President’s Corner
by Miguel Cobas, MD, FCCM
Stronger yet Virtual?
By the time you read this newsletter, you will have been informed that our annual meeting—in conjunction with the IARS’—for this coming March has been transitioned from in-person to virtual. This will mark the third consecutive year that we are not meeting in person and our second full virtual meeting. It’s a long time!
As we spend month after month, meeting after meeting, lockdown after lockdown, in this COVID pandemic that has upended our way of living, I keep thinking: can the distance and lack of presential contact be a good thing? Can we adapt to the point of only seeing each other in a square? Can the present be the future? Are we getting comfortable staying inside and disconnecting our cameras if we don’t find a topic interesting?
The answer, at least for me, is a complex one. I strongly believe there’s no substitute for human interaction, when a handshake communicates a thousand times more than any screen ever will. On the other hand, there’s no doubt that our need to stay relevant and communicate with each other has generated several excellent vehicles to disseminate the Society’s message. Ironically, a pandemic that has shut the gates to the airport has opened many electronic doors and given many of our younger members a bigger forum to disseminate their ideas. Today, the gospel of SOCCA is spread farther and wider than during any other time of its distinguished history.
The results of this strategy, a blitz of offerings and media channels, has brought very positive results, and at the time of this writing, I’m very proud to report that our membership is at record levels, both in the educational and active categories, and the enthusiasm to participate in committees and task forces is also unparalleled.
The Society is growing in an unprecedented fashion, and this growth is even more extraordinary when you consider where we were not so long ago. Many of you reading this will remember that less than 10 years ago, we were seriously considering how a minuscule SOCCA would subsist: there were a myriad of challenges, including the alignment with the IARS, moving the annual meeting from October to the spring, and a significant drop in our membership. Our financials were negatively affected and the question of whether we were able to survive came up frequently in our meetings.
In subsequent years we have thrived: our partnership with IARS has been solid and symbiotic, and SOCCA has found a great partner to lean and grow alongside. Our annual meeting continued to be the best single day educational and networking event in the calendar, and the engagement we kept with the fellowship programs through our Program Directors’ Council kept SOCCA strong during turbulent times.
In times of strength, it’s important to look at leaner times and remind ourselves that what we’ve crafted with much dedication and tenacity over many years is a fragile and precious agreement of like-minded individuals who want to make sure we have a place to gather, debate, meet each other and find ways to propel forward the specialty we love. It’s on all of us to maintain this society through continuous engagement, participation, and recruitment. SOCCA’s current success should not be taken for granted.
I once read that in any professional relationship, there’s never a need for a contract: if the parties trust each other, a handshake will suffice; If they don’t, no amount of paper will. Please accept my strongest virtual handshake, as SOCCA reiterates its commitment to being the premier organization dedicated exclusively to representing and enhancing the profile of anesthesiologists-intensivists.
And this is how I reach the end of my last President’s message. Serving as President over the last two years has been the most gratifying and fulfilling experience of my professional career. Never in my wildest dreams, when I immigrated to the United States almost 30 years ago, would I have imagined that one day I’d be in this position. I would like to thank the many colleagues and friends that helped me along the way as well as every single member of the Board of Directors, fellow colleagues and administrative staff that makes our outstanding Society work as smoothly as it does. SOCCA is a conglomerate of amazing anesthesiologists connected by their passion for Critical Care. Thanks for allowing me the honor to serve.
With gratitude,
Miguel Cobas, MD, FCCM
President, Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists
University of Miami
Miami, Florida
Author
Miguel Cobas, MD, FCCM
President, Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists
University of Miami
Miami, Florida
Drip
March 2023

February 2023



January 2023

SOCCA Reception at 2023 SCCM Critical Care Congress in San Francisco
Date: 1/23/2023
Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM PT
Location: Hilton Union Square (333 O’Farrell Street)
Room: Franciscan A


When: February 2, 2023 | 6:00 PM ET
Where: Register online
Description: Join us for our first Early Career Intensivist Group Meet and Greet of the year on February 2 at 6pm ET. We will have SOCCA board member Dr. Ashish Khanna joining us for a lively discussion about navigating through life as an Early Career Intensivist. We look forward to seeing you soon!

