Governing Council Issues Call for Candidates

Once again it is time to select the new leaders of the Resident Component Governing Council. Before going further, the Resident Component needs to thank the outgoing members of the Governing Council, Jill E. Beland, M.D., Resident Delegate to the American Medical Association (AMA), and Crystal C. Wright, M.D., Governing Council Secretary and Alternate resident Delegate to AMA, for their service. Without their efforts, the progress that has been made in behalf of residents would not have been possible.

Although residency is time consuming, it is crucial not to focus solely on the pharmacology and physiology. Economic, political and judicial events will shape the advancement of our specialty. Serving as a member of the Resident Component Governing Council provides an excellent opportunity to learn the structure and function of ASA and its components, to understand the outside forces that will affect anesthesiology and to be an agent for change on behalf of residents.

This year, in an effort to assist potential candidates and to smooth the transition of power, the Governing Council has created a “Governing Council Handbook” detailing the responsibilities of each position: Chair, AMA Delegate, Secretary and “Residents’ Review” co-editor. The handbook will be available on the Resident Component Web site at <www.ASAhq.org/asarc/index.html>. Note that the responsibilities of Chair-Elect and Alternate Delegate to AMA are to learn the roles of their respective positions and to assist with Resident Component projects as necessary. Please feel free to contact any member of the Governing Council with questions. Contact information can be found on the Resident Component Web site.

Interested individuals should send a candidate statement and curriculum vitae to ASA, Denise M. Jones, Assistant Executive Director, 520 N. Northwest Highway, Park Ridge, IL 60068-2573. As instructed by a resolution from the 2003 Resident Component House of Delegates, the position of the “Residents’ Review” co-editor will now be an elected position. Residents interested in the co-editor position should submit their candidate statement and curriculum vitae. In addition a sample newsletter article (500-700 words) on a topic of the candidate’s choice should be submitted for review by the delegates. The deadline for submission of application materials for all positions is September 1, 2004, in order for them to be included in the Resident Component House of Delegates handbook.

Based on concerns expressed by residents, the Resident Component Governing Council, the ASA Section on Annual Meeting and the ASA Section on Education and Research are proud to announce the addition of a Resident Research Forum and a Resident Practice Management Seminar to this year’s Annual Meeting program. The research forum will provide a single place where residents can gather and see the research in which their colleagues are involved. This forum will not prevent residents from also presenting their research at the usual venues. The practice management seminar will target issues that often arise in the transition from residency to practice. The seminar will cover topics such as practice models, contract negotiations and billing, subjects that are not routinely included in the residency curriculum. In order to allow for travel planning, the tentative schedule is as follows:

Friday, October 22
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. — Leadership Training/ Grassroots Advocacy Workshop
9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — Resident Reception

Saturday, October 23
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Resident Component House of Delegates
3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Resident Research Forum

Sunday, October 24
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Resident Feedback Meeting
1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Practice Management Seminar
(Locations will be included in the Annual Meeting Program book.)

I look forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting.

Please send any topic ideas, sample articles or questions to the editors of “Residents’ Review” at <residents.review@ASAhq.org>.

Brian N. Vaughan, M.D., is a CA-2 resident at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.