Highlights of SEA Spring Meeting on “Going Up! Making Your Case and Supporting Colleagues Through Promotion”
We are pleased to report the Society for Education in Anesthesia (SEA) Spring Meeting was both well attended and successful, despite unintentionally running concurrently with the 2023 AUA/IARS/SOCCA meetings. There was considerable positive feedback about the meeting location and hotel chosen, most notably that all sessions were held on the same floor thus encouraging mingling among attendees. Thank you to the SEA Meeting Planning Committee for this fantastic hotel choice.
The theme “Going Up! Making Your Case and Supporting Colleagues Through Promotion” was chosen to target younger members and increase involvement within the society, with the thought that senior department leadership may be attending AUA/IARS/SOCCA, and this would ensure meeting success. Our goal was to support educators within the field of anesthesiology in documenting and showing off their successes, as well ask making promotion to associate or full professor achievable by all members.
The meeting opened with keynote speaker Dr. Krista Longtin, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development at the Indiana University School of Medicine, whose research focuses on communication education and faculty development in the sciences and health professions. Dr. Longtin gave an engaging talk on “Telling Your Career Story: From Projects to Impact” that benefitted junior and senior anesthesia educators alike. She inspired all attendees to improve documentation and storytelling of their educational successes and ended up receiving many accolades and invitations to speak immediately following her presentation. Look for her presenting at an institution or meeting near you, it’s always a pleasure!
In addition to the keynote, we received a superb evidence-based update on the use and utility of virtual reality in procedural anesthesia education from SEA President Dr. John D. Mitchell, MD, from Henry Ford Health. Attendees heard five panel discussions and participated in 18 workshops over the course of the three-day meeting, as well as heard the top three presentations on research and curriculum abstracts submitted to the meeting. Our junior and trainee presenters prove the future of anesthesiology is bright! Drs. Emily Stebbins, MD, and Stacy Fairbanks, MD, organized the agenda for a successful Leadership Program for Chief Residents. Please mark the date of the next Spring SEA meeting on your calendar and work with your department to send rising chief residents to participate in this fantastic program.
Our first panel discussed DEIJ considerations in the P&T Process and included Tracey Straker, MD, MS, MPH, CBA, FASA, Herodotos Ellinas, MD, MHPE, Titilopemi Aina, MD, MPH, and was moderated by Corinna Yu, MD, MBA, FASA. Our second panel discussed lessons learned in getting published in medical education and included Lee Chang, MD, Susan Lee, MD, Vu Nguyen, MD, and Stephanie B. Jones, MD, FASA and was moderated by Melissa Davidson, MD, MPHE. The noted they are also still learning! The third panel focused on P&T pitfalls to avoid and “I wish I had known” lessons from speakers Leila Zuo, MD, Sujatha Ramachandran, MBBS, MACM, and Julie Dunlap, MD (virtually) with Kristin Ondecko-Ligda, MD, FASA as moderator. Our last panel focused on networking for success in P&T with presentations from Cindy Ku, MD, Jonathan M. Tan, MD, MPH, MBI, CMQ, FASA, and Franklyn P. Cladis, MD, MBA, moderated by Timothy T. Webb, MD.
In an effort to be timely and useful to the anesthesia education community, the fourth panel deviated from the theme and instead focused on an Anesthesia Match Update and what to do with the new regional preferences and signaling system from both program director and medical student applicant points of view. We heard great feedback and updates about the new system from Carol Ann Diachun, MD, MSEd, Ryan J. Fink, MD, David Stahl, MD, Larry Liang, MD, and Jed Wolpaw, MD, MEd. Moderator Stephanie B. Jones, MD, FASA did a superb job asking relevant questions and composing the panel with PDs from programs of all sizes and geographical location. Thanks to this panel, our attendees are now better positioned to lead their mentees successfully through the match.
We’d also like to thank the presenters of awards and the recipients of the HVO Overseas scholarships as well as the JEPM editors, Lara Zisblatt, EDD, MA, PMME, Dawn Dillman, MD, and Rachel Moquin, EdD for updating the audience with the “Best of the Year” manuscripts that have been published within the anesthesia education realm. It was an honor to serve the SEA and plan this meeting, and much more do-able than overwhelming. Dr. Kristin Ondecko-Ligda, MD, Dr. Barbara Orlando, MD, PhD, and the entirety of the SEA Meeting Planning Committee were unwavering in their support, question-answering, and decision-making. If you are asked to plan a future meeting, say yes! It was a great experience.
