Thank you to those members that attended our happy hour event at Sixty Vines in Foggy Bottom. Our new President is Dr. Robert Jacobson, and we greatly thank Dr. Cathy Cao for her leadership over the last 2 years as President.  Congratulations to the new members of the executive board that were elected during the fall election!

On September 26th, a group of DCSA physician members, residents, student anesthesiologist assistants, medical students and an ICU nurse came out to McKinley Technology High School to talk with high school students about anesthesia as a career, BLS and intubation in an outreach event. Thank you to Dr. Hayward Evans, Howard University, Case Western Reserve University MSA Program and other local hospitals for lending support to this event!

DCSA welcomes the anesthesiology residents and fellows in Washington DC to take part in our society. We have scholarship opportunities  (sign into our website as a member and look at the Membership heading on the menu bar, and "document downloads"), sponsored invitations to the ASA Resident House of Delegates at the ASA annual meeting, social events a few times a year for DCSA members, and Resident Jeopardy to name a few activities. We are planning an outreach to local schools to get students interested in healthcare and anesthesia. We will continue to visit our DC council members this year to advocate for physician-led anesthesia care and other issues that impact our specialty locally. The DCSA Scientific Committee also offers FREE EDITORIAL HELP for those seeking help for their poster projects. This is designed to help students or residents obtain an objective, outside opinion prior to submission of their poster. Email dcsasecretary@gmail.com if you want to help with our initiatives or additional information on how to get involved.

Announcing that the 2024 DCSA Abstract Presentation Award was awarded to Dr. Eric Casella who is a fellow at Childrens National Medical Center. He took part in a medical trip to St. Vincent and Grenadines to provide 18 surgeries to children from around the Eastern Caribbean during the course of the week. This award is offered to one anesthesia resident and/or fellow per year, training in the District of Columbia, will awarded $500 towards transportation, lodging and other travel expenses to offset the expenses of presenting an abstract at an upcoming meeting. Check in the Membership section of our website for the document downloads to see how to apply for this award.

DCSA, and the MSDC's Physician Voices for Patient Safety Coalition, have been working tirelessly since November to remove concerning provisions from B25-545. The bill updates the Health Occupations and Regulations Act, better known as the DC law overseeing health licensing and regulation. The bill contained numerous scope of practice expansions for numerous allied health professionals, plus made worrying changes to the make-up of the Board of Medicine. In May 2024, the Council passed the bill on its final reading. DCSA members met with Councilmembers, sent letters, and spoke up about why allowing CRNA independent practice without any physician collaboration would endanger patients and raise the cost of healthcare in DC. While we did not win our request, we will continue to fight for patient safety in DC.

This year, ASA's premier grassroots advocacy meeting on legislative, political and regulatory issues affecting the practice of anesthesiology will be held on May 13-15, 2024  at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The Day before the conference we will have a dinner with the ASA President Dr. Ronald Harter and other ASA representatives. The Maryland Society of Anesthesiologists will also join in hosting our ASA representatives. More details to come!

Are you an anesthesia resident who would like to practice anesthesiology in resource-poor setting outside the U.S.? You may be eligible to apply a scholarship opportunity from the ASA (Resident International Anesthesia Scholarship Program) and/or the DCSA (International Anesthesiology Scholarship Initiative). Check in the Membership section of our website for the document downloads.

The DCSA Annual Business meeting was held Thursday, October 26, 2023.  The evening included remarks by Dr. Leslie Biesecker, who is a renowned clinical investigator and Chief of the Center for Precision Health Research at NHGRI/NIH. He delivered a keynote speech about “A genomic approach to Malignant Hyperthermia." We also had elections for the DCSA Executive Committee for the next terms. Congratulations to our new members, and an expression of gratitude to those continuing their service. Below is the upcoming DCSA Executive Committee by role, with newly elected members (or those elected to new roles) highlighted in bold. Director: Dr. Yewande Johnson Alternate Director: Dr. Nina Rawtani Immediate Past-President: Dr. Michael Brennan President: Dr. Cathy Cao President-Elect: Dr. Robert Jacobson Vice-President: Dr. Jennifer Feldman-Brillembourg Treasurer: Dr. Nina Rawtani Secretary: Dr. Fay Horng Delegates to ASA: Drs. Parr, Feldman-Brillembourg and Rawtani Alternate Delegates: Dr. Beverly Chang, Dr. Hayward Evans, Dr. Elisha Peterson