PLAN NOW TO ATTEND THE SAMBA MID YEAR MEETING! - TOP

Friday, October 12, 2007 (one day prior to the ASA)
San Francisco Hilton
Early registration ($50 Discount) ends September 19th! 

Avoid long onsite registration lines by registering on SAMBA’s Web Site.   Online registration and complete program information is available! Hotel Reservations: Please click on the link to take you directly to the ASA Housing Web Site.  The 22nd Mid Year Meeting is also presented in Adobe Acrobat format.

EXCITING CHANGES FOR THE eNEWSLETTER! - TOP

We are pleased to announce several changes to the eNewsletter that will gradually evolve over the upcoming year.

1. As part of our popular literature review section we will be adding commentary to 1-2 of the abstracts.  This will help provide extra insight on several articles. 
2. The discussion archive is currently in the process of being reorganized to ensure that questions are in their appropriate category for easy access. 
3. For now, we are no longer going to provide a patient question of the month.  As SAMBA’s information system evolves, we will determine how to provide quality information for our patients.
4. The Committee Chairs will be providing monthly updates on a rotating basis with the goal of keeping us up-to-date on pertinent issues
5. The Resident Committee will be contributing to the eNewsletter on a regular basis
6. The most recent question/answer section will be available in Podcast format. 

A MESSAGE FROM SAMBA'S NEW PRESIDENT GIRISH P. JOSHI, MB BS, MD, FFARCSI - TOP

I am honored to be elected President of SAMBA, and would like to thank all of you sincerely for giving me this opportunity. I want to personally thank Walter Maurer, M.D. for his leadership and direction this past year. I plan to continue the number of ongoing initiatives including the development of an Internet-based database registry (SAMBA Clinical Outcomes Registry) that will offer practitioners and facilities to measure outcomes and compare those anonymously with others.  Another project that will be pursued is the development of a curriculum for Fellowship in Ambulatory and Office-based Anesthesia. There are also plans to revamp the SAMBA web site to make it even more user friendly as well as include a “member only” section.

In addition to these projects, we are planning to expand our involvement into the office-based anesthesia arena. SAMBA is committed to addressing the clinical and administrative challenges of practicing in an office setting.

I would also like to initiate the development of clinical practice guidelines/statements by SAMBA.  The aim is not to duplicate the efforts of others (e.g., ASA Practice Guidelines), but to address areas of uncertainty or controversy in ambulatory and office-based anesthesia practice that have been overlooked. Members are encouraged to submit topic proposals along with their reasoning to the SAMBA office. 

In addition, I hope to increase the international influence of SAMBA. SAMBA is an international society, and can serve as a forum for the exchange of information and advancement of ambulatory anesthesia. We are currently working towards starting an ambulatory anesthesia program in Beijing and applaud the efforts of the many SAMBA members who have generously agreed to participate at scientific conferences in various countries at their own costs.

Despite SAMBA’s growth as a vibrant organization, we still face many challenges.  The opportunity to increase membership is a dynamic process for which SAMBA continues to look for ways of providing value to our current members and efforts to attract new members.
In conclusion, for SAMBA to maintain its success and growth, it is necessary that members continue to share their ideas for improvement as well as participate on committees. I look forward to all of your help and support in these interesting times. I am sure that together we are embarking on an exciting, productive and rewarding journey.

AWARD WINNERS - TOP

Gary W. Hoormann – Career Achievement Winner Abstract Winners: Anatomical and volunteer study to investigate the accuracy of ultrasound detection of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve Irene Neg, M.D. Dex versus propofol: a cost analysis Andrew J. Linn, M.D. Effect of Intravenous Dexamethasone and Lidocaine on Propofol-Induced Pain on Injection Eric C. Johnson, M.D. Improved Efficiency, Safety, Reliability, and Proficiency Development with a Novel Deltopectoral Approach to Ultrasound-Guided Infraclavicular Brachial Plexus Block Joshua Pal Dex, Tulips, and Liposuction John L. Summers, M.D.

Gary W. Hoormann Abstract Winners

PERIOPERATIVE ROLE OF BETA-BLOCKERS - TOP

I would like to thank all of you who were able to participate in our last journal club; The Role of Statins in the Perioperative Period. Our next real-time broadcast will be on June 19th at 7 PM EST, the topic of discussion will be The Perioperative Role of Beta-Blockers. Again, I am inviting anyone who has interest in this topic to join in on the discussion by emailing me at jahana@ccf.org. I will send instructions detailing the sign-in process allowing you to participate. Space is severely limited so please e-mail as soon as possible. And again, I challenge all to actively help promote our field and welcome your ideas.

Ali Jahan, MD
Editor of eNewsletter