2025 Fall Committee Updates

NEW to the SEA Newsletter is a section highlighting COMMITTEE UPDATES. We highlight 13 Committees in this Fall Newsletter. Our goal is to increase awareness among our new and existing members and incite the desire to JOIN one of these Committees to contribute to the rapidly evolving landscape in Anesthesia Education.

The Well-being Committee, led by Drs. Lauren Licatino and Teeda Pinyavat

• Goal: to cultivate a supportive and thriving community where the well-being of anesthesiology learners, practicing anesthesiologists, and educators is prioritized, fostering resilience, professional growth, and personal fulfillment.
• Updates: The committee has introduced engaging activities at SEA meetings, including coloring books, posters, and fidget toys, with plans to expand these offerings. Their workshops, such as "Wellbeing on a Dime," provide practical strategies for maintaining balance in a demanding profession.
• Ongoing Efforts: These include a writing group focused on well-being, newsletter content development, a well-being journal club launching in September 2025, and a website redesign with content specifically geared toward anesthesia education well-being. The committee is also forging connections with the new SEA Coaching Task Force to develop integrated approaches to educator wellness and professional development. 

The Faculty Development Committee, led by Drs. David Young and Titilopemi Aina

• Goal: to offer multi-faceted support for educators at all career stages.
• Updates & Ongoing Efforts: The committee has established a Society-based mentorship program for anesthesiology educators, providing structured guidance for professional advancement. For over a decade, they have provided personalized and confidential feedback in teaching skills to meeting faculty through the SEA Peer Coaching Program. The committee provides direct support for career advancement through academic promotion workshops and the popular "Practical Tips for Promotion" section in prior newsletters, which offers advice on topics from time management to building your professional network. The committee also proposes faculty development topics that satisfy ACGME requirements, ensuring that members can meet regulatory standards while enhancing their teaching abilities.

The Educational Meetings Committee, led by Drs. Kristin Ondecko Ligda and Barbara Orlando

• Serves as the cornerstone of professional development.
• Updates: The committee coordinates SEA’s biannual meetings and ensures successful events through meticulous advance planning and program oversight, selecting meeting locations years in advance with considerations for accessibility, facilities, regional representation, and cost-effectiveness; Program Chairs and Meeting Hosts select themes that align with SEA's mission and address emerging trends in anesthesia education.
• Ongoing Efforts: The committee has developed and utilizes a standardized "Meeting Planning Toolkit" with templates and timelines to support incoming Program Chairs. The committee actively solicits topics and potential speakers from SEA members to ensure an inclusive planning process.

The Advancement of Technology in Education (ATE) Committee, led by Drs. David Stahl and Marc Sherwin

• Goal: to keep members at the forefront of educational innovation.
• Updates: Launched a Virtual Mini-Workshop series focused on using artificial intelligence in medical education. The first offering, "AI-Powered Presentations: Create Stunning Slides in Minutes," was followed by "Flipping the Classroom with AI: Smart Study Guides & Engaging Podcasts."
• Ongoing Efforts: For Fall 2025, the committee is collaborating with the Simulation Committee on "Bring Your Best Game: Enhance Your Didactics with Educational Technology." The committee also produces the popular and easily accessible "PDs@SEA" podcast, which bridges the gap between educators and learners in anesthesiology.

The Simulation Committee, led by Drs. Garrett Burnett and Jeffrey Huang

• Goals:
  • to apply cutting-edge trends in simulation-based education such as extended reality (virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality) applications for both procedural skills and scenario management
  • to enable educators create immersive learning experiences.
• Updates & Ongoing Efforts: Exploring the use of artificial intelligence to assist educators in developing simulation scenarios and creating virtual avatars for standardized patient interactions. This reduces the resource burden while increasing the consistency and quality of simulation experiences. Game-based learning approaches and gamification are being incorporated to enhance engagement and knowledge retention in simulation activities.

The Research Committee, led by Drs. Dante Cerza and Heather Ballard

• Goal: to provide robust research support for aspiring education investigators.
• Updates: One of such support programs is the Mentorship program, offered as a consultation service (led by Drs. Fei Chen and Rachel Moquin), to guide faculty through the process of designing, implementing, and publishing educational research.
• Ongoing Efforts: The committee has adopted the use of "Idea Labs" during National meetings to provide a collaborative space for participants to receive expert feedback on proposed studies from leaders in anesthesiology and medical education. The committee also reviews abstracts on educational research and curricula for presentation at the annual spring meeting, recognizes excellence with the Philip Liu Awards ($1,000) for innovations in research and curriculum, and awards the SEAd Sprout Awards ($500) for the best abstracts from trainees and the highly competitive SEAd Grant, which offers $10,000 in funding to support junior investigators in launching their research projects.

