Volume 5, No. 1 • Spring 1990

STA Announces first Annual Meeting: January in Florida

N. Ty Smith, M.D.

The Society for Technology in Anesthesia (STA) is planning its first Annual Meeting for January 18-20, 199 1, in Disney World, Florida. A major focus of STA is the education of health care workers who are using technology with enthusiasm or without enthusiasm. The lack of anesthesiologists’ education in the use of technology was emphasized at the first business meeting of STA, held at the ASA Meeting List October “STA 91 ” was inspired by that finding and, accordingly, will focus on education. As is singularly appropriate, one of the foremost anesthesia educators in the world, Dr. J.S. Gravenstein, will run the meeting.

In addition to the scientific sessions, there will be two tutorial sessions. The first will be entitled “The Uncertainty of Measurements and Monitors.” The major questions asked will be “How accurate can we hope to be?” and “How accurate do we need to be?” The all-star cast of speakers includes Drs. Allen Ream, John Severinghaus, David Swedlow and Terry Vitez, speaking on blood pressure, oximetry, gases, and electrolytes. The second tutorial will address the question, “How Can Technology Help Me Give Anesthesia via a Closed Circuit?” Drs. Jerry Caulkins, Alan Grogono and Dwayne Westenskow will organize this section of the meeting.

Rounding out the theme of education will be a distinguished lecture by Dr. Richard Kitz, on the subject “Technology and Medical Education: What Should the Relationship Be?” Dr. Kitz will explore what happens to physicians who have received intensive training in technology during medical school. Ultimately, we hope to find out how an organization like STA can help with this educational process.

Just before the STA 91 Meeting, at a nearby site to be determined, Ohio State University wig sponsor a Review Course on Monitoring. The faculty for the Course will be from Columbus. Information concerning this Meeting can be obtained from Ms. Arlene Rogers, 410 W. 10th Avenue, Room N-429, Columbus, Ohio 43210.

Those interested in the STA 91 Meeting should contact Ms. Geni Kuzava, P.O. Box 382, Hastings, MI 49058. Those interested in submitting an abstract should contact Dr. Kevin Tremper at the Department of Anesthesiology, University of California, Irvine, 101 City South Drive, P.O. Box 14091, Orange, CA 92613. The deadline for abstracts is August 1, 1990. Both poster and oral presentations will be accepted. Poster presentations can be a demonstration of a gadget, a computer program, or a method, for example. Use your imagination. Abstracts from the Meeting will be published in the Journal of Clinical Monitoring and will therefore be citable for four years.

Another meeting sponsored by STA is the 6th International Symposium on Computing in Anesthesia and Intensive Care, to be held in Hamamatsu, Japan, April 15-20, 1991. Please contact either Dr Kazuyuki Ikeda, Chairman, Department of Anesthesiology, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Hamamatsu 431-3 1, Japan, or Dr. Yasuhiro Fukui at Deparment of Applied Engineering Tokyo Denki Univ., Habyama Saitam 3050-3, Japan, for further information about the meeting

If you attend the ASA Meeting in L-is Vegas, October 19-23, 1990 be sure to plan to attend STA’s second Breakfast Panel. This year’s topic will be “How Can Technology Help Me With Quality Assurance?” Anything that can make life easier and fairer in ” difficult area will be welcome, and the group of outstanding panelists promises to do * that. -Be panel wig be moderated by Dr. John Eichhorn, and will include Drs. Jerry Cohen and Terry Vitez.

Plan now to attend these interesting and valuable Meetings.

Dr. Smith, University of California, San Diego, is President of STA.