The following letter chronicles my journey in neuroanaesthesia, highlighting the pivotal role the Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC) played in shaping my career. From initial online searches for neuroanaesthesia meetings to becoming a founding director of Pakistan’s first Neuroanaesthesia Fellowship Program, this narrative illustrates how SNACC’s resources, global outreach, and collaborative environment fostered my professional growth and enabled me to contribute to the advancement of neuroanaesthesia in my country and beyond.
I still remember the days, in my recent past, when I was surfing the web for neuroanaesthesia meetings. This random search led me to the SNACC web page. Scrolling through the website gave me a lasting impression about its working philosophy, organizational aspects and provision of several educational resources. The mission statement, “to advance the art and science of the care of the neurologically impaired patient through education, training and research in perioperative neuroscience,” caught my attention immediately. I decided to be a member and start utilizing the available resources for my neuroanaesthesia teaching and training, which proved to be incredibly beneficial. A few months later, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email inviting voluntary nominations for sub committees. I promptly nominated myself for the Global Outreach Committee and became a member. Working under the supervision of committee Chair Dr Tumul Chowdhury was amazing. Through this platform, I was able to contact the global neuroanaesthesia community and gained opportunities like an invitation for session coordination at an international forum and more importantly became a part of global outcomes studies focusing on low- and middle- income countries2.
I began to feel a sense of progression in my neuroanaesthesia career and a great sense of accomplishment. Resources like “Quality and Safety Practices in Patients with External Ventricular Drain: A Global Patient Safety Campaign” resonated with me and sparked my interest in the Quality and Patient Safety Committee. This introduced me to another passionate Chair, Dr Abhijit V. Lele. Working as a committee member under his supervision was a learning experience for me. His commitment, planning, dedication and support to the group always remain extraordinary. Through this forum, I was able to be part of EVD campaign, and officially launched this quality initiative for my anaesthesia, neurosurgery residents and surgical critical care staff. Furthermore, my SNACC membership inspired me to start a neuroanaesthesia fellowship program in Pakistan. Drawing on various resources and support from the International Council of Perioperative Neuroscience Training (ICPNT), I lead this ambitious project. Starting from drafting the fellowship proposal, publishing a short survey to assess program needs in Pakistan2 to submitting the application to my postgraduate department, SNACC’s support was unprecedented. Thanks to this support, I will be able to start the first Neuroanaesthesia Fellowship Program in Pakistan as a founding director from January 2026.
The collaboration did not end there. It culminated in the opportunity to present the journey of developing neuroanaesthesia in Pakistan at the prestigious SNACC annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. My words cannot express the experience of participating. The support and appreciation from international colleagues was immense (Figure 1). I was privileged to be introduced as a new program director from Pakistan at the ICPNT Program Directors’ meeting. Returning to Pakistan as a presenter and sharing my experience was a lifelong experience and a dream fulfilled. The quality of the scientific program, the duration, and the activities were engaging and conducive to developing a global network for collaborative projects and improving outcomes for neuroanaesthesia patients worldwide. I conclude my letter with the title of my SNACC talk, which intends to truly reflect the mission statement of SNACC: “The Neuro-Exchange: Architecting Neuroanaesthesia Services Through Global Networking in Pakistan.”
Acknowledgement: I acknowledge the guidance and mentorship of Dr Abhijeet V Lele and Dr Tumul Chawdhury to my neuroanaesthesia career.
Figure 1. From Left to Right: Drs Cristiane Tavares, Faraz Shafiq, Ananya Abate, Abhijit V Lele at the “Neuroanaesthesia Practice at Low- and Middle-Income Countries” session, Atlanta 2025.
References:
1: Prabhakar H, Mahajan C, Kapoor I, Shrestha GS, Picetti E, Robba C, Schultz MJ, et al. VENTIlatory strategies for patients with severe traumatic brain injury in the Ow- and Middle-Income CountrieS. The VENTILOMICS survey. Crit Care Sci. 2025 Aug 15;37:e20250062. doi: 10.62675/2965-2774.20250062. PMID: 40834185.
2: Shafiq F, Sheikh H, Ahsan K, Baig T, Nazir M, Bakhshi S. Neuro-anaesthesia training in Pakistan: Evaluating the need for a dedicated fellowship program. Pak J Med Sci. 2025 May;41(5):1311-1317. doi: 10.12669/pjms.41.5.10361. PMID: 40469157; PMCID: PMC12130923.
