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With the new name "SNACC" now stands for "Society for Neuroscience in
Anesthesiology and Critical Care." The society is embarking on a new
area with a renewed emphasis under the well established acronym. SNACC has adopted a new logo and facelift online with a brand new Web page.
Careful internal consideration over some two years preceded a final
unanimous decision by the Board of Directors to suggest a new name for
the Society that was approved by the membership at the last annual
meeting in New Orleans on October 16, 2009.
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The new name reflects significant changes in perioperative medicine over
the last decades, and at the same time it represents the true spirit of
the founding fathers of SNACC: that is to lead the community of
perioperative physicians who serve patients with CNS disease, and who
want to understand their medical needs and identify the best treatment
strategies during critical times in the operating room, the
post-anesthesia care unit and the intensive care unit.
Today, treatment decisions are expected to be evidence-based, which
requires scientific analysis and discussion before the best possible
therapeutic approach is established. Moreover, pursuit of excellence in clinical practice is key to success in the current
health care environment, and this too can only be accomplished if the
discussions about diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are based in scientific discourse.
With the new name, SNACC invites trainees and experts from the entire
neuroscience community to join and become active members of SNACC. Thus,
SNACC actively reaches out beyond the fields of neuroanesthesiology and
neurosurgery.
Today, perioperative medicine for patients with active CNS disease
involves many subspecialties, including neurosurgeons,
neuroanesthesiologists, interventional neuroradiologists, neurology-,
anesthesiology-, or medicine-based neurointensivists,
neurophysiologists, neurophysicists, neuro-oncologists, and
neuroscientists. Moreover, the brain is at risk during a wide variety of
non-neurosurgical procedures or diagnostic interventions and, regardless
of the type of surgery, may be especially vulnerable when our patients
are at the extremes of age or are critically ill. By expanding our
clinical and scientific horizons and gathering under one roof
specialists from different backgrounds who share a common interest in
problems that affect brain function and well being in and around the
time of surgery, SNACC is positioning itself as the organization that
promotes brain health in the perioperative period through clinical
expertise, educational programs and research.
Fostering neuroscience in anesthesiology and critical care also requires
supporting scientists in the field and - in particular - actively
mentoring young clinical scientists with a special interest in
neuroscience. The name change represents SNACC's growing commitment to
this role. Such a clear stand is very important during difficult times
for extramural support of even the finest research projects, both those
with clinical and those with basic sciencerelated hypothesis that carry
the potential for changing practice in the future.
In the same vein, the new name underscores SNACC's leadership role in
the discussion about the need for accreditation of neuroanesthesiology
and neurocritical care fellowship programs focused on highest-level
clinical care and interdisciplinary development of the field. Some
experts suggest that structured science-based training that allows the
graduation of formally acknowledged specialists may be an indispensable
strategy to secure a continuous influx of new leaders with a background
in anesthesiology into these fields. SNACC is committed to helping
attract the brightest scholars into the field and thus ensure its future
growth as a recognized perioperative specialty.
The name change also emphasis SNACCs promotion of, and the active
participation in, continuous medical education efforts at different
national and international meetings that relate to the field of
neuroscience in perioperative medicine, and its close cooperation with
the respective hosts as, for example, the ASA, the IARS and the
Neurocritical Care Society.
Finally, the new name reflects SNACC's long track record of cutting-edge
annual scientific meetings where specialists from around world with a
focus on experimental and applied neuroscience gather in one place to
discuss the newest developments and actively network in an attempt to
create a strong community, which can solve problems of today and in the
future.
With the new name "Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and
Critical Care," which expresses a clear commitment to the sciences in
the field of neuroanesthesia and critical care, and the systematic
implementation of all elements of this commitment into all
organizational efforts, SNACC will be able to successfully compete as
the leader of the field in the context of the new challenges of the 21st
century.
A.M. Brambrink, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine Department for Neurology,
Oregon Health and Science University
Portland, Oregon
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