Anesth Analg 2008; 106:1-2
© 2008 International Anesthesia Research Society
doi: 10.1213/01.ane.0000299044.28467.25
EDITORIAL
New Affiliates, New Opportunities
Steven L. Shafer, MD
Editor-in-Chief, Anesthesia & Analgesia. From the Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University, New York, New York.
Address correspondence to Steven L. Shafer, MD, Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Medical Center, 622 W. 168th St, PH 5-505, New York, NY 10032-3725. Address email to sshafer{at}columbia.edu.
Anesthesia & Analgesia is very pleased to welcome two new affiliates this year: the American Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists (ASCCA) and the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP).
Critical care is central to the management of hospitalized patients, as aggressive medical and surgical therapy depends on critical care to maintain patient viability while treatments run their course. Many tertiary care hospitals are increasingly devoting their in-patient resources to critical care patients as healthier patients are handled as outpatients. The critical care physician extends the role of the anesthesiologist to that of the hospitalist. Critical care encompasses a broad spectrum of unmet medical needs. Progress in critical care draws upon the most advanced tools of pharmacology, genetics, molecular biology, and medical device technology. ASCCA has been at the forefront of the advancing science and art of critical care medicine. Anesthesia & Analgesia is proud of this new association. The Section Editor for Critical Care and Trauma, Jukka Takala, Professor of Intensive Care Medicine University Hospital of Bern, Switzerland, is among the most recognized scientists, teachers, and practitioners of critical care medicine in the world. The journal will benefit from the synergy between the expertise of the ASCCA and the Editorial Board of the Journal.
There have been profound changes in the management of pregnant patients over the past decade. The debate over epidural anesthesia and the safety of the mother and child has been largely resolved, offering anesthesiologists and obstetricians a clinical pathway that focuses on maternal and neonatal health while providing relief from the pain of labor and delivery. In their role as the critical care physician in the delivery room, obstetric anesthesiologists have become clinical experts in two distinct populations: pregnant women and fetuses (and by extension, neonates). Indeed, the most famous modern anesthesiologist, Virginia Apgar, practiced obstetric anesthesiology and created her eponymous score partly to study the effects of anesthetics on the newborn. Obstetric anesthesiologists have also been leaders in clinical and basic research in pain mechanisms, made possible in part by having access to laboring parturients who have willingly participated in hundreds of clinical trials. SOAP arose from this rich tradition of clinical and research excellence. Anesthesia & Analgesia is proud to be the official scientific journal of the society. Our Section Editor for Obstetric Anesthesiology, Cynthia Wong, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at Northwestern University, was selected last year in cooperation with the leadership of SOAP. We are looking forward to the synergy between a dynamic society and an equally talented and dynamic Section Editor.
Synergy is an overused word, at least in this editorial. However, there is profound synergy among the affiliate societies of Anesthesia & Analgesia. Many papers cross traditional subdisciplines. A paper might examine patient outcomes when propofol is titrated using a new monitor of the electroencephalogram during laparoscopic surgery. Is this a patient safety paper, a technology paper, a pharmacology paper, or an ambulatory anesthesia paper? It is all of them! Through our internal editorial dialog and our weekly reports of papers in the review process, the representatives of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, the Society for Technology in Anesthesia, the International Society for Anaesthetic Pharmacology, and the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia would all be aware of the paper, review the contents, and have the opportunity to evaluate and judge the submission. Similarly, a manuscript describing anesthetic management of a parturient with a failing left ventricle will now draw on the collective wisdom of SOAP, the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, and ASCCA.
You can see the synergy for yourself by turning to our table of contents. Papers, by definition, only appear in a single place in the journal. However, the table of contents identifies the synergy with logos of the intertwined societies immediately to the right of the title. The logos are small, so as to not be distracting, but they are clearly visible in black and white (and teal, orange, red, green, and blue). Our table of contents visually communicates the tremendous interplay among our affiliate societies.
Anesthesia & Analgesia is proud to welcome the ASCCA and SOAP to join the intellectually vigorous company of the International Anesthesia Research Society, the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia, the International Society for Anaesthetic Pharmacology, the Society for Technology in Anesthesia, and the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation. Welcome aboard.
And please fasten your seat belts.
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Footnotes
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Accepted for publication October 19, 2007.
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