Professionalism – Joining the ASA

The defining feature of medical school is to aid in the transition from a student to a practicing physician in a particular specialty. A part of this transition involves becoming informed on what it means to be that particular type of physician and the inner workings of the specialty. This can be accomplished in multiple ways, not least of which is to become an active participant in its professional body.

 

This year, after deciding to pursue anesthesiology as a specialty, I became a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. I wanted to learn more about the specialty and what advancements are currently being made and can be expected in the future. My plan to begin the process of becoming more acquainted with my future specialty of practice was to begin by subscribing to the ASA journal. Beyond that, I feel very fortunate that the Department of Anesthesiology as OSU offers to subsidize the travel expenses to the national ASA conference for students in the anesthesiology track. I took this opportunity to attend the ASA conference in person, which took place in Orlando, Florida in the middle of October. While at the conference, I was able to attend a large breadth of educational sessions and exhibits. I learned about cutting edge technology in the specialty and learned more about anesthesiology at the medical student level with events put on specifically for medical student attendees. I was also able to present a medically challenging case during a poster session, which I felt very privileged to have had that opportunity. It was a thoroughly rewarding experience to be able to contribute to the conference in a researcher capacity. The whole experience was a wonderful educational and networking opportunity and it was something I feel very thankful for being able to attend.

 

I certainly plan to continue along this trajectory of involvement in the American Society of Anesthesiologists in residency and beyond. I think membership in this community serves many unique purposes at different stages of training and practice. As a resident, I hope to contribute to this professional body particularly in the form of research contributions. This would be an excellent opportunity for me to advance the knowledge within the specialty in my own way and will provide me with the ability to network with anesthesiologists around the country. Beyond that, a long term goal of mine that I hope to begin in residency is to contribute to the ASA in a leadership role. I want to be a voice for my colleagues and I believe that this would be an excellent platform to do exactly that. I hope to have my responsibilities within the ASA increase over time, but certainly a place to start this process is during residency and I intend to do so.