46th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting: Value Proposition

Feb 1, 2021, 01:40 AM by Nabil Elkassabany, MD, MSCE, University of Pennsylvania

Welcome to the ASRASPRING21! First and foremost, I hope you and your families are all staying safe and healthy. Second, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for all that you do and your dedication to your patients. Third, I would like to take the opportunity to extend my warmest regards to you and welcome everyone to the 46^th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting taking place May 13-15, 2021, in Orlando, Florida. We are all yearning to meet our friends in person and have some sense of normalcy. However, we have to do that within the framework of health and safety guidelines. The new reality of scientific meetings will straddle both the virtual and in-person realms, and this is exactly what #ASRASPRING21 will be about. The balance of what will be offered in person and virtually is yet to be determined at the time of writing this welcome message. ASRA is committed to your safety and wellbeing, and all precautions will be in place to ensure the safety of our attendees.

With the cancellation of the Spring 2020 meeting due to COVID, we have included some of those sessions in this meeting, which is now co-chaired by Drs. Nabil Elkassabany and Jaime Baratta.

The theme of the meeting is “value proposition of regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine.” This theme reflects our vision for the future of the role of regional anesthesiologists and acute pain physicians. Regional anesthesia has grown, and new techniques have been developed. In this meeting, we are committed to bringing you the latest developments in these techniques and debating the evidence that supports the use of each one. One of our goals this year is to make the meeting as interactive as possible. Your input and engagement in the meeting sessions will be critical and will give #ASRASPRING21 a lively vibe. The plan is to engage participants attending the meeting in person and at home through different social media platforms and livestreaming of select sessions. We will be introducing some live scanning on the stage as part of our “Ask the Experts” Interactive Sessions as we discuss truncal blocks and clinical pathways for perioperative management of hip fracture patients. We will also adopt the short “snap talks” format as we discuss blocks of thoracic wall. We will do whatever we can to provide engaging content whether you are in Orlando or in the comfort of your own home.

The content of this meeting has been driven in part by members’ input through special interest group (SIG) engagement. Every SIG is represented in this meeting in one way or another. Examples of the some of the SIGs contributing to the meeting include, but are not limited to, point-of-care ultrasound, global health, physician wellness, regional anesthesia for cardiac surgery, and perioperative medicine

Cross-pollination and partnership with other societies and disciplines will be visible in our meeting as well. We will livestream a combined panel with the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP). We also will have orthopedic surgeons discussing their take on the role of regional anesthesia and pain medicine in joint replacement and orthopedic trauma. We continue the Practice Management Portfolio (PMP) to help anesthesiologists ensure viability and accountability of their regional and acute pain services in this challenging healthcare environment. We also have designed a special session on combating physician burnout and enhancing wellness as these issues continue to afflict medicine as a whole.

As the opioid epidemic is still a reality that we deal with in our daily practice, we designed a 360-degree discussion of this problem from the point of view of different stakeholders (governmental and non- governmental). All these offerings are happening with ample opportunities for networking both virtually and in person. The family-friendly atmosphere of ASRA meetings with the backdrop of Orlando and the magic of Disney make this meeting one of a kind. This meeting program is true to the mission and vision of our society and is a living testament to our values of innovation, inclusivity, diversity, and wellness.

Before I close, I’d like to thank each of you for attending our meeting (in person or virtually) and bringing your expertise to our gathering. Our members are the greatest asset for ASRA today and tomorrow. As we hope to be in Disney in May, I will leave you with the words of Buzz Lightyear “the important thing is that we stick together”.

Kind regards,

Nabil Elkassabany, MD, MSCE
Co-Chair, Scientific/Education Planning Committee