American Society of Anesthesiologists

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an association of physician

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

s, primarily anesthesiologist

Anesthesiologist

An anesthesiologist or anaesthetist is a physician trained in anesthesia and peri-operative medicine....

s, that share a common goal of raising the standard of the medical specialty of anesthesiology

Anesthesia

Anesthesia, or anaesthesia , traditionally meant the condition of having sensation blocked or temporarily taken away...

and the improvement of patient care by fostering and encouraging education through research and scientific progress.

In 2008, the organization claimed a membership of 43,000 members and has over 100 full time employees.

History

The group was founded in 1905 by a group of nine colleagues as the Long Island Society of Anesthetists. Its founders held meetings in the Long Island College Hospital

Long Island College Hospital

Long Island College Hospital is a teaching hospital situated at Hicks and Amity Streets in Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, New York.Founded in 1858, the hospital has 506 beds. In 1860 it introduced the practice of bedside teaching and it later became the first U.S. hospital to use stethoscopes...

. In 1911, the name changed to New York Society of Anesthetists.

As membership grew, the Society changed its name to the American Society of Anesthetists in 1935. It adopted its current name in 1945 and moved its facilities to rent-free accommodations in the E. R. Squibb

E. R. Squibb

Edward Robinson Squibb was a leading American inventor and manufacturer of pharmaceutics who founded E. R. Squibb and Sons, which eventually became part of the modern pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb....

& Sons Building in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. In 1947, ASA's headquarters moved to Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

. Since 1960 it has been located in Park Ridge, Illinois

Park Ridge, Illinois

-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 37,775 people, 14,219 households, and 10,465 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,374.6 people per square mile . There were 14,646 housing units at an average density of 2,083.8 per square mile...

.
ASA designated the ASA's Division of Scientific Affairs as the major continuing educational component of the Society, and the Committee on Professional Education Oversight has overall responsibility for the programs. To achieve its goal of raising standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology, ASA sponsors the world's largest annual educational program for anesthesiologists, to provide anesthesiologists with information on the newest developments in anesthesiology and other related medical fields. ASA also offers formal refresher courses of continuing education for the practicing anesthesiologist at the Annual Meeting and in regional courses throughout the year.

Educational Products Include:

Self-Education and Evaluation Program (SEE) - A self-assessment which practitioners can complete at their own convenience. SEE enables anesthesiologists to gain an objective measure of their professional knowledge and provides guidance for continuing education
Anesthesiology Continuing Education Program (ACE) – facilitates lifelong learning by allowing practitioners to assess their status of knowledge, identify any areas of improvement and prepare for the written anesthesiology recertification examination
Patient Safety CME - provides case based instruction on Patient Safety
ASA Refresher Courses in Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology’s Journal-Based Programs
Annual Meetings
Simulation Education Web Site
Ambulatory Surgical Centers: A Manual for Anesthesiologists

Membership

Membership is open to holders of Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

(M.D.) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is a professional doctoral degree for physicians in the United States. Holders of the MD degree, Doctor of Medicine, have the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as osteopathic physicians in the United States.The American Osteopathic Association’s Commission...

(D.O.) degrees

Academic degree

An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...

who are licensed

Medical license

In most countries, only persons with a medical license bestowed either by a specified government-approved professional association or a government agency are authorized to practice medicine. Licenses are not granted automatically to all people with medical degrees...

practitioners and have successfully completed a training program in anesthesiology approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education is the body responsible for the accreditation for graduate medical training programs for medical doctors in the United States. It is a non-profit private council that evaluates and accredits medical residency and internship programs...

(ACGME) or American Osteopathic Association

American Osteopathic Association

The American Osteopathic Association is the representative member organization for the over 78,000 osteopathic medical physicians in the United States...

(AOA).

Members must maintain the high standards required by the Society throughout their careers. Within the membership, the Society has a special section for residents

Residency (medicine)

Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...

in training in anesthesiology. Resident members must be physicians in a full-time anesthesiology residency program accredited by ACGME or AOA.

Governance

ASA is governed by its House of Delegates. The House of Delegates is composed of ASA delegates and directors (designated by geographic distribution), ASA officers, all past presidents, the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, the chairs of all sections, the chair of the ASA delegation to the American Medical Association

American Medical Association

The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...

House of Delegates and each member of the Resident Component Governing Council not to exceed five members and a non-voting member of the Medical Student component. The House of Delegates meets each year during the Society's Annual Meeting.

During the interim between the meetings of the House of Delegates, the ASA Board of Directors exercises authority to manage the business and financial affairs of the Society, and superintends and directs the publication and distribution of all official documents, journals and reports consistent with policies of the House of Delegates. The Board of Directors meet three times each year. The Society also has many special committees. In addition, 55 component societies work to implement and complement the Society's goals at the community level.

The current president is Dr. Alexander A. Hannenberg. The President-Elect is Mark A. Warner, M.D., the secretary

Secretary

A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...

is Arthur M. Boudreaux, M.D. and the treasurer

Treasurer

A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...

is Dr. John M. Zerwas.

Meetings

Meetings are held annually and are based on scientific progress in the anestisiology field.
Link to http://www.asahq.org/Annual-Meeting.aspx

Publications

The Society publishes multiple academic resources within the following categories:

Practice Management
Practice Parameters
Continuing Education
Patient Education
Patient Safety/Risk Management and Quality Improvement
General Publications
- ASA Bylaws
- ASA Standards
- Guidelines and Statements
- The Medical Specialty of Anesthesiology
- Challenge, Diversity, Flexibility, Rewards
Periodicals
- ASA newsletter
- The Journal Anesthesiology
Physician Booklets

Related Organizations

External links

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