COMMITTEE UPDATES

Trainee Engagement Subcommittee Report

By Marie Angele Theard, MD and Shobana Rajan, MD

On behalf of the SNACC Education Committee and all of SNACC, kudos to our new Trainee Engagement Subcommittee (TES) for responding to our trainees with an expansion of educational resources through SNACC and increased opportunities to engage our fellows, residents, and students.  What started out as a Special Interest Group (SIG) comprised of committed educators focused on increasing resident interest in neuroanesthesia, has, with enthusiastic support from our SNACC Board of Directors and SNACC Education Committee, become the Trainee Education Subcommittee. 

Trainee EngagementResults of a survey we sent to our trainees confirmed the opportunity for improvement in fostering interest in neuroanesthesia among trainees and compelled some exciting additions to the Education section of the SNACC website. Many felt that their residency training was adequate for understanding the complexities of our dynamic area of anesthesia.  This subcommittee has responded by adding under the Education tab of the SNACC website, the Trainee Engagement Subcommittee section allowing residents to easily inquire regarding neuroanesthesia fellowships and explore, in more depth, topics comprising the anesthetic management of our neurosurgical patients and/or patients with neurological diseases.      

In addition to monthly quizzes and interesting articles, trainees can now access the following under the ‘Trainee Engagement Subcommittee’ section of the Education tab on the SNACC website:

  • A link for those trainees here and abroad interested in learning more about neuroanesthesia fellowship training.
  • The Fellows’ and Residents’ Audio Corner where fellows, residents, and students can listen to conversations regarding the management of interesting neuroanesthesia cases.
  • Sharing insights - Neuroanesthesia Case Discussion Forum where SNACC members have an opportunity to share their insights regarding different neurosurgical cases with trainees.

 
Our SNACC Annual Meeting has been a wonderful opportunity for encouraging fellows/residents/medical students/trainees to hear from national and international scientists and clinicians regarding exciting new developments in our field and engage with potential mentors in neuroanesthesia.  Last year we challenged trainees, led by Drs. Rajan and Paisansathan, with our ‘Topics Review Luncheon’ where their neuroanesthesia acumen was tested. Wonderful book donations by Trainee Engagement Committee members like Dr. Prabhakar were awarded to high scorers!  

This year our subcommittee looks forward to:

  • Increasing opportunities for fellows/residents/students/trainees to meet and mingle with junior and senior members of SNACC in an effort to learn more about our exciting discipline.
  • Providing even more interesting neuroanesthesia cases for discussion on our SNACC website forum.  
  • Establishing a standardized neuroanesthesia curriculum for use by programs world-wide, in order to help with educating our residents regarding the complexities of neuroanesthetic care.   

As always, we welcome any feedback from SNACC members regarding any of our initiatives as we forge ahead with great excitement and enthusiasm to further engage our trainees, move our field forward and secure a bright future for neuroanesthesia! You can reach us at shobanarajan5@gmail.com and mat2315@comcast.net.

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