December 2022


Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) / Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) / Cardio Thoracic ICU (CTICU) Workgroup
Members who have a special interest in MCS are invited to join this workgroup. Our first meeting will be January 19, 2023, at 5PM CST. Please register in advance: SOCCA CTICU/ECMO Meetup Link.

November 2022

This year, SOCCA is seeking committee volunteers for our communication, education, membership, and research committees—as well as the new clinical practice committee. To view committee descriptions and submit an application, visit https://socca.org/get-involved/.
You may submit an application for a SOCCA Committee between November 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022.
Learn more & review SOCCA’s Volunteer Selection Criteria.

This election cycle, SOCCA will be electing three members for the Board of Directors (3-year term). Further details about the governance structure of SOCCA are described in SOCCA’s Society Bylaws.
SOCCA members interested in serving in an elected positions on the SOCCA Board of Directors should submit a letter of interest, photograph, and curriculum vitae to Vivian Abalama, IOM, CAE ([email protected]) with subject line “2023 SOCCA Board of Directors Election.”
Review criteria by which Board of Directors and volunteer leaders are evaluated: Volunteer Selection Criteria.
You can apply via email only for a Board of Directors position between November 1, 2022 and December 5, 2022.



SOCCA Innovators Award: applications open 9/30/2022 – 12/31/2022.


October 2022
Gender Equality in Critical Care
Major professional societies & organizations have the obligation to initiate & sustain strategies that support & enhance gender equality in critical care. WICC invites members of SOCCA to participate & discuss ways to advance these goals & values. Understanding & recognizing gender diversity challenges & carrying on the momentum gathered in recent years within SOCCA and outside it, will enable a positive environment for more women to enter & remain within ACCM.


SOCCA has a calendar/list of events. Visit it regularly & save essential dates.




The SOCCA Speakers Bureau has officially launched! As a SOCCA member, you may now:


Have you made any changes in 2022? It’s time to update your SOCCA demographic profile and / or renew your membership. Keep your SOCCA experience seamless & don’t miss out on any updates & member benefits. Visit: buff.ly/3sPMG6j
September 2022


SOCCA would like to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of our female intensivists during this month and year-round. Throughout September, four of our members will be sharing their experiences as a woman in critical care.

Read: Burnout: No Easy Answers in a Post-Pandemic World, by Sarah Alber, MD

Read: Belonging to an Organization: Professional Advancement & Personal Gains, by Nazish Hashmi, MD

Read: Mentors and Mentees: A Powerful Connection, by May Hua, MD, MS

Read: Women in Critical Care: Where We Are & Where We Want to Be, by Shahla Siddiqui, MD, MSc, FCCM
Shahla Siddiqui, MD, MSc, FCCM, and Co-Chair of SOCCA’s Women in Critical Care recently edited a special issue of Journal of Critical Care featuring women as first and senior authors. Read Dr. Siddiqui’s introduction in Volume 71 | October 2022 issue.
August 2022


The SOCCA Early Career Intensivists working group provides new members and members who are early in their careers with the resources needed to ease the transition from trainee to practicing intensivist. Learn more.
July 2022
ASA Monitor
Have you read “SOCCA, the Pandemic, and the Future” by SOCCA’s Miguel Cobas, MD, FCCM, in this month’s ASA Monitor? Visit: https://socca.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Cobas_SOCCA.pdf

As a SOCCA member, you are eligible to receive a discount on an IARS membership. IARS membership benefits include a subscription to Anesthesia & Analgesia, SOCCA’s official journal, A&A Practice e-journal, free journal CME, access to a member community and discounted registration to the IARS Annual Meeting. Click here to view a list of membership options.
Anesthesiology Critical Care Fellowship Programs
Have you visited SOCCA’s Anesthesiology Critical Care Fellowship Programs page? If you would like your organization’s program added to our site, let us know here: https://socca.org/new-socca-fellowship-listing/.