Vital Times 2017 - 8

The process of electing ASA Delegates
CSA functions as a democracy. Though few offices
are contested, members always have the opportunity
to put their names forward for nomination to office,
and are encouraged to do so. The nomination process
is shepherded by the Committee on Leadership
Development and Nominations (CoLDaN), which
was established during the presidency of Michael
Champeau, MD, FASA. This committee interviews
CSA members who are interested in leadership roles,
determines their areas of interest, and guides the
nomination process each year. Some years few offices
are vacant; in other years - including 2017 - several
key offices are open to new candidates, and CoLDaN is
in the process of holding interviews now.
The positions of delegates to the ASA House of
Delegates are very important to CSA. Although the
delegates serve only once a year - at the time of the
ASA annual meeting, these delegates are the CSA's
ambassadors to our national organization, and have
a responsibility to exercise their own good judgment
while representing the best interests of CSA members.
Traditionally, the delegate list has been developed
by CoLDaN, with a balance of experience and
demographic factors taken into account, and then
endorsed by consent of the House of Delegates.
However, in recent years, contested elections for
these positions have proved repeatedly to be timeconsuming, costly, and difficult. For this reason, we
passed bylaws changes to ensure the orderly selection
of ASA delegates, with a process initiated by CoLDaN,
and reviewed, modified if necessary, and validated by
the Board of Directors rather than the House.
Reining in MOC
The concept of mandatory maintenance of
certification, at considerable cost and inconvenience,
is a topic of concern to many of our members. While
the ABA has revised its MOCA process to eliminate
the written examination, the cost has not been
reduced. CSA's House of Delegates in June voted
in favor of a resolution that supports the concept of

8 | CSA Vital Times

lifelong learning, but opposes any attempt to make
MOCA a criterion for licensure, hospital privileges,
participation in insurance panels, or in any other way
to limit the practice of a board-certified physician
anesthesiologist in California.

The Year to Come
Each January, our quarterly board meeting takes on
the work of strategic planning for the upcoming year.
This gives us an opportunity for critical assessment
of lapses as well as accomplishments, and examining
where we can continue to improve.
In December, I had the opportunity to attend the
annual meeting of the New York State Society of
Anesthesiologists (NYSSA), and its highly successful
educational meeting, the Post-Graduate Assembly.
It was very interesting to see the ways in which
NYSSA does its work differently from CSA. For
example, NYSSA has a very engaged and energetic
Ad Hoc Committee on Women in Anesthesiology,
a Committee on Patient Safety and Quality
Improvement, and a Committee on Retirement.
NYSSA has fewer districts compared to CSA - only
eight - and organizes them by caucuses: one for
"upstate" New York, and one for "downstate". All
this information can be food for thought as we take a
critical look at CSA's structure and function.
We will need to consider our legislative agenda for
the upcoming year, and how to continue to fight
effectively for safe pediatric dental anesthesia. This
issue is covered in depth in a separate article in this
edition of Vital Times.
Our Educational Programs Division (EPD), under the
leadership of Ron Pearl, MD, PhD, has continued its
track record of financially successful Hawaii meetings.
The November meeting in Kauai featured outstanding
content and speakers. I was invited to be the guest
of the Hawaii Society of Anesthesiologists (HSA)
at a meeting in Honolulu at the start of the week.
HSA President Oren Bernstein, MD, FASA, who is

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vital Times 2017