ,10 years ago Furthermore, the patient was dependent on total parenteral nutrition given chronic entero-vaginal and enterocutaneous fistulas. The patient was admitted with evidence of a pelvis abscess, surgical intervention was deemed necessary. An exploratory laparotomy with small bowel resection, fistula takedown with an entero-entero anastomosis was performed. The post-operative course was complicated by a pelvic enteric leak, resulting in another exploratory laparotomy, small bowel resection with double barrel jejunostomy. Intra-abdominal wound cultures revealed Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci and Enterobacter cloacae, hence Meropenem and Daptomycin were initiated.

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday, it is one of my favorites. Thanksgiving comes without all the heavy expectations of other holidays, promising simply a good meal with the important people in your life. The premise is also a good one – reflection on what we can be thankful for. What makes me thankful?

The SOCCA membership committee has been working to find new ways to reach out to the membership and solicit more feedback to continue to improve our society’s offerings.

We conducted a membership survey in the early fall, which over 100 members completed. We want to thank each and every one of you for your time and honesty in your responses.

The Communications Committee had a productive fall meeting – we met with our new members and brainstormed ideas to advance the committee’s agenda. Given the increased social media engagement with video-based content, our team worked with the Women in Critical Care group to create the SOCCA Spotlight for WICC members. The video series highlights the challenges and satisfaction a career in critical care can bring for women. 

As the New Year dawns upon us, the Education Committee would like to announce some exciting changes to the committee structure, as well as highlight some of the new offerings for the New Year.  After the immensely successful integration of the SOCCA and IARS annual meetings in 2024, where we were able to incorporate three days’ worth of critical care content along with a POCUS workshop, we are happy to share that the same model will be in place for the 2025 Annual Meeting in Hawaii.