President's Message
Anne M. Lynn, MD
SPA President
It seems important to begin my tenure as SPA President with a clarification. For those who attended the luncheon gathering in Orlando, my "attire" does not signify that I have any desire or thoughts of changing the democratic manner that our Society uses! (For those who missed the announcement of the election results, I suspect your colleagues may have "filled you in" on my head-gear.) Over the past 6 years as an officer, I have been more and more impressed with members' willingness to be involved and help advance pediatric anesthesia. I am counting on all of you to continue to help the Executive Committee and me in meeting your needs and desires in pediatric anesthesia areas. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to note SPA's milestone in having a female chief after only 15 years!
For those able to come to the Winter Meeting February 20-23, 2003, we will be based at the renovated Sanibel Harbour Resort in Fort Myers. The weather was very appealing when last we met there and Sanibel beaches are noted for great shell collecting. (I can speak to the good time with my daughter finding a perfect example of about 50 different types of shells.) The meeting will include sessions on interpretation of sleep apnea studies and anesthetic implications, spine surgery in children and adolescents (new techniques, monitoring, postoperative pain management and blood salvage strategies), and medicolegal issues for anesthesiologists. We will have oral and poster presentations with walk around review with experts, as well as a variety of refresher courses and workshops. You may register online by going to the SPA website: www.pedsanesthesia.org. I would personally suggest considering car rental, especially if you wish to explore on Sanibel or Captiva Islands during your stay. Don't wait too long to book you air travel to this popular February destination.
It's been said the only certainties are death and taxes, but I would add change to that list. Next year's Annual Meeting in San Francisco is an excellent example. This meeting will be the first international meeting sponsored by SPA and our Japanese colleagues, the Japanese Society for Pediatric Anesthesia. Drs. Mark Rockoff and Katsuyuki Miyasaka have planned an excellent meeting with both Japanese and American speakers. Simultaneous translation via headphones will be available and may be the closest many of us get to a United Nations experience. The program will cover neonatal surgery approaches to diaphragmatic hernia in the two countries, upper airway anatomy and its anesthetic implications, comparison of medical care, and to complete the international flavor, Dr. Lindahl will present a history of the Nobel Prize. Posters will be presented covering scientific studies and posters describing hospitals in Japan and the USA. The evening reception will be at the Museum of Modern Art. Flyers were available in Orlando and will be sent to all the membership this month. Abstract deadline is July 2003 and the website will begin accepting submissions April 1, 2003.
We will be based at the Westin St. Francis, and because arrangements for this joint meeting had to begin three years ago, we have the ability to make our hotel reservations at less than ASA room rates, and these reservations can be made now. This will secure you accommodations just off Union Square for the duration of the SPA and ASA meeting. I would urge you to make reservations and encourage your colleagues to use the SPA Hotel Reservation Form to secure rooms early, since San Francisco is a well-attended meeting site and hotel blocks can fill quickly. You will also be helping SPA to fulfill our hotel contract!
SPA continues to expand our use of the website to increase the value of membership. Not everyone is able to attend our twice-yearly meetings, so we have begun making the syllabus material available to the general membership on the member section of the website. As the ASA develops its plans for life-long learning, we may be able to develop a web-based program for the pediatric anesthesia portion of this activity. I welcome member input about this. We also hope to trial a session of presentations aimed at our pediatric anesthesia fellowship members, tentatively preceding or during our next Winter Meeting. Helping to train the next generation certainly fits in the educational mission of SPA.
In closing, I will make a suggestion that is a variant of one Peter Davis made two years ago. Our educational activities require funding and we have been very fortunate to have a number of corporate sponsors willing to help us in this arena. We also have an Education and Research Fund available for tax-deductible contributions. Peter asked members to contribute the billing for anesthesia for BM&T. I would ask you to consider making a contribution to this Fund as an honor or memorial to any friends/colleagues/mentors who have had a significant effect on your own pediatric anesthesia interests. These might include past "giants" in the field, or a local teacher or colleague. These contributions will be listed on the website and a letter to the honoree or family will be sent acknowledging the donation.
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