The Journal of Education in Perioperative Medicine (JEPM), led by the Co-Editors-in-Chief, Drs Jeffrey S. Berger, and David Broussard

• Updates & Ongoing Efforts: Our peer-reviewed journal, JEPM, has achieved remarkable success within the last fifteen years under the current leadership. The journal has achieved PubMed indexing, developed a talented editorial board, established formal review policies, and expanded to four issues per year with international readership. Recent enhancements include new submission types, best practices for addressing AI challenges, and infographics for each issue.

The Membership Committee, led by Drs. Meredith Kingeter and Monica Bhutiani

• Update: Our membership has reached a five-year high with 820 members—an 18% growth over four years. This thriving network means more colleagues who understand your challenges and are eager to share solutions.
• Ongoing Efforts: Focus on strategic outreach efforts to increase SEA's visibility and accessibility, particularly targeting newer programs and younger faculty and to ensure a dynamic, diverse membership that represents the full spectrum of anesthesiology education.

The IMPACT Committee, led by Drs Tracey Straker and Herodotos Ellinas

• Update: The work of this committee is woven through all of SEA’s initiatives, fostering a respectful and collaborative environment that supports fairness in healthcare access and outcomes. The acronym – IMPACT which stands for Influence, Mentorship, Partnership, Accountability, Collegiality, and Transformation – emphasizes SEAs commitment to thoughtful inquiry, supporting underserved learners, creating collaborative partnerships, sharing knowledge, embracing continuous learning, and implementing transparent strategies for positive change.
• Ongoing Efforts: The committee's experienced educators develop curricula, co-lead workshops, engage in panel discussions, and create educational aids that enhance belonging across all aspects of anesthesia education.

The Medical Student Education Committee, led by Drs. Christine Vo and Rebecca Nause-Osthoff

• Goal: to provide resources for faculty involved in undergraduate medical education.
• Update & Ongoing Efforts: The committee has created a virtual anesthesia bootcamp to prepare senior medical students for anesthesiology rotations, featuring asynchronous pre-reading materials and interactive sessions led by faculty, with recordings published on YouTube for broader access. They have also published results from a multi-institutional survey on medical student advising and have expanded the medical student curriculum in ASA's Anesthesia Toolbox.

The Graduate Medical Education Committee, led by Drs. Emily Stebbins and Maurice "Frankie" Joyce

• Update: continues to manage a thriving Program Director/Associate Program Director Facebook group with over 215 members and 200+ monthly interactions. This protected platform allows program leadership to share ideas and best practices.
• Ongoing Efforts: The committee has also distributed a shareable Resident-as-Teacher curriculum specifically designed for anesthesia trainees. The committee is developing a guidebook for new program directors and working with the AACPD on jointly presented New Program Director workshops at the Fall 2025 SEA and SAAPM meetings.

The Publications Committee, led by Dr. Onyi Onuoha

• Goal: to provide content that informs SEA members about existing programs and upcoming initiatives.
• Update: The committee publishes a biannual newsletter that includes the President's contributions, meeting summaries, committee goals and vision statements, reflections from global health traveling fellowship participants, coaching opportunities and much more.
• Ongoing Efforts: The committee aims to recruit active members to the Society by featuring diverse authors who foster excellence in patient care through education. The newsletters will continue to provide content necessary to engage current members while attracting new ones to both the Society and its individual committees.

The Global Outreach Committee, led by a team Drs. Odi Ehie, Rebecca Piland, Viji Kurup and Jo Davies

• Goal: to oversee and maintain the multiple fellowships offered annually.
• Updates & Ongoing Efforts: SEA extends its educational impact globally through initiatives like the SEA-HVO Traveling Fellowship. Senior residents approved for these fellowships spend four weeks teaching anesthesia in low-resource countries, advancing anesthesia education while developing their own teaching and cultural competencies.

Other Existing Committees not elaborated above are the Finance Committee (led by Dr. Deborah Schwengel), the Bylaws Committee and the Nominations Committee, both led by Dr. John Mitchell. 

NEW ON THE BLOCK
Our new Precision Education Task Force, co-chaired by Drs. Larry Chu and Viji Kurup

• Goal: to explore how anesthesiology educators can use data, learning analytics, and adaptive technologies to personalize medical education.
• More Details: This initiative aligns with the American Medical Association's recent "Transforming Lifelong Learning Through Precision Education" initiative, which is investing $12 million to support precision education systems. The task force will increase awareness of precision education approaches, convene members interested in data-driven strategies, share tools and frameworks for adaptive learning, support collaborative scholarship, and align with national trends in competency-based education. Initial activities include a virtual kickoff meeting, interest group meetings at conferences, a member survey, and workshops at upcoming SEA meetings. By aligning with these national efforts, the task force positions anesthesiology educators at the forefront of this movement, fostering innovation and collaboration in personalized medical education.